Monday
Sep272010
Quote of the day
Monday, September 27, 2010 “I don’t know why I started. It just gives me four or five minutes to collect my thoughts away from everybody I guess.” West Bromwich Albion manager Roberto Di Matteo explains why he started smoking, a habit he began after becoming a manager. (See previous post.)
Reader Comments (5)
I'll have to have a smoke before I consider that one Simon !
Why did I start ? Curiosity.
Why did I continue ? Because Tobacco is UNIQUELY pleasurable.
Why don't I stop ? Because every Life needs its little sweeteners - and a Life WHOLLY without (voluntarily-assumed) risk is NO Life at all !
In addition, it's MY Life - not yours. So, I'm the one to decide, yes ?
Any more questions ?
My only two rules when I was playing on smoking was that the last one was 30 minutes before kick off and none at half time.
I have recounted before when I was playing in America, in July 1990 a semi final in New Jersey. 95 degrees fahrenheit and not a hint of a breeze, I played for 90 minutes plus 30 minutes of extra time. I probably sweated off 10 lbs of fluid and burnt off 3,000 calories, winning 3-2 after going 2-0 down.
Di Matteo had two after the Arsenal match, I had to stop by the shops for a fresh pack.
Why did I start?
Because as a young gardener I already knew this -
Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae), predominantly in tobacco, and in lower quantities in tomato, potato, eggplant (aubergine), and green pepper.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/n/nicotine.htm
But when I went to school and had my first anti-tobacco lecture they told me this -
What's in a cigarette?
Tar (road surface tar)
http://www.pfizerlife.co.uk/SmokingWhatsInACigarette.aspx
Try as I might, I couldn't see any advantage in the manufacturers putting road tar in cigarettes.
So I eventually came to the shattering conclusion that they must be lying.
I wanted to know what they were hiding, and at the time there was only one way to find out.
I did wait until I was 18 though.
I still play football with work colleagues twice a week and really enjoy it despite being 43 and overweight. However, I had a humbling experience recently on the way to a game. Being in a rush, I changed into my new Leeds United rig which my wife had bought me for my birthday and jumped in the car.
On route I asked the driver to stop at a shop as I needed a pack of ciggies and went inside and bought my favourite 20 Regal. I came out of the shop, unwrapped the packet and lit a cigarette as I was walking back to the car. Outside the shop were a couple of young lads aged about 12 and as I got to the car one shouted 'Hi mister, you look like a Leeds player'.
Charming!!!