Dearest Friends,
Before bidding you farewell and imparting his best wishes
for the next calendar year, your eccentric Kraut Bookie tips his hat to all of
you. ; ) Thank you, my friends. Danke
Schön, mein Brüder. ; ) I extend my deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to all
of you for another enchanted Summer full of friendly wagers, uproarious riffs,
and treasured conversations. Everyone pitched in and did their part. Together
we achieved what no other cynical-minded person of our age cohort might have
thought possible: We celebrated fourteen years of non-commercial-oriented
friendship!
It’s astounding, incredible, and almost unbelievable. The
“Bottom-Line” governs our World. Honestly, I write such a statement absent any
prejudice or judgment. The “Bottom-Line” should govern our World. That’s how
most Syndicate Members provide for their families and ensure a better future
for their children. There isn’t a damn thing wrong with climbing the corporate
ladder to jump pay grades, kissing ass to attain your promotion, or climbing
over the backs of some of your weaker colleagues to ensure tenure ; ) Do what
you must to find your niche in this world, Syndicate Brothers ; )
As we all grow older and slightly more cantankerous, it’s
natural for us to lose patience with all of the arrogance and ignorance we
perceive around us. Your “Shadow Scholar” nevertheless wishes to dispense some
concise advice about patience:
Patience is the noblest of all virtues. Patience requires
one to invest time discerning the thought process of others. Patience
necessitates honoring the old adage of placing oneself in another person’s
shoes before judging them. Precious few
have mastered the art of patience, but its rewards are both bountiful and
beautiful. Parents learn to show patience with their monstrous little children.
Junior High Teachers figure out how to tolerate the incessant ignorant noise
that pervades their classroom. Football coaches find a way to incorporate some
overly-tattooed guy with spiky hair into the team ; )
A random human being learns the virtue of patience every
second of every single day. Your friendly bookie commends his brothers for
their continued patience with the world. Posterity is the ultimate reward for
patience. This Betting Syndicate has endured for FOURTEEN years. It’s all
thanks to you, brothers. You’ve already mastered the art of patience ; )
Love you ; ) Will miss you : )
A MESSAGE TO ALL MY FRENCH FRIENDS 
Mes Ames. You better be prepared to celebrate! Giroud may be
slower than Abraham Simpson, but Griezmann is a man on a mission.
Célébrer!
No excuses! You’re about to win the European Championship on
home soil! FYI: This happens to be the FINAL time to European Championship will
have a host nation.
Capture your Third European Championship. Win on home soil…just
like you did in 1984 and 1998.
Do it!
Time for “Peace with the Metric System”. Oh yes. ; ) We do
it every year.
“Peace
with the Metric System”
“I
don’t know what to say really. Three minutes to the biggest battle of our
professional lives. All comes down to today. Either we heal as a team, or we’re
going to crumble. 2.54 centimeters by 2.54 centimeters…set piece by set
piece….til we’re finished. We’re in hell right now gentlemen. Believe me.
And…….we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or………..we can fight our
way back…….into the light…….we can climb our way out of hell. 2.54 Centimeters
at a time.
Now
I can’t do it for you. I’m too old. I look around, I see all of these young
faces and think……..I mean……..I’ve made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can
make. I…ah…. pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone
who’s ever loved me. And lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the
mirror. You know, when you get old in life, things get taken from you…. I mean
that’s…that’s…...that’s part of life. But, you only learn that when you start
losing stuff. You find out life’s this game of 2.54 centimeters. So is
football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so
small…..I mean…one half a step too late or too early, you don’t quite make it.
One half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite kick it. The centimeters we
need are everywhere around us! They’re in every break of the game, every
minute, every second.
On
this team, we fight for those 2.54 centimeters. On this team, we tear ourselves
and everyone else around us to pieces for those 2.54 centimeters. We claw with
our fingernails for those 2.54 centimeters! Because, we know when we add up all
those centimeters, that’s gonna make the FUCKIN difference between winnin and
losin!!!!!!!! Between living and dying!!!
I’ll
tell you this: In any fight, it’s the guy who’s willin to die, who’s gonna win
that 2.54 centimeters. And I know, if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s
because I’m still willing to fight and die for those 2.54 centimeters!!!
Because….that’s what livin is!!! The 15.24 centimeters in front of your face!!
Now
I can’t make you do it! You’ve gotta look at the guy next to you. LOOK INTO HIS
EYES!! Now I think you’re gonna see a guy who will go those 2.54 centimeters
with you. I think you’re gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this
team because he knows, when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for
him. That’s a team, gentlemen. And, either we heal, NOW, as a team……..or we
will die…as individuals. That’s football guys. That’s all it is. Now………..WHAT
ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!?!?!?!”
Supreme Champion of the European
Football Universe—
France vs. Portugal
vs. 
ALL BETS ARE OFF!!
You can’t bet on this one. Let’s all sit back and enjoy the
final. Griezmann grabs a brace after an early Ronaldo set-piece. End of story.
THE
PICK: France +2 Goals
Enjoy living your life. Enjoy it for
it's own sake. Dance to the music. Appreciate the painting. Delve deeper into
that novel. Make laughter and love as often as you can. : ) Live lionhearted or
don’t bother living at all
We’ll meet again. The Syndicate will
return. For the time being……
“Go kick a ball with a stranger”
Seriously…go kick a ball with a
stranger.
--S.S. P.J.W.
