hey ***This will be my last word on Euro2004, for anyone reading this who is not a football fan and is tired of me harping on about it, even though it is all superb...*** You know, I really have a love-hate relationship with romance in things. And I mean romance in the poetic sense, not in the man-woman-candles-flowers sense. In particular, I have a thing for the romance of sports. Of underdogs in sports. This weekend was very much an underdogs' weekend. That young Russian spunkette trashing the Williams sister (can't remember which one; and I can't tell them apart anyway) at Wimbledon on Saturday, a complete outsider (16-1) winning the premier horse-racing event in South Africa (that would be Gray's Inn at the Durban July) and lastly, the Greeks easily overcoming the Portugese to take the European Championships. In a way, I love it when an underdog wins; but at the same time, it really, really pisses me off. Let's be honest, I couldn't give a damn about the horses. Or Wimbledon (even though the Russian bird is mmmmm-good looking). But the football... the Portugese went in as favourites and were really hard-pressed throughout. They shrugged off the mantle of favourites very early on - like 20 minutes into the first game of the tournament (ironically, against the very Greeks who killed them again last night) and had to battle hard for every victory attained. This included drubbing the Dutch, who I again had money on to win the fucking thing and who again fell over at the semi-finals. I was glad for the Portugese when they made the final at the expense of the Dutch, because, really, they had earned their stripes and worked hard. And this is not to say that the Greeks hadn't, don't get me wrong. But the Portugese should have won. They were re-installed as favourites when the Greks beat the Czechs (And that in itself was a miracle) and I think in front of their home fans, in a ground where they haven't lost an international fixture since 1986, in the final of the tournament they are hosting, having been unfairly dumped by a harsh ref decision at the semis in 2000 and downright cheated out against the Koreans in the last World Cup, I think they'd slogged enough to actually have a bit of luck go their way and win the fucking trophy. Their squad had always underperformed, even with their Golden Generation (the current crop of players won the under-19 World Cup in 1990 and did jack since), the cards had fallen correctly and fortunately and they were facing the greeks who had got lucky to beat them in the opening game. And let's be fair, the Portugese figured out what to do and came back in that game and were unlucky to not force a draw. So they should have managed a win last night. But they didn't. For the Greeks, having never won a game at a big tournament ever, merely winning the group was enough to give them hero status at home. Making the semis after dumping the French was enough to elevate them to God-hood back home. Making the finals, having seen off the other tournament favourites the Czechs, meant they were living legends. Actually doing the unthinkable was never on the cards and yet... well, they certainly played well enough to win the game, I don't begrudge them that at all. But I feel so terribly sorry for the Portugese, and in particular for some of their players who will not see the next World Cup because they are getting old and who really deserved a winner's medal instead of a silver runner's-up medal last night. Fair play to the Greeks. But it does leave a bit of an aftertaste. Both sides playing their first major final and in with a shout of winning - I don't think the Greeks would have been saddened by losing, actually, on account that nobody - and probably not even the Greek team themselves, I would wager - gave them a hope in hell of getting anywhere. Like the Senegalese in World Cup 2002, a graceful bow-out at any stage would have been enough. So... underdogs of the world, listen up: Feel free to play your parts and have your days in the sun. But if we could limit those days to not-Finals in major competitions, I'd appreciate it. Having said all that, the non-naked streaker who took on Figo and the Greek goal last night was fucking hilarious! laters