Oh come on now Tom. When have men ever been calm and objective when it comes to sport?

Sue, My dear, I think you need to learn all about men and who better to teach you than I? Men are always calm, cool, and collected when it comes to sport, or anything else. We are the rational sex, and know when to put our emotions aside and allow our intellect to rule, which is most of the time.

Even in sport, men remain rational, thoughtful, and analytical. We appreciate athleticism; we don't get emotionally involved with sports teams.

I think the best way for you to understand men and sport is to look to your own John Newcomb, a man whose behavior exemplifies our detached, analytical involvement with sport.

Cheers,

Tom

Lord 1 in detriment is weak, but then so is Lord 7 in detriment so neither team is very good.

Well, you see, as I reflect on this, I believe Jupiter was in detriment because England were playing away from home. If you think about the territorial analogy of dignities, to be in detriment means to be away from one?s own ?kingdom?. Mercury, on the other hand, is in detriment because, well because they were doomed to be worsted.

Tom, when you read Sue?s posts you need to understand that some of her words don?t translate well from Australian English to UK/US English. Where she writes ?best? for example, read ?worst?. Where she writes ?affectionate?, read ?abusive? ? get the picture?

Sue, when you read Tom?s post you need to understand that some of his words don?t translate well from Masculine English to Feminine English. Where he writes ?rational?, read ?go on forever evaluating the minute details of a sports match as if anyone cares?; where he writes ?thoughtful? read ?mentally obsessed upon the notion of men kicking circles of air around a field?; where he writes ?analytical? this carries a similar translation to rational.

I?ve only done maybe 3 or 4 sports predictions and I?ve never felt confident enough to watch the match without some anticipation afterwards. I am by no means an expert or competent enough to do this sort of thing regularly. But I have done studies of world cup charts and I don?t think that putting the favourite on the ascendant, or the team that takes first kick is always reliable.

It always troubled me that you can?t just go by ?the rules? alone. I?m sure that when an astrologer applies a finely attuned insight they might be able to read the chart more effectively than I could, but I eventually reasoned that where a very important international match was being played, looking at the astrology of the event for the capital city might help reveal the result of the match based upon how the astrology describes the effect upon the public?s mood. I used this in a match for the world cup some years ago where I was goaded into getting involved and I predicted that some underdog would beat the favourite (I think it was somebody beating Brazil but I?ve forgotten now) because one capital showed signs of celebration and another showed signs of demoralisation and disappointment. You don?t always get clear indications of course, so sometimes it?s more useful than others. But it?s something to think about.

I would have taken Mercury as significator for the Australians regardless of anything else because this was being played at Sydney. However, I can?t deny I wasn?t prejudiced in my interpretation ? my national pride was at stake and I was prepared to sink or swim with my team. I always come away from these things feeling very lucky, and reluctant to do another in case I ?blot my copybook?. That?s a crappy attitude isn?t it?

Tom, when you read Sue?s posts you need to understand that some of her words don?t translate well from Australian English to UK/US English.

I always suspected the Poms were working their way to being more like the US. When did they start using US English?

I would have taken Mercury as significator for the Australians regardless of anything else because this was being played at Sydney. However, I can?t deny I wasn?t prejudiced in my interpretation ? my national pride was at stake and I was prepared to sink or swim with my team.

I remember reading that John Frawley said it was hard sometimes to put personal biases aside and that it would be easier for someone who has no knowledge and no interest in these sporting events to predict the outcome. I certainly have very little knowledge and virtually no interest until a Sun square Uranus type decides to goad me into an argument. Never let it be said that I would back away from such a challenge. At least it was close. There would be no point in trying to predict an England/Australia cricket match for example given that it would be a foregone conclusion.

I think sporting events such as this are a great way to learn about these charts. It probably would have been better if two neutral teams were playing and none of us cared who won. It's inspired me to look at other events.

Sue, when you read Tom?s post you need to understand that some of his words don?t translate well from Masculine English to Feminine English. Where he writes ?rational?, read ?go on forever evaluating the minute details of a sports match as if anyone cares?; where he writes ?thoughtful? read ?mentally obsessed upon the notion of men kicking circles of air around a field?; where he writes ?analytical? this carries a similar translation to rational.

==Sigh== You just don't understand how genuinely important these things are. Should you ever find yourself in the Eastern US at the right season, I'll take you to a baseball game, and all will become clear: the cheers, the beers, ahh life. Sue the invitation holds for you as well.

I remember reading that John Frawley said it was hard sometimes to put personal biases aside and that it would be easier for someone who has no knowledge and no interest in these sporting events to predict the outcome

.

John put this story in his magazine so I'm not telling tales out of church. He once corretly predicted every game, including the upsets, in the first round of the World Cup. He published the predictions in advance and his subsequent opinions were sought out by people who bet on these things. He worked extra hard on the second round and was even paid for his predictions. The results were disasterous. He thinks that the fact he was doing this for money hurt him as did his efforts to be correct were so strong he injected his sports knowledge into the charts where he shouldn't have.

Sports prediction is a great way to sharpen your skills because the result is unambiguous, you were right or wrong, and you get the results quickly. The problem, as we've all noted is finding the correct significator. I think that changes from time to time and we need to learn how to adjust. I plan to do some work on the upcoming NFL (American Football) playoffs which culminate in the Super Bowl. They begin in about three weeks. I'll send you the information as to game times and locations and teams. Since you have no interest in the outcome and possibly no knowledge of the game, it makes both of you the perfect astrologers for this kind of work. I'll have a bias since I'll probably be rooting for one team anyway, although neither of my local teams is going to make the playoffs.

Bernadette Brady had excellent sports results using Lilly's rules for Beseigement.

And as ever, I will be here to explain, quiet rationally of course, the man's (read: correct) viewpoint.

Tom

Ah Thomas, Thomas,

What are we going to do with you? I was in England during the World Cup Football (soccer ) last year. I saw grown men crying in the streets. The only time I got a seat in the underground any morning was when England was playing some team or another. No one was going to work. I actually read an article in the paper this morning that suggested the only time it is truly acceptable for men to show any emotion is when it involves sport.

I have absolutely no knowledge of ths weird game you call gridiron or something strange like that. All I know is that, unlike the football in the UK and Australia, they need lots of padding to protect their delicate bodies. This would be a good way to learn since I have absolutely no emotional interest in the outcome. So how do we go about determining the significators? I would imagine the Super Bowl will be played on neutral territory. And I can't wait to see how unemotional this will be.

I will have to grant that probably the only game that really deserves to be called 'football' is the English variety. (But don't tell Deb I said that)

Tsk tsk

I saw grown men crying in the streets.

These are the ones who lost all their money for betting with their hearts instead of their heads. This is the real reason fans take the defeat harder than the players.

The only time I got a seat in the underground any morning was when England was playing some team or another. No one was going to work

.

Which is why major sporting events in the US are played at night or on Sundays. We adjust.

I actually read an article in the paper this morning that suggested the only time it is truly acceptable for men to show any emotion is when it involves sport.

False. It is never acceptable for a man to show emotion. Not even when something as devastating as his team's loss is the reason.

I have absolutely no knowledge of ths weird game you call gridiron or something strange like that.

It is called football. It played on "the gridiron," which is an old fashioned word that is rarely used except for nostagic purposes. I don't why it is called a gridiron except that the lines on the field form something of a grid.

All I know is that, unlike the football in the UK and Australia, they need lots of padding to protect their delicate bodies.

That is because you prefer non-contact sports. Soccer players get pushed and fall down and go "boom" from time to time. They get up and whine to the referee. On the other hand "delicate" NFL linebackers routinely weigh 275 pounds and run fifty yards in under just over five seconds. Imagine if you will, having your back to one of them when he tackles you with all that force. How much padding would it take to protect your body? Now imagine there are three of them rushing at you with two linemen each weighing over 300 pounds, and all five want to knock you down and keep you down and any or all of them would like to hurt you enough to get you taken out of the game. Imagine over 1000 pounds of beef lying on your body, and not gently placed there either, and then keeping in mind, this is all well within the rules of the game, ask yourself how much padding a UK or Aussie football player would need to protetct his body? In addition many of the fields are not natural surfaces. No they consist of something called "astroturf" (named after the Astrodome, the first indoor baseball stadium where it was first used). Astroturf is artificial grass. Most people think it is placed over real dirt. It isn't. It is placed over a hard surface which protects the astroturf from getting wet from underneath. It is as hard as concrete, but so are the real fields when they freeze in the winter. Ever been tackled by someone who wieghs 275 pounds on a frozen turf?

For better or for worse, "clothes line tackling" is now illegal. This once favored technique was executed by sticking one's forearm out and driving it to the runner's throat. The effect was the same as if one was running full force into a clothes line. Ahh the good old days.

The averge career in the NFL is three years, and it is so short due to injuries. And as ever justice reigns. The players with the shortest careers tend to be the ones playing in the least compensated positions, the offensive or defensive lines.

I will have to grant that probably the only game that really deserves to be called 'football' is the English variety.

American football got its name because early on, kicking was an essential part of strategy. There were quick kicks and drop kicks, punts and field goals. As the game evolved and the rules changed, particularly the rules regarding substitution of players, it became more and more specialized and kicking became less and less important, although many games are still won in the last seconds by kicking a field goal. Now, at the professional level, passing the ball, a technique virtually unknown in the early days, is paramount. Most NFL quarterbacks can throw a football about 75 yards with fair accuracy, but the pass rush is so fast the receivers can't get that far downfield in that short a time even though they can all run 100 yards in about 10 seconds, but so can the guys defending against them. The game is a combination of speed and power. Now baseball, is a whole other matter. The athlete needs speed, power, and brains. It ain't cricket.


Tom

PS I've come across a non-astrology book that might be of interest. I'll post that later on today or tomorrow in the book section

A report in the Daily Mail - Britain's Ambulance service has reported the call out for patients with suspected heart attacks rose 450% last Saturday morning because of the excitement of the match.