2023-12-15, 08:35 AM - Word count:
Улаанбаатар, Mongolia - translated from Mongolian.
"Muunokhoi, how does it feel to be the starting keeper for your team in the upcoming World Classic?"
"It is of course an honour. I regret that our team will not be playing its home games in Ulaanbaatar. From my perspective as one man, though, it is validation that I have been performing well as a keeper."
"By at least one measure, you may be the second-best keeper in the world: you had the second-best save percentage in Division 1 last season. Surely that's part of why the Federation of Asia and Oceania wanted you?"
"Forgive my strong words. Please forgive. But I hate what you just said."
"Oh?"
"You said save percentage as though it was mine. It is my team's. A keeper makes more saves against worse shots. It is wrong to speak of such numbers as belonging to a keeper. Speak instead of the numbers that matter: we had two wins. We had more points than one more team, in our first season in Division 1. We were adequate, possibly better than expected."
"I am sorry. I did not mean..."
"But there is a greater reason to hate what you said. We are here in our ancient capital, from which the hordes and keshigs rode out to conquer the world, and you call this team the Federation of Asia and Oceania! MADNESS. I play for no such team. Any area you can draw that includes all of Mongolia and other lands can have no other name than Greater Mongolia. And I am Greater Mongolia's keeper, not the keeper of any federation."
"Muunokhoi, how does it feel to be the starting keeper for your team in the upcoming World Classic?"
"It is of course an honour. I regret that our team will not be playing its home games in Ulaanbaatar. From my perspective as one man, though, it is validation that I have been performing well as a keeper."
"By at least one measure, you may be the second-best keeper in the world: you had the second-best save percentage in Division 1 last season. Surely that's part of why the Federation of Asia and Oceania wanted you?"
"Forgive my strong words. Please forgive. But I hate what you just said."
"Oh?"
"You said save percentage as though it was mine. It is my team's. A keeper makes more saves against worse shots. It is wrong to speak of such numbers as belonging to a keeper. Speak instead of the numbers that matter: we had two wins. We had more points than one more team, in our first season in Division 1. We were adequate, possibly better than expected."
"I am sorry. I did not mean..."
"But there is a greater reason to hate what you said. We are here in our ancient capital, from which the hordes and keshigs rode out to conquer the world, and you call this team the Federation of Asia and Oceania! MADNESS. I play for no such team. Any area you can draw that includes all of Mongolia and other lands can have no other name than Greater Mongolia. And I am Greater Mongolia's keeper, not the keeper of any federation."
