Some time ago I was flicking through sports channels late at night, Eurosport 2, in their best impression of ESPN Ocho from the film Dodgeball, was showing Table Football. Not fussball as watchers of the TV show Friends call it, but table football. It was awesome. With a commentary that was reminiscent of the Big Train Staring Competition, the 20 minutes or so I watched were gripping TV. I'd never seen anything like it.
Seeing as I didn't know it was even a competitive sport, it's easy to forgive me for not knowing who was the man/team to beat in these contests. That was until the Eurosport commentators said the magical words; "...and here comes 'the Master'".
Woah! Now I watch a lot of sport, and ANYONE called "The Master" has to be good. Even in today's super-hyperbole in sports commentary, they rarely dish out "the Master". Belgian Frédéric Collignon was "The Master". Such was his domination at Table Football that he even had his own Wikipedia entry.
Collignon came out wearing one glove like his fellow Master Michael Jackson. He went on to do the title proud by winning the 2012 World Championship.
Collignon left at the top and retired at the end of 2012 which meant the recent 2013 World Championships were wide open! In the final 56-year-old Giuliano Bentivoglio tried to keep the title in Belgian hands. His opponent was 21-year-old Austrian Kevin Hundstorfer.
In a (presumably) gripping final Hundstorfer won out to gain the biggest prize in Table Football. Look at the tense final goals above. Marvel at the composure of the young Austrian who took a time out needing only a goal to win. That's the sign of a true competitor. Maybe one day he too will have a Wikipedia entry.
It's sad to note that Ireland doesn't have a single player with a world ranking point. While the Sports Council pours €900,000 into a sport we already dominate (the GAA), surely €50,000 of that would ensure that Ireland would become the dominant force in table football?
Olé, Olé, Olé.
