danielincandela.com

I’m using Thanksgiving Day to give a cheers to The Guardian newspaper across the Atlantic ocean for providing me with years of, well, news. But news with incredibly accuracy, integrity and brilliant sarcasm, especially when digitally flipping through the The Guardian Football section – superbly written coverage with personality, sass, wit and desert dry humor. Thank you.

Like a British postcard - a pint, taxi and The Guardian (sitting in Covent Garden a couple of years ago).

A couple of years ago, I was quoted in a Guardian story about ArtBabble – and although I was pretty proud of that, I was more honored to have made it into The Guardian (because it features the Football section I had come to adore). I’ve been loyally following their coverage for a good 10 years now.

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Filed under: The Beautiful Game by Daniel
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Title: The Perfect Penalty Kick
Artist: Daniel Incandela
Materials: Steel goal, netting, 309 leather soccer balls

Over the years, penalty kicks have provided the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Nations have cried with despair or joy as their teams have hoisted trophies as a result of one penalty kick, one miss, or one goal as it flies past the keeper. Grown men have collapsed on the field after a miss, a save or a piece of misfortune, standing 12 yards from the goal, thousands of fans feeling the same pain. I wrote about the meaning of penalty kicks, here.

Installed Render of The Perfect Penalty Kick - small gap in upper right hand corner

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Filed under: Art Concepts, The Beautiful Game, Video by Daniel
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I played forward in soccer. I scored plenty of goals – tap-ins, PK’s, headers, volleys, lucky, brilliant, mediocre and one unforgettable one. This is the story of that unforgettable goal, written by my teammate and very good friend 8 years ago. I saved it for a reason.We’re still friends for a reason.

Let me summarize. I scored a goal 8 years ago. My friend who played alongside me, wrote about that moment and sent it to everyone on the team. I saved it. I sometimes read it if I was having a bad day. I also joked I would tell my (future) son about this goal. I wasn’t joking about that – and lately I’ve had plenty of bad days.

Taken by another dear friend - drinking on the soccer sidelines

So here is the story. A story about me, about great moments, about taking risks, about the unexpectedness of life and the love of friends. Oh, and the beautiful game. Enjoy…

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I’m really looking forward to 2011. I’m not usually one for this type of thing – New Year’s, resolutions, clean slates and all that, but this go around I am. 2010 might have been one of my toughest years on this planet but a necessary experience. One of my favorite quotes from Mark Twain is – “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” So a lot of what I’m doing in 2011 relates to that. I’m also focusing on enjoying life more, finding balance and smiling.

It goes without saying that I want to be a better husband, father, son, brother, friend and in general, a substantially better human being. But here are some other things I want to focus on in 2011. Resolutions, revolutions, you get the picture.

Music

I really love music, but for some reason I’ve never really focused on it. So, my goal is to listen to more music, build a better listening library and expand my expertise of mid-1980′s to early-1990′s hip hop. I’m already pretty well versed in this time period, but I want to become more of historian for this time period – like a Ph.D. And as a treat for you, here’s my favorite song at the moment – “What you Say” with Pete Rock and INI.

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As an Englishman, discussing penalty kicks invariably ends in tears. We’re talking about soccer or football here, where one player stands 12 yards from goal and tries to place it past a goalkeeper. The odds are in the penalty takers favor. Unless you are English. Check out this Wall Street Journal article if you are really interested about England’s knack for choking. I’ve seen it enough.

England at Soldier Field in 2005 (no penalties that day)

I used to play soccer a lot. I don’t as much anymore – job, travel, baby, etc. I’m okay with that. But this past Sunday I did. It was my first full match in a year. I played 80/90 minutes on a hot day, hard ground. It was an absolute blast. I took a penalty.

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Filed under: The Beautiful Game by Daniel
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