Las Vegas Romanian Soccer Festival 2014- Final Day

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The 14th edition of The Las Vegas Romanian Soccer Festival came to an end today, after two days full of exciting games.
All eight participating teams showcased their talent, fought till the end and, in the spirit of fair play, saluted the final results never losing sight of the main reason they got together in the first place: friendship and feeling part of a community of people sharing the same language, interests and values.
At the end of the competition, victors were crowned:
– First Place: Inter Portland
-Second Place: FC UTA Chicago
– Third Place: Iliostar Arizona.
Prizes, prepared by the sponsors Ovidiu Ene from Ameropan Realty and Property Management, “Miorita” Newspaper, ARCA Media Foundation, and Clark County Nevada IPOF were awarded to the winners by James W. Healey, Assemblyman, Nevada State Assembly District 35 and Minddie Lloyd of The Las Vegas Injured Police Officers Fund.
Once again, the tournament turned out to be proof that Romanians can remain connected and come together, no matter how far apart geographically- raised in that part of the world, soccer and ethnic affinity are common denominators worth any journey.
We congratulate the winners as well as the organizers and sponsors of the event and look forward to the next edition of the Las Vegas Romanian Soccer Festival: see you all in Las Vegas next October! For more information, visit the web page of the host team,  Rapid Las Vegas

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Las Vegas Romanian Soccer Festival

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It has become a much anticipated tradition for the Romanian soccer teams around the United States to take a fun trip and join in for an exciting event that takes place every October in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Romanian Soccer Festival, which celebrates 14 years of existence this year, is a chance for soccer aficionados to not only play and watch their beloved sport but also come together as a community .
In Romania, we all grew up either playing or watching soccer on regular basis so it is only natural that we’d be making it part of our lives even here, away from the mother land. Most would be surprised to find out that there are many Romanian teams participating in local soccer leagues of most major cities in the United States- they are proud to be able to cary the flag of an exciting and passionate tradition brought with them from way back home where soccer is more than just a game but, rather, a highly venerated religion.
The organizer of the October soccer festival in Las Vegas, Mr. Ovidiu Ene, is a passionate Romanian entrepreneur in America, who missed Romania and soccer so much that, in 1999, he actually founded “Rapid Las Vegas”, a local team made up of players that were members of the local Romanian community. The name, of course, mirrors his life long favorite major league team back in Romania, “Rapid Bucharest”.
Since 2000, Ovidiu’s team not only participate in the local tournaments but also play hosts of the soccer festival that brings most Romanian teams in the US together  every year. Over a whole weekend in October, Romanian players from as far as Florida, Atlanta or even Chicago travel to Las Vegas and play each other on the soccer field, but, more importantly, they connect and celebrate their love of soccer and Romanian culture which they all have in common.
The Soccer Festival is in fact much more than just a tournament: Romanian celebrities and friends from all over the US have come to past editions  and parties and entertainment that feature Romanian food always take place at the end of each day of assiduous games. Most players re now regulars of the festival and friendships have formed that distance does not hinder at al- they all look forward to getting together each year. It is always good to be part of a community and the Romanian soccer community is an extremely generous and fun group of people united by so many things that they have in common, starting with the language and the immense love for soccer, the “king of sport”.
This coming weekend, starting on Saturday at 12pm, Ovidiu and his team will be hosting eight teams, coming from all parts of the US.  The guests of the 2014 tournament are:
-Inter Portland
-Iliostar Arizona
-OC Boys (Orange County)
-Florida Naples
-FC UTA Chicago
-FC Atlanta
-Romania Arizona
and, of course, Rapid Las Vegas.
The best three teams will be playing for the Festival Cup, all of them will be taking home memorable prizes and plenty of fun memories to last them until next year’s edition.
The games will be played at the soccer fields at 8100 W Robindale Road in Las Vegas, for more information visit Rapid Las Vegas
Everyone is invited to join in the fun and watch some great soccer games, while also hanging out with Romanians, tasting their food and toasting to more future opportunities of getting together as a proud and passionate community.

Results and pictures to follow over the weekend, as the festival begins.

 

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A Romanian’s Feelings About Brazil’s World Cup Tragedy

Brazil

I can’t even begin to tell you how much soccer means to me…I consider myself lucky to have been growing up in Romania during times when our national soccer team was winning match after match in the most prestigious European and world tournaments and when, on regular basis, the National Romanian League  was spoiling us with amazing games featuring skillful players who gave it all on the field and represented us with honor and passion. I do remember feverish nights when all the streets were empty and even the buses stopped running during not only international but also internal league games, when every single person was glued to the TV, clapping, shouting, swearing and throwing fists in the air, getting down on our knees, jumping up with joy and hugging strangers, suffering through 90 + minutes of hope and despair and then hope again, all for the love of a game that had become the very symbol of our Romanian fighting spirit. In other words, if you’d like, we, Romanians, loved our soccer the same, if not a little more and more arduously, as any good old American loves baseball or American football.  It was, there, far, behind the Iron Curtain, our only pride and joy…Players like Rica Raducanu ((the first ever goal keeper to be caught in an offside position during a game),  George Hagi ( aka The Maradona of the Carpathians),  Marius Lacatus (The Hustler) or Helmuth Duckadam (known as The Hero of Seville after amazingly saving four penalty shots during the 1986 European Cup final against FC Barcelona) delighted us with amazing performances and they are still considered Romanian national heroes, also well respected by the international soccer community. Romania’s National Soccer Team qualified for a total of seven World Cup Tournaments and made it into the quarter finals in 1994 after defeating Argentina but lost to Sweden after a painful, agonizing penalty shootout. But that was our “Golden Age” and that was a long time ago, unfortunately…In recent years, Romanian soccer has not produced any notable results and most games played internationally have been catastrophic and very painful to watch. Although some of our players make now a lot of money playing for big teams abroad, our own national team  lacks cohesion and the ability to perform in moments that matter. I am sad to say that, for the last 10+ years, myself and all Romanians who love soccer, we all have had to carry with us an emptiness brought about by the loss of something very dear, very important to us, which is the ability to hold our heads up high when talking about our national soccer team…

In spite of the deep pain, those years gave something to me that can never be lost, and that is definitely more than just the good memories: watching game after game of amazing quality soccer with or without Romanians in it, I can now say that I have  a deep understanding and endless love for the sport that transcends national pride and makes me a fool for great soccer and “one-of-a-kind” players whose ability escapes the ordinary and becomes pure art. The gain, if any,  is that now I can watch World Cup games and be more objective  about  the game itself, pride aside. Of course, here I am today,  in USA, always being the one to answer technical questions about soccer like : “why can no one but the goalie touch the ball with their hands”, “how exactly does offside work “and “why are they still playing after 90 minutes” and explaining why a “4-4-2” can be more dangerous than a “2-3-5” line-up …I don’t mind- with every answer I give, I get to relive some of the most memorable moments I witnessed years and years ago and that always gives me hope that the magic can never end. The other great thing about the Romanians’ past presence onto the international soccer stage was that, while following them,  we got introduced to the best teams out there: Ajax Amsterdam, FC Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, as well as Maradona’s Argentina, Gullit’s Netherlands and Klinsmann’s Germany- they were and still are some of the best and I still watch their games today, even though new players have emerged in recent years and the style of play has changed dramatically.

If I was to make an analysis of the tragic game we all witnessed in disbelief yesterday, it would be a very simple one: you do not necessarily need a big star player to make it happen (Neymar, even if he had played, would not have made a big difference), but you do need 11 players that think and behave as a TEAM. You will never see a Southern American team score the way that the Germans did yesterday: pass the ball to another team mate in front of the goal, instead of trying to do it the hard way, by yourself… That takes a lot of discipline and a deep understanding and awareness of where everybody is at any time and also, a clear sense of what the purpose of the game is, which is score goals, pride aside. In short, order and experience prevailed over youth and careless enthusiasm. Which is definitely sad, because, deep inside, we all wish that a new order can come about…Romanians, Columbians, Australians, Ganese- we all still wish we can change the world…

Why, you ask, even talk about Romania at a time like this, when our team did not even make it to the 2014 World Cup , when we are close to crowning a winner and when the entire soccer world is still in shock after what just happened to Brazil in Belo Horizonte? Well, I guess, the tragedy that stroke our Southern American cousins (I don’t need to remind everybody reading this that, in fact, Romania is a Latin country…) stroke a cord with me-  made me feel very sad and reminded me what it felt like to have your dreams crushed…Like a spoiled child that, for the first time, realizes that their parent cannot fly and that (SPOILER ALERT!) there is no Santa, so did Brazilians have to accept the fact that pride, youth and ambition are not enough when competing against players who have been around the block and have spent years and years developing a mighty team that, just like in the good old times, still works like a clock. I am sad for the fans, I identify myself with them and their sense of loss and I know that it will take years and years to erase the shame of yesterday’s game. I know that right now they hate the players and they loathe the coach- the team had been handed millions of dreams to safe keep but they carelessly lost them. No one should ever take that lightly- a soccer loving country is limbless and mute without a good national team, which is so much the more painful if the country is Latin…I know it hurts and, to be sure, nobody really enjoyed watching the massacre- not even  my German friends  really rejoiced over this…Brazil has always been a star in the soccer world and people who love the game find no joy in seeing them put to shame. It is definitely hard, (and I know that from experience), to carry with you, at all times, an emptiness brought about by the loss of something so dear, but the good news is that there is always tomorrow and there is always going to be a next World Cup. 4 years is a long time, enough, we all hope, for Brazil to lick their wounds and learn something from the soccer lesson they were given yesterday. The fans have  definitely started going through all stages of anger, disbelief has already become hatred and depression and it will take a long time (if ever) to accept what happened. Hopefully, they will also learn to forgive in the process, and, with that, be more mature of an audience, with less pride to fuss about.  I am already looking forward to 2018 when, I am sure, with even more passion but maybe also a little more wit and patience, the Brazilians will come back from the ashes and prove to the world but, more importantly, their fans, that mistakes can be forgiven, where there is real love for the game.

 

 

 

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Big Love Vending Machine

 

 

She had ventured out of herself again,

Trying to buy some love

From the big vending machine on the corner,

When she realized she had run out of change.

As she was going through pockets

He happened to pass by

And, since he was there,

She felt that she had to ask for his help.

He was more than happy to, he said,

It had happened to him so many times before

So now he was always prepared.

As they exchanged currencies,

The transaction sealed by a fugitive handshake

– no feelings attached-

Her mind became made up:

Never, ever, she promised herself,

Was she to go out again

Without change,

Or else she’d have to ask for help

From men she did not know…

And I cannot but cry and ask myself:

When did we get so lonely

That we so eagerly help each other with change

For love from the big vending machine?…

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My Notes on “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Grand Budapest Hotel PosterGrand Budapest Hotel

I saw Wes Anderson’s “Grand Budapest Hotel” last night and I absolutely loved it! I loved it the way a child loves a fairy tale, eyes wide open, not knowing what is going to happen next and dreaming of far away lands inhabited by peculiar characters where everyday rules do not apply and are utterly unnecessary. Just like in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, the logic guiding what happens in this amazing fable is as simple as it is twisted, which makes it all the more comical and brilliant. Even in times of war, Gustavo, the protagonist of the movie, recites poetry, loves, fights for his honor, helps his friends and never forgets to wear his “L’Air de Panache” cologne-  no matter how dramatic the circumstances, life goes on and humanity shines through, in all its glorious imperfection- the hotel is the world and it will always remain open for business.

The story of the movie (based on Stefan Zweig’s writings) is that of the story of a story in a story that follows the incredible adventures of two hotel employees of the Grand Budapest Hotel, a fictitious institution set against the mountains of an imaginary country called Zubrowka. A parody but also an ode dedicated to times past in a romantically infused Europe , the movie masterfully creates an entirely new universe that impresses with its opulence, poeticism and unbearable charm. Blamed for a crime he did not commit, Gustavo, the flirtatious concierge, takes it upon himself to find out what really happened to his deceased lover and he is helped along by a loyal disciple, a lobby boy by the name of  Moustafa Zero, whom he ends up befriending and sharing a series of extraordinary occurrences. The other main character in the movie is the Grand Budapest Hotel itself, a complex institution that follows a set of rules as strict as those of a secret guild, best seen in motion at times of need. To make the story spicy, a substantial inheritance is at stake, too, which causes much fuss and many victims, thanks to the greedy family members of Gustavo’s deceased lover whose death he is accused of. Just like his profession requires of him, Gustavo is a charming, sensitive and essentially pleasing chap who remembers to take things lightly and be loyal all the way to the end.

The recurring set of actors in Anderson’s movies (Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Edward Norton) are joined by the brilliant Ralph Fiennes and his enchanting sidekick, Tony Revolori, as well as an amazing series of big names like Harvey Keitel, Jeff Goldblum, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, etc. All respected actors, their trust in the director’s ability to make their talent shine even when picturing them as caricatures definitely pays off. Just like in the Marx Brothers’ or Mel Brooks’ movies, they take part in a play of the absurd and their characters are stylized buffoons – the reason for that is simple: jesters always have the freedom to tell a story lightly and truthfully, no matter how serious the subject.

“You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity…”, Gustavo preaches to Zero, and that might as well be the key to the entire story. He is an old soul, fighting to preserve the world as he knows it. His honor is very important and the hotel is a bastion of the old world – he sees himself as its keeper and uses all his resources in his quest to preserve it. His cause is dignified and important as it is timeless, the chronology of the events fails to matter as his is a quest of many throughout history.

“Grand Budapest Hotel” reminded me that art should be magic and, given how perfectly strange but surprisingly familiar the movie seemed to me and how it managed to carry me away, I can only conclude that Wes Anderson is a wizard disguised as a movie director. And we know that witchcraft is not easy to perform. In fact, I truly believe that wizards are perfectionists who, although not seen by the common eye, leave nothing to chance. You need to find the perfect ingredients :a stellar cast- check!, a great story- check!, great decor and costumes- check!, completely original imagination- check!, and, most importantly, a sense of humor- check!.   You also need to find the perfect rhythm : the dialogue is perfect because the timing is perfect. Of equal importance is being in the right place at the right time and where better should you be at a time of war if not in an imaginary country, where you can easily break free from what is supposed to happen in the real world…

The perfectionist wizard in Anderson did not leave any single detail to chance. Each scene is precisely designed, from a simple one man walk down a staircase to heavily ornate rooms inhabited by what appear to be caricatures of people, one more strange or even grotesque than the next.  The result is, simply put, magic! The kind of magic that transcends what is and what should be in a movie, that messes with your senses and your logic, the kind of magic that stays with you long after the final credits have been taken off the screen. The scene that puts Gustavo and Zero in the confessional booth together with runaway Sergio speaks volumes of Anderson’s ability to manipulate the minds of his viewers. “Get on with the story!”, Gustavo exclaims, and we know that, for a moment, the camera lens just turned to us. The movie is poking us, making sure we are paying attention and that is most obvious when Gustavo speaks of the last time he saw his deceased lover “…she was shaking like a sh—— dog”. “Wait, what?!”, we say, and then immediately remember that we are not meant to take everything so seriously….

Anderson’s vision and execution of the movie are magnificent. Instead of using modern era special effects, he chooses to shoot a cardboard size replica of the imaginary hotel and use different film speeds for each part of the story. He loves angles and straight lines in his shots and each scene is carefully built with mathematical precision, quiet, minimalistic and photographic even when filled with plenty of details and props. His signature 70’s style faded palette, present in all his previous movies, creates an old fashioned artificiality, making us think of it all as of a “confection”, just like the ones made by Agatha, Moustafa’s girlfriend.

To my surprise, some critics have blamed the movie of escapism. But what is art supposed to be if not exactly that?!…Reality can be found in history books, every day on the 7 o’clock newscast or on the History Chanel. The ability to deconstruct the world as we know it and then recreate a new one that stands and still functions on its own is a talent that we do not encounter often enough.. “Grand Budapest Hotel” is meant to prove that art is in its essence just a game, and a game takes place only if you can transcend the immediate reality in exchange for a thrill that can never be achieved in the real world. In fact, Anderson may just as well be a big child who likes to play games, even when dealing with things as serious as war, love or criminals chasing innocent people. For a moment, the child in me played his game and really believed that there are still causes worth fighting for, that tenacity is rewarded  and that, after many obstacles, good prevails over evil.

One critic’s comment in particular caught my eye. After seeing the movie, he said that he had one question to ask “What is the point?”…I do have an answer for him, after all “What is the point of being a critic in absence of the basic understanding that in post modern art, the point is there is no point?…”.

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Wild Horses …

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“We’re moving way too fast,

How could this ever last?…

We’re spinning round and round,

To lose ourselves we’re bound…”

 

“Let’s run away tonight,

The stars are shining bright,

Let’s set the horses free,

Take one last chance with me.

 

We’ll leave it all behind,

Another thrill we’ll find.

We’re angels of the dark,

Our eyes have caught the spark…

 

I’m bringing all I got,

Might be enough or not,

Just come away with me,

Tonight will set us free…”

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