If
There's a line in Rudyard Kipling's poem If which says something about meeting the twin imposters of triumph and disaster and treating them just the same.

Well this week that contrast was brought home to me in a very real way

Firstly, on Saturday, the football team I play for crashed out of the Nottinghamshire FA Saturday Minors Cup on penalties following a 2-2 draw with a team who we were clearly better than, but couldn't make our superiority count. Gallingly the referee had something of a shocking game, his coup de grace being his repeated holding up of our third penalty taker - asking his name twice and making him re spot the ball. The inevitable subsequent miss sparking our downfall.

Then, last night we went down to Watford to watch the football team I support storm into the quarter finals of the League Cup on penalties following a 2-2 draw with a team that we were clearly better than, despite not being able to make our superiority count.

In the lottery of penalties it really is a fine line between the euphoria of victory and the bitterness of defeat.
- posted by Paul @ 12:57 pm