Little slices of heaven

I finally got around to checking out the nominees for the MLS goal of the decade. Checking out the great goals and game highlights is something I do weekly whenever the season is in swing. After all, I live hundreds of miles from an MLS site and Fox Sports World and Direct Kick are only available in my area on satellite or digital cable, neither of which I can afford. It's EPSN2 or nothing for MLS. Thankfully, MLS.net shows some games live online and by delay, and they always do a nice wrap-up of game highlights, which are great, because I really can't spend the whole day watching fútbol on my computer. The last time I tried to do that the computer got so hot it warped the casing on the laptop and now I've got a little bumpy ridge on the edge of my computer.

Anyway -- goal of the decade. Oh man, what a choice. I admit, I'm a sucker for a bicycle kick. The first time I saw one, I realize that there actually is a God, and that God is a fútbol fan. The contest serves up a nice tasty selection of bicycle kicks from the 10-year buffet, and out of them all I think I liked Marcelo Balboa's from 2000 best. Then again, there's Carlos Ruiz's three entries. I liked his 2003 bicycle kick goal not so much for the goal but for the utterly joyful celebration that followed. That was really sweet.

But then I checked out Dwayne De Rosario's bending shot from 2005 and holy merde, I love it when that happens, especially on a free kick like that. That's not only a sign of divinity, it's a sign of destiny.

So, decisions, decisions. I think I've got to go with DDR for this round, simply because it floored me. But is that really the definition of a good goal? Is it all about the style of the one guy, like this one, or is it about the culmination of skills from an entire team that sets up the shot so the one guy can deliver, like all the rest? The thing I love the most about fútbol is, it's a team sport. Maybe I should have gone with Marcelo's or Carlos' shots after all.

Well, another day. I'll go with the bend for now. Single effort or not, it's still an amazing shot.