#football

The thing about the Isle of Man TT is that we can’t get enough of it. Thus defines the magic of the race. There’s speed, there’s intrigue, there’s gasoline, there’s adventure – and looming not far off in the background is death. When you distill what makes the Isle of Man TT so interesting to so many of us, the essence of it all comes back to this: death looms large at the Isle and every competitor stares it right back in the face.

I know plenty of motorcyclists who couldn’t care less about sports where the players knock some balls around, ultimately scoring in whichever fashion is pertinent. I’m one of them. I’ll watch about any type of sport, as long as it involves some internal combustion and/or two wheels… except NASCAR. Sorry.

Big Brother really is watching us all lately, but, with apologies to George Orwell, it seems to be not all bad. Edward Snowden’s revelations notwithstanding, and unless the person surveilling is about to launch a drone strike at your hovel, the fact that there’s an eye in the sky wherever you go seems to be a good thing for most of us most of the time here in the First World. When I started seeing other motorcyclists around town with GoPros on their helmets all the time I thought it was a little silly, a bit self-absorbed. But when I saw the aptly named William Crum knock these two kids off their motorcycle in Texas last week, it suddenly made perfect sense.

It’s World Cup time and if you’re a fan of soccer (or “football” for the truly dedicated), your attention is no doubt focused on Brazil right now. Or at least it was, if your favorite country has already been eliminated (sorry, Spain). For the footy fans among our readers, this edition of the Weekend Awesome combines two of your loves: soccer and motorcycles.