Shut up with your moaning, the international break has its charms…
If you put ‘hate the international break’ into Twitter, you get a stream of tweets that suggest that one weekend of non-European club football is akin to Enda Kenny installing an ebola-infected water meter personally into your bathroom.
And while we do love our club football, there are lots of reasons to embrace the international break to your bosom, and hug it in manly, yet tender fashion.
1 Ireland are playing
Look, we’ve all sat through Ireland games that are as enjoyable as a root canal but we’ve also all sat through games that will be in our top five best ever sporting memories. You can never be sure what you are going to get with Ireland, but you would want to be mad to not be watching, just in case it was one of those Holland 2001 matches.
Plus, if you don’t watch all the games, then if and when the tournament comes around, don’t be asking us to fit you into the back of the van on the ferry to France.
2 Watch other stuff
We’d always encourage you to get down to a League of Ireland game so this weekend is perfect for that. There are only three weeks left in the season so most games have something hinging on them.
And if that’s not all, with the behemoth that is European club football taking a breather, you can take some time to watch a few other sports that might not get a look in. Dive into the baseball playoffs, the NHL is back this week and the PRO 12 has a full round of games too. Revel in the absence of Messrs Carragher, Neville and Redknapp.
3 Great week to meet the in-laws
Like us, we’re sure you have a life outside watching football *nervous laugh*. This weekend, apart from between 5pm and 7pm on Saturday, is the perfect time to see some people who you simply ‘are too busy’ to see most weekends. You tell them you are working on the garden, catching up on some e-mails or your dog has died but really you are watching Stoke v QPR.
Assuage all your guilt this weekend by popping into your neighbour that you haven’t seen since last Christmas and give your parents a ring too. Oh, and if you have in-laws, this is a great weekend to invite them over for dinner on Sunday afternoon. You’ll be golden for ages and you won’t miss any football.
4 No Fantasy Football
Yes, Fantasy Football is the greatest invention since the sandwich toaster but a break from the grind is no harm. The amount of time and grey matter devoted to the injury status of Ron Vlaar, the form of Erik Lamela and the rotating Arsenal attack genuinely affects our day-to-day lives.
This weekend gives you a break from cryptic press conferences from Mauricio Pochettino, the bewildering coloured ‘i’ icons and whether to finally give up and sell Bojan *decides to sell Bojan*.
5 The RTE panel
A bit like the Rolling Stones, you know what songs they are going to play but it is still worth going to see them. We know that John Giles will know nothing about Gibraltar and we know that Eamon Dunphy will probably say that Germany are a beaten docket but it will still be damn entertaining. Add into the mix our new favourite Richie Sadlier and the laconic Liam Brady and you have a four-piece that we’re happy to tune into any time.
6 Away trip
If you ever get the chance, easily the best bit of an international break is a trip to an away game. Anyone off to Germany this weekend is in for a treat and the trips to Poland, Scotland and Gibraltar on the horizon look like being gems too.
Again, think of them as practice runs for the summer 2016 trip to France…
7 No Match of the Day
We have a Love/Hate relationship with Match of the Day in the sense that we’d like to assassinate most, if not all, of the participants. The highlights are obviously must-watch but the bits in between are as painful as a ‘quiet chat’ with Nidge.
This weekend is blissfully free of the show, so enjoy having a choice of what to watch on Saturday night. BBC 1 are showing Armageddon in its place this Saturday so we know what we’re watching.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
