Today was one of the most anticipated matches of the Premier League season; current champions Manchester City took on top of the table Liverpool, who were ahead by a single point.
In most matches, it is natural to pick a team to win. In this instance, I ended up supporting the draw, which is an unusual position to take, even as a neutral. The reason is simple, there are three teams now which are within one point of first place; the aforementioned teams, and Arsenal, who won earlier on and are now leage leaders.
Why does this matter? One of the hardest things about organising a sporting league is how do you decide the winner. No system is perfect; but by far the fairest way to do it is have every team play one another twice, home and away. However, while the fairest, it isn’t the funnest from a fan’s perspective; I personally am a big fan of the finals/playoffs system, where you can have teams hit a purple patch at the right end of the season, and win from a low seed. Plus, the excitement leading into a Grand Final or Super Bowl is hard to beat. In some European soccer leagues, the winner is already found with a few games to go, which takes a lot of the “heat” out of the season.
A draw today meant that the race continues for another week, and with only 10 games to go, the pressure, and therefore the excitement, rises. While I am not a suppoter of any of the three teams, I am a fan of how things are turning out. And the fact that Arsenal and Liverpool play on the very last week means that this could be an absolute nailbiter.
Goals Day 2
Goal 1, Exercise: 40 minute gym workout
Goal 2, Call a friend: Called my friend Shlomo in New York. He was super helpful in navigating a business problem I am facing.
Goal 3, 20 minutes on project: More comedy writing, this time more editting than writing. A very important step.
Goal 4, 20 minutes on learning: More Wolfgang Puck cooking. This time I learned how to make a veal stock and demiglace.
Goal 5, Cook every meal: Done.
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