It's inevitable that the 2010 FIFA World Cup has completely overtaken the imaginations of so many of us here in Canada. The effect is immediate for a multicultural nation - the flags have gone up, the tv sets have been permanently set to CBC, the watercooler talks are all about this or that upset and that darned vuvuzela trumpet or jabulani ball. Our imaginations flitter over issues of extreme violence in the murder capital of the world, a.k.a. Johannesburg, and our hearts sink or swim congruently with our favourite teams -- regardless of whether they are more comparable to the Titanic than they are to a German U-boat (U is for Underdog in this example). We all know what happened to the Titanic...
But many of us don't ever really watch soccer and don't know many of the players. We only really tune in during a major tournament like this, and love it more than those who watch soccer on a regular basis. Some of us are still wondering why Zinedine Zidane and the original Ronaldo aren't playing this year. Let me attempt to explain something. Soccer is not attractive because it is fun to watch 100% of the time. On the contrary, some people would rather watch grass grow, apparently. The reason why soccer is so captivating in reality, aside from the colours, the nationalism, and the commercialization, is in its emulation of life itself. Soccer is not fair. It lacks good judgement from the referees, and oftentimes this reality is enough to turn us off from it entirely. Believe me, as a religiously fanatic supporter of the game, I've seen enough of this kind of thing for the next 18 lifetimes. But I still watch. I still play. I love it. I can't stop. I'm addicted. Why?
Because life is not fair.
I watched the USA rally back from two goals down to tie the game 8 minutes from its conclusion. They then went on to score a winning goal off of a beautifully orchestrated set play. The winning goal was called back. When the outraged players crowded around the referee to ask why he had disallowed the goal, he did not reply. The players, who gave interviews after the game with radiantly perplexed expressions on their faces, confessed that they still did not have any idea why they were denied the win. How can anyone maintain faith in a game that allows this kind of activity?
But many of us don't ever really watch soccer and don't know many of the players. We only really tune in during a major tournament like this, and love it more than those who watch soccer on a regular basis. Some of us are still wondering why Zinedine Zidane and the original Ronaldo aren't playing this year. Let me attempt to explain something. Soccer is not attractive because it is fun to watch 100% of the time. On the contrary, some people would rather watch grass grow, apparently. The reason why soccer is so captivating in reality, aside from the colours, the nationalism, and the commercialization, is in its emulation of life itself. Soccer is not fair. It lacks good judgement from the referees, and oftentimes this reality is enough to turn us off from it entirely. Believe me, as a religiously fanatic supporter of the game, I've seen enough of this kind of thing for the next 18 lifetimes. But I still watch. I still play. I love it. I can't stop. I'm addicted. Why?
Because life is not fair.
I watched the USA rally back from two goals down to tie the game 8 minutes from its conclusion. They then went on to score a winning goal off of a beautifully orchestrated set play. The winning goal was called back. When the outraged players crowded around the referee to ask why he had disallowed the goal, he did not reply. The players, who gave interviews after the game with radiantly perplexed expressions on their faces, confessed that they still did not have any idea why they were denied the win. How can anyone maintain faith in a game that allows this kind of activity?
In life, your goal might also be disallowed for absolutely no reason. Sometimes you will do everything right, you will pour your heart and soul out to get the win and just when you're about to get there, your goalie will make the most costly mistake of his life and allow the softest goal of the tournament (see England's Robert Green vs. USA). What do you do? Aaliyah once said to "dust it off and try again." That might work for you. It did for Italy in 2006, who after failing to win about a billion penalty shoot-outs finally succeeded in the finals against France to win the holy grail of all competitions - the World Cup. But sometimes trying again is not an option. Sometimes you would rather just go for the substitution, a change in tactics... let someone else handle it. That could work for you too. The only difference is that if you opt for the sub, you are relinquishing your power to make a difference in your own game to someone else. You are taking a spectator role in your own life. How many of us do this and then cry when we lose? Isn't it better to stay on the field and fight until the end - win or lose. At the end of the game, although the object was clearly always to win, there is always a sense of fulfilment in realizing that you played all 90 minutes; that you made a difference. You made some mistakes but you won the ball back. You sent in a great pass for a teammate, you gave it your all.
The metaphor of life being like a game is dreadfully played out now so I won't bore you with more comparisons. Just take note as you watch the rest of these games of how many lessons you can learn from the players. The USA has been done a terrible injustice in this tournament and is now faced with a do or die scenario in their final game against Algeria.
How will they react?
How will you?
June 23, 2010 at 3:30 PM
Just for the record, the U.S. went on beat Algeria 1-0 in a hard-fought battle that saw another goal disallowed for them for an erroneous offside call. They finally scored in the 91st minue of play, which is essentially 1 minute after the end of regulation time, in what is known as a recuperation (or injury) time which accounts for lost time during the match.
The U.S. has won their group, and is progressing to play against Ghana in the next round.
It is difficult not to admire the fighting strength of this American team.