What’s Good and Bad About Football?
11 Jun 2010
Ole, ole, ole, ole… ole… ole.
Alright, it’s the football season again with the kick off of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, probably happening right now as I’m writing this post. I’m no football fan, though I’ve managed to watch one match in each of the world cup for the past decade. Yes, I catch the one final match that will determine who reins the football field for the next four years.
Today over the radio, the deejay was getting views from listeners on why they dislike football. He had done a poll on why people like football yesterday, and today was to hear from the other side. Apparently, the number of lovers and haters for this game were kind of on par, or so was the impression I got the brief fifteen minutes I was tuned in.
Out of all the reasons the listeners dislike football, one of them stood out, ‘What’s so interesting about 22 guys going after one ball?’ I think out of every five SMS that the deejay read out, at least 3-4 gave this as the reason for their disinterest in this game.
And I, now, would like to cast my vote. Like I say, I’m not a fan, but then, I disagree that football is just a game where close to two dozen of men run after one ball. I believe there can be more convincing and gripping reasons to dislike something, like how it is no longer so much about sportsmanship but a big commercial event (not that this is really a valid reason but something I just made up), or that some husbands would take two weeks leave from work to spend precious time with the TV instead of their wives (cited by one listener).
Football is not just about twenty two men going after a ball. I see passion, confidence, strategy, ambition, team work, leadership, flexibility, perseverance, faith, hope, skills, wits, ability to perform under stress and so much more in this sport. Similarly, I see violence, despair, blaming, anger, bad football etiquette, disappointment and more. It is as much a sport as it is an intense display of human traits and capabilities, magnified by a hundred times.
Maybe, instead of just looking at what we see right before our eyes, we can learn to look beyond that. For it is usually at the further horizon that we see the beautiful rainbow arching its neck to let us marvel at nature, and find meaning in the events in our lives. Do you agree?
2 Responses
2010 Jun 12
A female friend who dislike football once said that to me too. All I told her was, football is much more interesting than buying 22 pairs of heels and you can’t wear them all on the same time.
On a more realistic front, not many know how football has given life to many children who are living in poverty. Brazil is a famous country in World Cup and it looks glamorous. But if you read into the history of Football in Brazil, many poor children started playing football because they cannot afford anything else other than their self-made balls. They end up being employed by clubs and it doesn’t even matter if it’s a famous club or small little club. At least, they are earning a living for themselves rather than living off scraps.
During WW2 on a Christmas night, the allies and Nazi decided to have a ceasefire. They promised no aggression for that one night because it was Christmas away from their families. Seen too much blood and bodies. They left their weapons in their trenches, enemies patted each other on their backs, sung Christmas carols, shared a little hot food for an otherwise cold winter. What did they do next? They played a game of football and both teams were jumbled up. You can have a Nazi and allied soldier in the same team.
Football is hope, even in the darkest of hours.
2010 Jun 13
Wow, thanks Ed for such insights. Yeah, I do know that football is a way to get out of poverty for some people. Sports, along with music, is one universal language that can put people who won’t be together, together, at least for those few minutes. Isn’t this beautiful? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!