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  Welcome to the June 2004 issue of Sport and Technology which the more observant of you will notice that we have devoted to the glorious game of soccer (or football as we call it this side of the pond), in honour of England's forthcoming triumph (we hope, because we are based in London) in the UEFA European Football Championships in Portugal, kicking off a few days after we go to press.
With that in mind, it would be grossly unfair not to fill you dear readers in on the excitement that surrounded S&T's recent trip to watch Exeter City FC versus the 1994 Brazil FIFA World Cup winning squad at the Real St James' Park in Devon, England. Those of you who read View From the Editor last month will recall that the match was set up - much to the incredulity of the British press - in honour of Exeter's centenary celebrations. Upon careful reading of the matchday programme/brochure, we were amused to read that the Exeter City team was once arrested and charged for taking a dip in the sea in Rio de Janeiro. Bearing in mind there is usually more flesh on display on Brazilian beaches than in the windows of Amsterdam and London's Soho combined (or so our sources tell us), this flummoxed us somewhat, until we remembered that Exeter City actually visited Brazil in 1914. The team is due to recreate the historic trip to Rio this July with headlines being made on the pitch rather than off we hope. (Unless the females at S&T are invited to watch).
But returning to the recent footy action, while many of the 1994 big guns were missing from the Brazilian squad that faced the red and whites of Exeter at the end of May, the showboating likes of Dunga, Jorginho, Mazinho, Ricardo Rocha and Paulo Sergio meant the occasion was a memorable one. And the fact our boys only lost by one goal (and that was a penalty which obviously doesn't really count), meant the Editor of S&T (that's me) could hold her head up high. (Which was also a good way to watch the match).
Last month we also reported that Exeter is the WiFi Hotspot capital of the UK. Purely in the interests of making the trip relevant to you faithful S&T readers, we thought the best way to test the theory was to explore as many of Exeter's hostelries and bars as possible. We didn't find any Hotspots, but we found several 10-pence pieces, an old newspaper, two deflated balloons and even managed to make it to our train on time. What a top day out! We can also add that there wasn't a Hotspot in the train's buffet carriage, but there was a rather nice 2001 Soave, and bizarrely, we kid you not, some of the 1994 Brazilian team, who were on their way back to Heathrow Airport.
 Smart radios
The previous weekend, S&T was kindly invited to another sporting Mecca, this time Twickenham, home of English rugby, to watch a football match of the other shaped ball variety. The Heineken Cup Final was won by English egg-chasing team Wasps through a last moment try against French team Tolouse meaning the puns as well as the beer went flying about. ("It's a shame that the French had to travel so far just 'to lose' etc, ha ha, you get the picture, zzzzz). S&T was a guest of event radio specialist Ref!Link who was showcasing a new radio-cum-smartcard that is expected to be rolled out across rugby grounds in France next season. Not only can the usual referee banter be earwigged through the device, but the smartcard element means that the radio can also be used as a season ticket and an e-purse for merchandising and food/drinks. Any technology that reduces the contents of S&T's handbag and means beers are always on tap even when the cash runs out, gets our thumbs up.  Races mayhem
Apologies that this month's column has turned into a round-up of S&T's social diary - hell, we haven't even mentioned our trip to the Sandown Races last week yet. Oh go on then, twist our arms. The S&T editorial team managed to win on four out of the six races - thanks to a combination of expert tipster advice (cheers Geoff Lester of the Horserace Writers & Photographers Association) and sheer randomness where horses are chosen because their names remind you of a hotel you once stayed in on holiday. We started the evening with the European Sponsorship Association and a team from the Racecourse Association and ended it with race-sponsor Betfair, the peer-to-peer online betting website. Sponsors at Sandown (and indeed other UK racecourses) are treated to many perks (mostly alcoholic) including the chance to judge the best turned out racehorse in the owner's paddock. Imagine our joy when we were invited to do the same (or pretend to seeing as we weren't really sponsors). Due to that experience, however, we will never be able to look at a horse's hooves again and wonder whether they are naturally coloured or have been cosmetically enhanced with a matchpot of paint. What next we ask, fake manes and tail extensions? David Beckham will never seem so vain again.
As an aside, that particular evening provided us with a salutary reminder that technology is never far from our realm. One of the S&T editorial team almost spent the night in the lavatory of the train back to Waterloo station (lavatory; Waterloo, there must be a joke there somewhere), when the electronic locking mechanism failed and refused to open. The power of laughter and sheer brute force overcame the problem but suffice to say we will be firmly crossing our legs (and not just our fingers) during future S&T sojourns to the Races.  2012 business
Just when you thought this column couldn't get anymore glamorous, S&T is happy to report that its top trip this month was to Lausanne in Switzerland, home of the International Olympic Committee and location of the 2012 bidding cities shortlist announcement. Apart from London, Paris, Madrid, Moscow and New York making the cut, the trip was also notable for two other things. Firstly, S&T joined an International Federation - FIBBS - the International Federation of Serious Sports Drinkers (or Federation Internationale des Buveurs Sportifs Seriuex for you French-speakers). The initiation ceremony involved singing a very strange song and inserting fingers up noses and in ears (not one's own). However, when other orifices were mentioned, S&T, like a good tabloid newspaper, "made our excuses and left". Only joking. (We of course stayed).
Secondly, S&T's Editor (that's still me) ended up in a very expensive Swiss hospital with a lacerated heel. Ironically, despite rumours to the contrary, the incident was completely unrelated to joining FIBBS, and involved a bizarre shower accident and an exposed bit of metal, followed by a scene reminiscent of Psycho and ultimately three unsightly Frankenstein Monster-esque stitches.
Concerned readers will be delighted to know that the stitches came out last week and the Editor has been able to don her Asics once more and resume her gazelle-like pounding of Hampstead Heath of a morning. Phil 'The Power' Taylor's nine-dart checkout in the Budweiser UK Open Darts Championship on the 5th June gave her an even bouncier spring to her step than usual.
 | | Source: EMPICS |
Rachael Church - Editor Who do you think will win EURO 2004 or are you not really bothered? If you have any comments or feedback on this article or any of the features in Sport and Technology, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please e-mail your comments to editor@sportandtechnology.com.
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