Joel F joined October 2008

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Joel F

About Joel »

Hi,

I'm an "aspiring" (hah!) journalist from Liverpool whose foremost love in sport is Liverpool and football. I'm also a contributor to a certain other open source website.

I've had an intense passion for football (soccer) since I was about the height of an unusually small Hobbit. I became interested in American sports after Channel Five's establishment and fondly remember that veritable home run contest between Griffey, McGwire, and Sosa.

If I'm not distracted, I hope to publish my second article, focusing on French football, and perhaps a third, more sensitive article on various historical aspects of football in Britain. I'm eager to incorporate my interest in history and current events into sports-related articles; they're usually engaging.

I have a tendency to be sentimental and extremely nostalgic, so I often romanticise those who I admired and idolised in the, hah, 1990s, while unconsciously subscibing to a more cynical perception of current sports players. Which isn't actually sentiment that I sincerely adhere to..........I think it's the cruel assault of age.

The Shortlist »

  • Favorite Athletes

    Robbie Fowler, Billy Liddell, Kenny Dalglish, Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz, John Arne Riise, Roberto Baggio, Stig Inge Bjornebye, Patrik Berger, Danny Murphy, Ray Kennedy, Dietmar Hamann, Markus Babbel, Fernando Torres, Jurgen Klinsmann, Danny Murphy, Alan Shearer, Eyal Berkovic, David Ginola, Georgi Kinkladze, Oliver Bierhoff, Titi Camara, Paul Ince, Gennaro Gattuso, Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman, Shane Warne, Andre Agassi, Pat Cash, Glen McGraith, Shoji Jo, Gustavo Lopez, Sebastien Chabal

  • Favorite Sports Teams

    Liverpool, Liverpool Reserves, Liverpool of Uruguay, Chicago White Sox, Dallas Cowboys, Newcastle Falcons, Sale Sharks, Lancashire CCC, AC Milan, Ironi Kiryat Shmona, Marseille, Shimizu S-Pulse, Guingcamp, Corinthians of Brazil, Tranmere, Chester, Marine FC

  • Favorite Coaches

    New parameter! Hmmmm, Kobi Kuhn (is it logical to include him as a favourite just because he appears to have a genial demeanour? Gah!), Gerard Houllier (he miscalculated at times but his contribution to Liverpool shouldn't be dismissed), Shankly, Paisley, Fagan, George Kay, Joe Torre, Brian Clough, Claude Leroy (come on!), Claudio Ranieri, Bela Guttmann, Fatih Terim, Harry Redknapp

  • All Time Sports Moment

    Hmmm: the Miracle of Istanbul, World Series 2005 (the game that didn't finish until about 7am GMT); France 98 produced so many memorable moments - Luiz Hernandez and his individual creativity, Jose Luiz Chilavert and his inspirational presence, Michael Owen's emergence, Beckham's dismissal, David Batty's penalty miss, France's emphatic defeat of Brazil, Ronaldo's expected omission that never materialised. For me, World Cup 98 was the greatest such tournament I've watched so far.

  • Most Memorable Game Attended

    Liverpool 1 West Ham 0 1999: This was the game in which Titi Camara scored on a day of personal tragedy; Liverpool O Roma 1: it still remains the most glamourous European fixture I've ever attended and the behaviour of the Match of the Day panel is still so surreal to me

  • Most Unbreakable Sports Record

    Michael Phelps?

  • Ruth or Mays?

    As an "outsider", it's immensely challenging to choose between players of such standing

  • Unitas or Montana?

  • Jordan or Russell?

    Michael Jordan! He elevated the sport to astronomical levels - I've heard that the NBA has struggled to sustain the popularity it enjoyed during his career. That's an amazing influence to have.

  • Gretzky or Orr?

    For me, it's Wayne Gretsky: his performances, his reptutation, introduced me to the sport and I vividly remember learning of his retirement during Five's coverage

  • Pele or Maradona?

    It's impossible to decide between two players that you never had an opportunity to watch :-/

  • Federer or Sampras?

    Undoubtedly Sampras - he dominated the sport during a period when there was considerable competition

  • Tiger or Nicklaus?

    Not exactly a golf afficionado....so, Tiger?

  • Petty or Earnhardt?

    Ummm?

  • Schumacher or Senna?

    Hmm - Schumacher's absence is conspicuous, but I'm unwilling to choose between the two.

  • Pac 10, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC, or Big East?

to post this comment
  • Barney said...

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    Hey!

    What a year of sports 2008 has been! You may be surprised by the amount of history that was made this year! Here are the greatest sporting moments of 2008, including all sports! Your opinions and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/95997-a-year-in-review-the-greatest-sporting-moments-of-2008

    Cheers,
    Barney

    350 days ago

    Reply

  • Jeff D Gorman said...

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    Thanks for signing up as a fan, Joel!

    -- Jeff

    371 days ago

    Reply

  • Shyam Parthasarathi said...

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    Cheers for the pick Joel.

    373 days ago

    Reply

  • Michelle Alves said...

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    Hey Joel

    As football fans , many of us dream of being footballers like Pele and Maradona (the legends), thats okay, but I think its time we learn a few lessons from those little kids on the street in India , with their goalposts made of sticks and bricks and their old white shirts with 'Beckham' written on it with Felt Tip Pens.

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/82145-india-might-teach-the-world-a-few-lessons-in-football

    thanks for reading & hope you feel the same way about football as I do

    cheers

    387 days ago

    Reply

  • Anthony said...

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    Thanks for the pick Joel. Much appreciated.

    389 days ago

    Reply

  • Ricky O'Neal said...

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    Liked the feature on Arsenal and the French starlets, hope you keep contributing to the community, good work so far. Oh, and I hope you dont get any racial discrimination because you're yellow that would be very unfair! :) (my attempt at humour!) anyway keep writing!

    Ricky

    391 days ago

    Reply

  • Willie Gannon said...

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    Thanks for the POTD Joel, I appreciate it.

    Welcome to Bleacher, good fun is to be had as I'm sure you know.

    Regards,

    Willie

    396 days ago

    Reply

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