Alert, alert, all ye football haters, avoiders and ignorers. The season is upon us and there is no escaping it. For those of you out there who combine a love of language with a love of sport: congratulations. For me, there are few things I would less like to read about, let alone sub. However, we must rise to the challenge! We must overcome! Even in the shadowy world of grocery, it's already getting a bit black, white and hexagonal and its only just beginning.
I've already been caught out once, for a feature ending "whoever ends up lifting the Jules Rimet trophy, you can be sure..." Fortuitously, I had asked someone who does know football to proof it after me - and whaddaya know, the Jules Rimet trophy was given to Brazil in 1970 and the current one is actually a replica that goes by the name of the FIFA World Cup trophy. Nice save!
Footballers' names are also a perilous area. In copy this week, we had Frank Ribery, Stephen Pienaar, Rafael Marquez and Diego Forlan. It should be Franck Ribéry, Steven Pienaar, Rafael Márquez and Diego Forlán (who plays for Atlético Madrid, not Atletico Madrid). Spot the difference.
Readers, my message is this. Although the sight of a page sprinkled with football-related copy may put you in a mind to drop into a deep coma, resist! Thataway lies chaos...
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About Me
- substuff
- Why did I turn out such a pedant? Well you'd have to ask my TV-banning, lentil-baking, library-enforcing, doctor-eschewing, beanbag-sitting, grammar-correcting, homeopathic, 2nd dan black belt, all-round no-nonsense mother. 'Cos me, I got no idea.
Surely you mean
ReplyDelete"For me, there are few things I would rather avoid reading about, let alone sub. "
?
Yes, indeed! Readers, the above-named Anonymous (heh) is not crazy - I have edited myself accordingly.
ReplyDelete