Thursday, January 25, 2007

Nerd with tape recorder

Yeah, I'm the one. So everyone else is listening to Sunil Gulati talk, and I'm turning on my tape recorder. I don't trust my memory, and I can't take notes fast enough. Actually, even tape isn't perfect, because soft voices are hard to hear. But for the most part, this is the transcription of Sunil's stadium statements.

"We could have hosted World Cup in 1998 and used stadiums that did not exist in 1994. We could’ve hosted the World Cup in 2002 and used stadiums that did not exist in 1998. We could have hosted the World Cup in 2006 and used stadiums that did not exist in 2002. These are all stadiums of 70,000 seats or more, because new NFL stadiums keep going up. It’s an extraordinary set-up that we've got. FedEx Field. It’s the biggest stadium in the world right now, 90,000 seats, real seats. There's Gillette Stadium, and so many others. There weren't that many stadiums in Germany that had 70,000 seats. And we would fill them."

And voicing support for South Africa:

"When I was in Mexico in 1986, it was a different World Cup, but it was a fabulous World Cup. Part of the reason was because there was this guy wearing a blue and white shirt that was pretty fabulous, but it was also a sensational World Cup. It was different than the World Cup in Germany. I think South Africa will host a great World Cup. It will be different."

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3 comments:

  1. L.B.January 25, 2007 at 9:48 PM

    Nerd sat next to Lazy.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 26, 2007 at 9:27 AM

    I think the portion of the speech dealing with stadiums is further proof Gulati has little appreciation for the actual game of football (I don't like the word soccer). Most fans find the grid-iron lines extremely annoying. It is not just that it is displeasing to the eye. It is also that allowing football games to be played on such a field is indicative of the game's status as a poor stepchild of the NFL.

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  3. A.C.January 27, 2007 at 5:12 PM

    In Germany, they play Bundesliga games on some fields with football markings. Some people enjoy both sports and don't mind sharing the stadium space, I suppose.

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