Question from FridayFive this week.

1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones?

Football (the kind called soccer in the US). That's practically all I use my TV for, that and the news. My favourite league is the English Premier League (no games this weekend, boo-hoo!), and I follow that obsessively. Also, of course, the Uruguayan league, though watching it after watching some games from the EPL makes me depressed... it looks like we play a different game!! I also like the Italian league, and the Spanish, and the Argentinian, everything. And then there are the regional competitions, like the Libertadores, the Copa Sudamericana, the Champions League... And the best is the World Cup. I spent a month waking up at 3.00 AM every day last year, because I refused to miss even one game.

The best is actually going to the games. The Centenario, where my team plays (also known as the stadium where the first World Cup final was played), is about 10 minutes from my house, so I go practically every weekend.

I do like some other sports. I like watching tennis and golf, and sometimes basketball.

2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes?

My football team is Nacional, one of the two big teams in Uruguay. It's a family tradition, from my mom's side of the family. My grandfather was club president once, and my grandma used to go to the stadium for every single game. The other day it was pouring and freezing cold, and Nacional was playing an away game at a stadium that's reputed to be pretty dangerous, so I stayed home and watched it on TV. My mom's comment: "You're not going to the Nacional game? Your grandma would have gone!". Grandma died when I was 3, I wish I'd been able to go to games with her.

My favourite athletes are all football players. The guy who was my absolute favourite disappointed me earlier this year with a very unprofessional attitude; I'd even named my cat O'Neill after him. I tried to change his name and called him something else, but I gave up the effort when the poor thing started looking confused.

Now I'd say I have 2 favourite footballers. One is Sebastian Abreu, who played for Nacional for free earlier this year just because he's a big fan of the team (he got us the Championship, too) and the other is a Camerounese guy who plays for Nacional, Angbwa Benoit. He's one of those guys who always makes a huge effort, plus, I saw an interview a couple of weeks ago where he talked very passionately about books, which is a very easy way to charm me!

3. Are there any sports you hate?

Ok, I don't know if you'd call them sports, but I really detest hunting and bullfighting.

And I wouldn't say I hate it, but I'm not too fond of boxing either.

4. Have you ever been to a sports event?

Oops, already answered above. Yes, the Centenario stadium is practically my home away from home.

5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play?

At school we had gymnastics and track and the "official" team sports were field hockey for girls and rugby for boys. I didn't like hockey very much. For starters, I sucked at it and I once had an accident where one of the other girls hit my eyebrow instead of the ball and I had such a deep cut that my bone showed, so I was always a bit frightened when on the field.

These days I don't really play any sports. I walk, and go to the gym, but that's it. I haven't played football since I broke my ankle at a practise session a couple of years ago.