We've come for your children ha-ha

Given the shared heritage of Europe and America, the transatlantic sniping that goes on over the blogosphere is somewhat depressing. The most recent manifestation of this that I came across was a thread debating the moral superiority or otherwise of having lots of ice in cold drinks.

Over the summer the world cup introduced all manner of this stuff - most good natured banter - but including the most hilarious pseudo-intellectual nonsense about football being "the quintessential expression of the nihilism that prevails in many cultures, which doubtlessly accounts for its wild popularity in Europe". This was reprinted on the redoubtable Andrew Sullivan's blog, although he went up considerably in my estimation by describing the authors as "tossers".

I say only this. My cycle home tonight included a detour via Green Lake library which is immediately opposite the sports fields at the lake. I saw two baseball diamonds - empty; two basketball courts - empty; no gridiron pitches - empty or otherwise; six soccer pitches, full of elementary school boys and girls. Give me a child 'till they are seven, as they say...