Friendly game

In the office.
And on the beach

The web magazine for top managers - who's promoted, who came, who left? And what to do when you're not in the office.

We shall stay near football for a while, for it is the most important unimportant thing in the world, and look how the athletics out of Europe play it.

Although basketball and baseball are more popular sports in America, some of Americas countries will rather fall down and die that to loose a football match. The most explosive football nations certainly are Honduras and El Salvador.

In the year 1969, newspapers, television and radio stations on the both sides started campaigns of hate. Words like aggressors, sadist, even dwarfs and Nazis showered from every corner. Honduras got a goal in the last minute of the match and El Salvador team won 1:0. Spectators went mad and the stadium was afire. In the return match that took place in El Salvador just miracle saved Honduran team to lose their heads. Because both teams won one game apiece, it was meant that they meet again in the final confrontation in Mexico City. Briefly, Salvadoran army launched its air force and infantry to attack targets in Honduras. They bogging down when they went out of fuel and ammunition, but despite that they continued the battle that came later to be known as "The Soccer War". The war that started on July 14, 1969 and ended on July 20 took 6000 lives, leaved 50.000 people without home and left 12.000 wounded people behind it.

Thou that didn't kick a ball at least once in lifetime throw the first stone. Maybe it is not a sport for your taste, but you must admit that it has a charm. "It had charm when I was child", now you are thinking. If that boy is luckily still with you somebody might have something to show you.

If billiard is the sport of kings, and if soldiers started to play darts first, table football is the invention of a Spanish poet and inventor who strived to make something fun for children who could not play football.

Strategic creative design agency GRO from Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and Tim model making company based also in Eindhoven, worked together for over fifteen years on many different projects ranging from consumer electronics and domestic appliances to lighting and furniture. GRO's motto "A passion for design, a passion for success"" fall on fertile Tim company ground. As the result, both companies accomplish very good collaboration with companies like are Germany company Grohe, South Korean companies Samsung and LG, Microsoft, Nokia, Philips and many others.

To those who still feel boyish inside, GRO and Tim introduced "11" football (soccer) table on Milan Design Week exhibition that took place in Milan, Italy, from April 16 to 21, 2008. Designers of GRO design wanted to create something beautiful as is the game itself, so table football was the obvious choice. While football is dynamic, social and emotional game, its table cousin certainly wasn't. It usually is fun to play but it hardly fit in any environment. So, GRO went to create something that can be a part of any room, office or bar.

Since a parallel can be drawn between table for football and stadium, GRO started to work on something closer to sculpture than simple table. To achieve good looking forms it was necessary to melt together form, colour, material and light. In order to be playable, the new table football had to have a perfect balance of materials and design, while the final issue was ease of assembly. GRO's experts made every rod with players from solid brass and each rod gave its bearing mechanism. Then, it was finished in bright-silver chrome which obviously required hours of polishing to make state of the art look.

To make sculpture elements more appealing, the lightning was very important. Along with the carefully positioning the light sources a piece of software was written to make the experience of the game more exciting. When light falls o chrome players in motions their movement creates a feeling very close to that on a football stadium. The lines that flow uninterrupted expect the dynamic of the game, while simple form and bright interior draws players right into action.

"11" is very interesting table football that succeeded in bringing the excitement of the game to your already nicely decorated space. And if you loose don’t call the air force, at the end of the day it is a friendly game.

June 14, 2008

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