Category Archives: Jogo Bonito

Soccer!

2022 Panini World Cup Sticker album

Once again, the World Cup is coming. Qatar welcomes the world in a message of peace, love, and tolerance <ahem>.

It also means there’s a new Panini Sticker Album, and any self-respecting long time reader of The MKX®  knows I collect them.

Unlike in previous tournaments, my kids are old enough to tag team with me. Fortunately, my kids don’t “like” things. They are either absolutely obsessed with something or they are completely indifferent. The Panini World Cup album fell into the first category.

So they did most of the work and they did it very quickly. As in: they’d wake up at 5 AM to work on it every day. Our album was completed with 2+ months to spare. You can read all about it on Ilán’s website, I highly recommend it.

Hard at work.
This is what the kitchen trashcan looked like every morning during most of September.

USA vs Nigeria

Ever since I moved to Austin almost 20 years ago I’ve been missing and craving profesional soccer.

The long long wait is finally over. Today the Q2 stadium, Austin FC’s home was inaugurated with a friendly between the USWNT and Nigeria. Final score 2-0 to the locals.

Of course Ilán and I were there tonight, last weekend for the soft opening, and will be here this coming weekend to see our new team’s first ever home match.

Me, my 1994 USA jersey, and my 2014 USA child.
The line to USA vs Nigeria. Note to self: get there early.
Looks like a video game
Soft opening

Ruskipolla 2018 results

Vive La France. The World Cup is now over, which means we can go back to feeling a sense of emptiness and lack of purpose in our lives but instead of lasting 47 months, this time it will be for 53 months.

That said, Ruskipolla 2018 was a big success with 211 participants. And on a whim, right before the tournament, I entered with my second non-admin account “marcos” which was originally created for test purposes.

And I’m glad I did, as I managed to make it to third place, beat that cheater “Rolando”, and win a modest percentage of the polla.

Congratulations to the winners. We had a three-way tie in first place and a two-way tie in second place. Ties weren’t that common with less people playing but this is something I’ll have in mind for next time.

And an unexpectedly high percentage of those who played took some time to  submitted feedback, 74 and counting. I don’t know when or if there will be another polla, but rest assured I have a bunch of improvements in mind, many of them coming from you.  This usually means I won’t be able to help myself so…

Women’s World Cup, anyone?