CONSISTENCY

Today, we witnessed another epic rematch between Barcelona and Real Madrid. There was a lot of hype leading up to the game thanks to Real's manager Jose Mourinho, who cannot seem to help himself. Messi, however, had the last word with 2 spectacular goals that made up for an otherwise sloppy and undisciplined affair- particularly on Real's part.

While Mourinho's behavior is consistently petulant, Messi's play continues to be consistently inspiring.

So once again for these two men it was more of the same. Let's hope for a reprise when they meet next Tuesday for the final time this season because a ticket to London and the Champions League Finals awaits. Here's to consistency!

THE WORDS OF A CHILD

Children often make the most powerful points. I was reminded of this last night by Nicholas. Kathleen was out with some of her friends, which meant that I had daddy daycare duty. I love my kids, but I often find it challenging to take care of both of them by myself.

Last night went well until story time when Nicholas and Cate began fooling around and ignoring the stories. I asked them several times to stop and to pay attention, but they did not listen. I raised my voice and told them that it was time to brush their teeth and go straight to bed. Both begrudgingly trotted over and did as they were told, but Nicholas was upset.

Between sobs, he looked me in the eye and said, "I wish we could just be silly sometimes. Why do we have to be angry?"

I am rarely at a loss for words, but this statement really floored me, particularly coming from my own son who is just five. We expect a lot of the kids, and it is sometimes easy to forget that Nicholas and Cate are, well, children, who make mistakes and who do not always share our same attention span or motivations. Tonight was a wake-up call.

I apologized to Nicholas and said he could pick out another story. We all cuddled up and read a book about dinosaurs- deinonychus to be specific. In this story, the daddy and mommy deinonychus fight off predators, protect their young, and live to see another day despite a great forest fire.



This book and Nicholas' words were a reminder of how easy my life is and all the things for which I should be thankful but which I commonly take for granted.

I promised to do something silly with Nicholas today, and I hope to do something silly with him everyday. If I can just remember his words each day, I will be on my way to becoming a better dad, husband, doctor, and human being.

The words of a child (no italics).

WINNING UGLY, CONT'D

It gets worse. During their celebration last night after their victory, one of the Real defenders Sergio Ramos dropped the trophy from the top of an open air bus. In other words, he literally threw it under the bus- a term usually reserved for the firing of managers. Classic.

WINNING UGLY

Today Barcelona faced Real Madrid for the second time in 5 days. This time the King's Cup trophy was at stake. The last showdown ended in a draw, and today's game was quite even...until the 102nd minute when Ronaldo headed one home. Real prevailed and were crowned winners some 20 minutes later.

For any Barca fan, it is hard not to hate Real and to view them as the evil empire due to their conduct and style of play. Indeed, the Real coach Jose Mourinho is as close as any person can come to a living, breathing Darth Vader.

Like this past weekend's game, Real played a largely defensive game designed to deny Barcelona any opportunity to play its fluid style. There were reckless challenges and fouls by Real ostensibly to rough the Barcelona players up and to break up their rhythm. At one point, a Real player appeared to purposefully step on the leg of David Villa, a Barca player, who was down on the ground. This sadly was not unexpected from Real.

Someone once said, winning is not everything, it is the only thing. Real clearly espouse that same philosophy even if it means winning ugly or winning without any appreciation of the game's beauty. This piece by Rob Hughes in the New York Times says it all.

Getting back to our sci-fi analogy, the past 2 matches have felt like episodes 4 and 5 of the Star Wars trilogy. Round 1 was a moral victory akin to "Star Wars." Round 2 tonight was a searing defeat like the "Empire Strikes Back."

Two more matches, the Champions League semi-finals, with Real are to follow in the next 2 weeks. I hope these matches end like episode 6 of Star Wars, the "Return of the Jedi," with the good guys winning and winning their way. For now, the pitch is closed...

SOCCER CITY, USA!

The past 4 days have been the most soccer-packed of my short life as a soccer fan. It began with the home-opener of the Portland Timbers versus the Chicago Fire. While the Timbers have been around for years, this is their first season in Major League Soccer (MLS), the most prestigious American soccer league. Shown below is a picture from Jeld-Wen Field before the stands were filled.



I have season tickets, but since it was a weekday game I went with my friend Jason. We won 3-2! The home crowd was amazing- especially a cheering section of fans called the Timbers Army at one end of the stadium. For 90 full minutes, they sang, chanted, clapped, and cheered the team to victory.

Yesterday, my friend Jason, Nicholas, and I watched the first of four clasicos, the term given to matches between our beloved team FC Barcelona and the scoundrels from Real Madrid. It was a draw thanks to Real's twelfth man, the officials, who called a bogus foul in the penalty area. Sigh... These 2 teams will face each other 3 more times in the next 3 weeks, so we will have ample chances for revenge and missed productivity at work and at home. It will also give us a chance to wear our favorite gear!







Today, I played pick-up soccer for 2 hours (advil is on board as I type this), and I have come to notice several things. Number 1: I am not the worst guy out there... by a long shot. Number 2: I am less frazzled when I get the ball and have a defender bearing down on me. Number 3: I can score goals because I am often in the right place at the right time. Yes, soccer does take brains in addition to brawn.

Finally, later today the whole family attended our first Timbers soccer match. The fact that it is so easy to go to the games makes this experience all the more enjoyable. Indeed, it was a mere 30 minutes from our door to the gates of the stadium. That includes parking and taking a shuttle to the field. You have to love Portland's brilliant urban planning and the downtown stadium!



The game was a little more low key than the home opener as it was a day game and many families were there, but it was still an amazing atmosphere. I brought ear plugs for Nicholas because I knew the noise and cheering would freak him out, but he did great! Cate, as you can see below, really got into. She is still doing the chant "FC PT" (Football Club Portland Timbers) that she heard over and over again at the game, which we won!



The one thing we do not do well in Portland is apathy, and the Alumkal-Kemmer family is doing its part to help Portland live up to its self-proclaimed nickname- Soccer City, USA!

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE PRIMARY DEN

This morning, like two mornings every week, I drove Nicholas to school after we dropped off Cate at pre-school. The drive is about 20 minutes, and it is an opportunity for us to talk about what is on our minds.

Today, I mentioned that I thought it must be challenging for Cate right now since she is transitioning to the pre-school classroom from the toddler room with a new teacher and new rules. I asked Nicholas if he ever felt that his time in his classroom, the primary den, was challenging, and I asked what he did to get through the day.

He said that many days he looks at the schedule for the day and notices that there will be one subject that will be particularly challenging for him. Rather than get down or discouraged though, he said he also looks at the day in its entirety. By doing so, he realizes that there are other parts of the day that are quite easy and that he finds to be enjoyable. This helps him stay focused and upbeat. Yes, he is only five.

If only we all had the wisdom and perspective of this little guy...

SHUTDOWN AVERTED

The government shutdown has been averted, and Obama continues to appear to be a detached appeaser? Should his new slogan be "Surrender we can believe in?"