Hello once again Bonnyville. For the past three months, I've been having major withdrawal symptoms, symptoms that just so happened to clear up this past weekend as the world finally welcomed back the Barclays Premier League.
As I'm sure many, if not all of you are aware by now, football is kind of a big deal to me. Prior to crossing the ocean, I used to spend my Saturday's out on the terrace of Maine Road, the Etihad Stadium or just about any other venue hosting a live game – yes, including Old Trafford on the odd occasion. The rest of my week was donated to watching any other game that happened to be televised, and actually getting out onto the pitch myself with a few friends.
I think it's safe to say that football is my religion. Heck, I'd go as far as to say that football is my life.
So, that brings me to Saturday morning. As unappealing as Liverpool versus Stoke City sounded when the Premier League released its fixture list, stating this would be the curtain raiser on the opening weekend, there I was at 5:30, yes in the a.m., up like a kid at Christmas, sat on my couch ready to take in all the action.
The game itself was rather dull, with Liverpool scraping a 1-0 win, but as silly as it might sound, I didn't get up to watch that particular game. I got up because it was back.
That hole that had lurked inside me since early May was finally starting to fill back up. Over the course of the weekend I proceeded to watch all nine games played out, five of them live, and I still don't feel like I've had enough.
That's probably partly down to the fact that the only game not contested over the weekend involved my very own Manchester City. After a summer that has seen the club swiftly replace it's hugely popular, now ex-manager Roberto Mancini and spend upwards of $150 million on four new signings, it's safe to say expectations are high amongst fans.
So with ‘Monday Night Football' set to resume in the UK, the powers that be decided they wanted Manchester City versus Newcastle United to be the premiere, curtain raising show for football fans worldwide. I, along with almost every other sane fan on the planet, am predicting a home win, but as this past weekend has proven – you can't take anything for granted in the Barclays Premier League anymore. Just ask Arsenal.
