Scotland 1 - France 0

Ok, I'm not quite sure where to begin this story, but I suppose the beginning is a good place. Today, around 5pm, I and my rugby sister, Armchair, trotted on over to The Golf Tavern to watch the Scotland vs. France UEFA Qualifying Match (a.k.a. really important soccer game). Arriving just before kick off, we realized we should've gotten there early to get drinks and a place to stand, as the pub was completely packed. There was nae room for e'en a mouse, as I might say in Scots. Anyway, we got a couple of pints from the bar and we situated ourselves downstairs in a room with about 80 TVs facing every which way, so we could see standing about anywhere. The first half passed relatively uneventfully, and finished 0-0.

When Scotland scored, however, the pub went WILD. Absolutely MENTAL. As Paul Hartley flicked it in past the French keeper off a corner kick in the 67th minute, a great roar went up in the pub and everyone started clapping and cheering and yelling "SCOT-LAND! SCOT-LAND!!" That was probably one of my favorite moments since I've come here. It was just so much fun to be surrounded by a pub full of screaming footy-crazy Scots. The guy standing next to Armchair started jumping up and down and shook our hands energetically, giving them each a quick kiss before releasing, (which I found hilarious). When regulation ended, the whole pub erupted in singing some Scottish song, and the jumping guy gave Armchair a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. And the best part? Free pint or nip of whisky from the pub for a Scots victory!

Of course I was rooting for Scotland from the beginning (and I don't think I would have lived very long at the pub had I not been), but the Scots certainly weren't favored in this match. Hmm, let's see, scraggly struggling Scottish team vs. the World Cup runners up... But seriously the game was truly an upset. Here's the BBC Sport report version. Not quite as much fun as mine, I think.

On a side note, sorry for being such a lazy slag and not posting for a week. Things have been picking up here, as in I've actually started studying and doing assignments for classes. Nah, it's cool, it's just a couple of extra hours of concentration I need to work into my days (instead of just tacking them on at 12am). I'm going to try and put up some pictures tonight, as I'm staying in on this chilly Saturday evening. Why, you may ask? I have an assignment due Monday and I need my rest if I'm going to commit all of my energy tomorrow to celebrating my birthday. Yep, that's right, someone's gonna be two decades old. Unfortunately, what I don't get to do is play rugby on my birthday, since the whole union transfer thing is taking a little longer than expected. Long story short, bureaucracy sucks, but it happens and is generally unavoidable.