Great post from my favorite sports blog deadspin about Israel's defeat at the hands of England in the Euro 2008 qualifier this past shabbos. I can't say I was surprised, although Israel did pull a scoreless tie when they played at Ramat Gan. The loss means Israel probably needs a win against powerhouse Russia or the current Group E leader Croatia in upcoming games just to make the field of 16. Israel has never qualified for the European Championship; Israel qualified for the World Cup only once, in 1970.
I've pulled for Israel in all things sport since I could first fake my way through the words of 'Hatikva', which is quite possibly the most depressing National Anthem ever written. My friends and I gathered around the tube every Saturday night motzash to watch Israel best basketball team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, make like a shochet on its way to winning the European Championship. But that was by buying lots of non-yids to help win. An all-Israeli team hasn't won at much in international sports. I mean, shouldn't we at least be dominant in shooting, what with the compulsory conscription and frequent wars and all.
Anyhow. Regardless of this whole loss, I would like to give a shout out to Israeli striker Toto Tammuz. He was abandoned by his Nigerian football-player father in Israel and was adopted by an Israeli. He now plays for my favorite club, Beitar Yerushalayim, and has 10 goals in 18 games. If the KBH can't fenagle the Chosen People into Euro 2008, maybe Toto can do the will of the Borei in God's staid.
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