Wicked

Once again, I am overwhelmed at the wealth of information available on Wikipedia.

A heated email argument amongst myself and three colleagues this afternoon on the facts behind the Champions League three foreigners rule eventually sent all of us scuttling off to the internet in search of clarification.

Lest anyone think that I don't know my facts, I was convinced that the rule applied to all players who weren't born in the country in which they played - and that Rangers' historic unbeaten Champions League campaign of 1992-1993 was made all the more remarkable by the fact that the team was denied the use of several "foreigners", including Englishmen Mark Hateley and Trevor Steven, during the competition. And I was right.

Anyway, the dust has settled, the gloating has been gotten over with and I'm now reading the history of the Champions League on Wikipedia. It always amazes me that the strange people of the worldwide interweb take the time to sit down at their keyboards and share knowledge just for the sake of sharing it.

To me, it sounds like some forgotten age (that may never have existed) when learned men and women did research for research's sake, when knowledge was shared because it might help mankind progress, rather than because it possessed some commercial value.

Admittedly, the history of the Champions League is unlikely ever to advance the development of our species, but the information contained on the Wikipedia page is nothing if not exhaustive.

Except that it isn't. Not quite. No mention was made on the page I read of Rangers' incredible run during my first year of high school. Nor was there any firm description of the three foreigners rule.

But hey, nobody's perfect.