Shiver me timbers

It seems incredible as I sit to write, that this will be the seventh edition of the VELUX EHF FINAL4. Seven is such a mystical number. Just think of the Seven seas, the ancient wonders of the world, the hills of Rome and the continents of the world.

Who would have thought all those years ago that such a seedling of an idea would become the most sought after event in the calendar of handball?

And suddenly an old saying came to mind: “From little acorns, mighty oaks grow”

The FINAL4 has become a mighty oak, the mightiest of all trees. Throughout the major cultures of Europe, the oak tree is held in the highest esteem.

It is the most venerated of trees and is most associated with the supreme gods in their pantheon. This event, nay, this stellar event, has become like a holy grove of trees, a sanctuary for handball players and fans alike.

In Cologne in Germany: “The holy tree is growing there” (Yeats)

Every kid growing up in Ireland, particularly in my generation, was read the great legends and Celtic mythologies and it is not surprising that trees play a prominent part in our culture and language.

The word druid comes from the word “Dair” (Gaelic for oak) and they were ostensibly “men of the oak”. Yeats, one of our Nobel laureates married that mysticism and history in his poetry and I have drawn from his fountain in this piece.

The more I thought about handball, the men involved, the FINAL4 and the teams; the more I …

continue reading in source www.eurohandball.com