WELL!!!
WHERE DO WE BEGIN
THERE REALLY IS TO MUCH TO MENTION SO IF I MISS ANYTHING OUT I APOLOGISE IN ADVANCE
This years ARTFOOTBALL championships had it all. extreme high, forgettable drunken lows and near death experiences!!!
So for the second consecutive year our good friends from ARTFOOTBALL held another world cup music/football championship. 12 teams where involved this year and it all went off in the lovely city of Novorosissyk also known as the "hero city".
so after rather turbulent flight through the thunder and lighting and a 4 hour stop over in moscow Team GB where finally in the surprisingly hot and sunny town of krasnedar where we where greeted by the lovely people at the hotel Brigadena....and the BEACH!!!
so once everyone settled in it was straight to the local football stadium for training....under the mid-day sun......whilst still recovering from the night before and the many many mojito's! but that didn't hamper us one bit as morale was at it highest as everyone was pumped for our first game againt the hosts RUSSIA in novorossiysk stadium.
the game took place after a wonderful opening ceremony which was worthy that of the beijing olympics....well a scaled down version, but with TV camera, paparazzi and fans galore Team 3 Lions where bar far the show stealers all suited in booted in black and white outfits. (see pictures)
so after all the razzle dazzle the game faces where on and it was game time!!! this was the moment that everyone had been waiting for and with the strongest tam we've ever had Team GB really fancied our chances and they started coming true after prolific goal scorer a newest member of the team Rene Regis opened the scoring!! 1-0 amazing....then came the second half...something kinda happend...i don't really know what...but it involved a dude in a black outfit and whistle and his amazing medical condition that left him with selective seeing...apparently fouls on English players in the opponents penalty area or fouls in general on English players dont seem to count....but hey NO sour grapes here!!
so the game ended 3-1 to the russians but the feedback from fellow watching countries and even the russians themselves kept the 3 lions positive and ready for the next match...GERMANY!!!
this match was played on astro turf and made me feel like being back at school in PE. this was a big game for us and again thanks to Rene Regis we won 1-0 and it was key match for all of us as it just seemed to bring everyone together and made us realize that a lot of people in novorosissyk had faith in the English as near everyone at the stadium joined team GB on the 90 minute emotional roller coaster!!! it was a tough match largely becuase they made us all look like midgets, but with the captain Colm Whitty controlling the game and the big man Bertie james taking out germans like they where bowling pins it felt like hitlers last stand all over again (can i say that?)
BUT...after the 90minutes it was ALL love...really it was...we went out and partied with them!!!
after that immense high we had to play Belarus in which we after controlling a large portion of the game we lost 2-0.
from the football side of things England gained a reputation as a gritty yet skillful team as well as probably one of the most exciting teams to watch. we may not have won all our games but our team spirit and determination shone through and was clear for everyone to see that we where a team through thick and thin, one of the results from this was defender BERTIE JAMES won the prestigious award of player of the tournament as well as being picked for the all star XI side to play the ex russian professionals. Joining him in that squad was fellow 3 lion and SPLURGE member Tee, he may not have put our his chances...some really blatant chances...but again it was clear to see his never say die attitude.
obviously it had to be the Russians that won the football tournament in the Russia v Brazil final, but all in all it was a great tournament....
NOW THE MUSIC!!!
Again i think it's safe to say that ENGLAND where the ones to watch on the stage. we had the looks, the charm and most importantly the TALENT!
with acts SEROTONIN, NICOLE JANE, SPLURGE and Rockers LITTLE GHOSTS all ready to represent Team GB the stage awaited them.
the day after the Russia game the first concert was opposite Novorosissyk stadium in the grand theater. other countries performing on that day where japan and Romania as well as a special guest appearance from ROCK LEGEND Alexandr Ivanov (think Bon Jovi but Russian) this guy sold albums by the millions and i for one must say it was an honor and pleasure to warm the stage for him.
that show even though it was a good one for the fans and TV cameras was merely a warm up for what we had in store....
2 days later was the grand international Gala in Novorosissyk square outdoors...our backdrop...a battle ship! i think it's safe to say it was probably one of the biggest stages most acts had performed on and that goes for the crowd as well...which was rumored to be between 17-20,000 people whilst being filmed for Russia MTV at the same time.
Nervous....HELL NO...the big boss Jimmy G took to the stage to hype up the already rowdy russian crowd then Little Ghosts stepped to the plate first for 3 lions and instantly had the screaming crowd in the palm of there hand with there contagious indie rock sprinkled with uber kool shades on super skinny jeans!
following the Little Ghosts where hip hop/Grime trio Splurge introduced on stage by Duane Henry they brought there south london sounds to the masses and went down like a house on fire with added topless muscle flashing to woo the ladies...they also defied the laws of gravity with how low there jeans where.
up next where the always amazing Serotonin banging out there dance sounds through the colossal sized speakers with angelic vocals from the lovely Azadeh and keyboard/synth wizardry from mr.shades Russel.
so end the show for Team GB where the fans favorite Nicole Jane like serotonin this was there second year and they truly worked the crowd up into a frenzy with there signature song "from the heart" which had EVERYONE from the fans, to performers to security to staff to just everyone singing along to the chorus.
oh by the way did i mention that all of team GB nearly got wiped out by a dual trailer arctic truck on the way to the concert? it was like a scene from final destination!
but all in all it was an amazing championship and great things have come from it as well as new friendships.
ALL the 3 lions squad wish to thank EVERYONE that participated and helped us achieve such amazing things and give us even greater memories to share and take home with us. i would honestly be here all day if i had to name names, but i would name one and that is our helper and translator Micheal who witness first hand the British hardcore party mentality and general rowdiness and for that we all thank you....mainly because he came out of it alive
also we again would like to thank everyone that has supported the 3 Lions by turning up to our events and shows and befriending us on facebook and myspace and believing in a good cause.
THANK YOU
BRING ON 2009!
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