It's not what you might think...
Yes, I got up at 3:50am here in Japan to watch England lose to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, and a few hours later I gave away my England shirt, but NOT because England lost!
The shirt in question is the Umbro England 2012 Away Shirt. It's fourteen years old and in pristine condition because I'd only worn it a few times. I dug it out for the World Cup and found that it no longer fits - NOT because I've become a "fat bastard" in the intervening years, but rather because press-ups and weight training have helped to develop my shoulder and upper arm muscles. The shirt is too tight around the shoulders to be worn comfortably, especially in the heat and humidity of a Japanese summer, so I decided to give it away if I could find someone who wanted it. That was back in the group stage of the World Cup.
I washed and folded the shirt and took it into college to offer to any student who wanted it, but there were no takers. Then, today, I was in college to judge a "recitation contest" and two graduate students happened to pop in to say hello. It was a total coincidence because I'm not usually in college on Thursdays.
The young lady in the photos paid me a crazy compliment... She said I looked like a famous English footballer - can you guess which one? I told her that actually, HE looked like ME since I am his senior by a few years.
Then I realized that she might like the shirt so I offered it to her and she was keen to have it. I told her she could have it, so here she is with my good old England shirt looking as pleased as punch. I too was pleased to be able to offload it to someone who will enjoy wearing it.
As for the result against Argentina, well, I am enjoying some sour grapes right now, but I'll save that topic for another blog post.
Cheers!
