It's Canada Day and what better way to start the day than with another World Cup game at nine in the morning.
Many of my comrades would choose to go to a coffee shop or pub along Commercial Drive but I chose to walk to my club: the Langara Golf Club. And why not? It's only a fifteen minute walk from home with great views and excellent sandwiches, and it's proudly owned by the citizens of Vancouver. On a serious negative side, beer and wine cannot be served until after eleven, given our strange liquor laws. If I had known that at eight in the morning...
The golfers were certainly out on this fine holiday morning and there was no sign of coyotes on the fairway today.
The futbol crowd had not yet materialized and I had a relatively easy time picking out a table. Well, in truth, the crowd never did materialize.
In the end los Albicelestes were the better team, though the Swiss, oddly perhaps, kept the game scoreless through the regulation ninety. Finally, and only moments before the end of extra time, and the dreaded shootout, Di Maria scored after a beautiful set up by Messi. One picture says it all.
But two or three say it much better.And so it goes. One game closer to the final victory and another smile from Lionel.
Happy Canada Day!
Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.
Game photos from La Nacion, Buenos Aires.