It's cucumber season. You know, the season of cucumbers, the delicious, 5-12 cm long, green vegetable we all like in its many forms: salad, pickles, sauce, etc. Some people even use it for skin treatment with good results. In the summer it's one of the cheapest vegetables and due to its many uses it's very sought out in all the markets.
Us Hungarians have another meaning for this word and surprise, surprise - drumroll, please - it's related to sports. The period between the end of one season and the beginning of the next, when passionate fans have nothing to do except to talk about transfer gossip, tactics, plans for the next season and allegedly increasing ticket prices, is called between sports maniacs the Cucumber Season. In this time frame of 2-3 months, when there are no games to see, no team to root for, no referees to boo out and no after game pubbing, every fan sits in front of the computer, tablet, smartphone, newspaper and tries to find out every bit and scrap of information available about their team. When they do find the tiniest bit of information, they are eager to share it with all the others, hoping to get other intel in return.
In Romanian basketball the cucumber season extends from late June to early September, when the first friendly games are scheduled. And although basketball fans are not as numerous as football (soccer for my American friends) fans - we have 18 million football coaches -, every single fan knows what's best for their team, who the coach should be, what players the management should sign, and what tactics the coach should apply to win the championship.
Fortunately cucumber season is almost over this year and we are in for a very contested 2014-2015 season. When the regular season starts, the harmless, cucumber eating fans begin to sense fresh blood and then we start the Hunting Season where every mistake is hunted down, dissected and analyzed. But that's another story.
PS. For my Romanian friends a little something about cucumbers by the great actor Florin Piersic.
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| Pickles made by me |
In Romanian basketball the cucumber season extends from late June to early September, when the first friendly games are scheduled. And although basketball fans are not as numerous as football (soccer for my American friends) fans - we have 18 million football coaches -, every single fan knows what's best for their team, who the coach should be, what players the management should sign, and what tactics the coach should apply to win the championship.
Fortunately cucumber season is almost over this year and we are in for a very contested 2014-2015 season. When the regular season starts, the harmless, cucumber eating fans begin to sense fresh blood and then we start the Hunting Season where every mistake is hunted down, dissected and analyzed. But that's another story.
PS. For my Romanian friends a little something about cucumbers by the great actor Florin Piersic.
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