World at the 19th world war of football
Friday, 11 June 2010
Maswood Alam Khan
A World War among 32 nations with 352 players vying with a leather bag filled with air and more than 26 billion viewers is due to start today -- a World War no less fiercer than a clash among the superpowers, a war that means more than life and death to players and their fans, a war of the dogged teams to take revenge on the enemies who defeated and humiliated them four or many more years back, a war that will keep people tense but happy, a war that started with more member nations than those of the United Nations, a war that elbowed out global giants such as China, India and Russia, a war where tiny nations like Honduras, Slovakia and Algeria are fighting in, a war that will allow the planet Earth a happy respite from other petty quarrels among humans at least for a month.
The poor leather bag moves as it is kicked, it does not choose its own path, the kicker decides its pathway. It is a loveable object for a goalkeeper to hold and for other players to kick.
The poor leather bag apparently is innocuous and neutral. But some avid fans often dispute with this bag's neutrality role; some suspect there is perhaps a link between this ostensibly innocent-looking leather bag and God Himself. Sometimes, they grumbled at the bag and felt like complaining that God at times perhaps whispered to this bag to take a peculiar deflection in its trajectory that shattered billions of hearts on one side and enthused billions on the other.
Bangladesh has already been suffering from a high football fever and a pre-war brawl between fans has been brewing up for the last few months with national flags of their favoured teams fluttering atop their homes, their hearts continuously beating with a fluttering pulse out of uncertainties of the final and their mind completely obsessed with a plethora of peripherals and tidbits that may influence the performances of their teams: what is happening where, how is the health of their beloved players, who will referee which game, how would be the mood of the referees when one of their players would be playing with a little élan that may otherwise look a little aggressive to the referee etc.
Football is woven as an integral part into a nation's fibre and prestige. Football is an all-consuming spectacle with universal appeal. People of all ages will watch the World Cup today. World football governing body, FIFA, predicts a cumulative audience of 26.29 billion viewers will be watching the tournaments.
The question that is raising the heartbeats of the people is: which country is going to snatch the trophy this time -- and how. By a penalty shootout? The scene then that will put the breathing of billions of humans on hold would be those momentous moments when the penalty kicks will be deciding the fate of the fighters, a way many football aficionados do not really appreciate.
Personally speaking, I would be happy if the trophy goes at least to an African country like Ghana or Ivory Coast, if not to South Africa, the host.
maswood@hotmail.com
A World War among 32 nations with 352 players vying with a leather bag filled with air and more than 26 billion viewers is due to start today -- a World War no less fiercer than a clash among the superpowers, a war that means more than life and death to players and their fans, a war of the dogged teams to take revenge on the enemies who defeated and humiliated them four or many more years back, a war that will keep people tense but happy, a war that started with more member nations than those of the United Nations, a war that elbowed out global giants such as China, India and Russia, a war where tiny nations like Honduras, Slovakia and Algeria are fighting in, a war that will allow the planet Earth a happy respite from other petty quarrels among humans at least for a month.
The poor leather bag moves as it is kicked, it does not choose its own path, the kicker decides its pathway. It is a loveable object for a goalkeeper to hold and for other players to kick.
The poor leather bag apparently is innocuous and neutral. But some avid fans often dispute with this bag's neutrality role; some suspect there is perhaps a link between this ostensibly innocent-looking leather bag and God Himself. Sometimes, they grumbled at the bag and felt like complaining that God at times perhaps whispered to this bag to take a peculiar deflection in its trajectory that shattered billions of hearts on one side and enthused billions on the other.
Bangladesh has already been suffering from a high football fever and a pre-war brawl between fans has been brewing up for the last few months with national flags of their favoured teams fluttering atop their homes, their hearts continuously beating with a fluttering pulse out of uncertainties of the final and their mind completely obsessed with a plethora of peripherals and tidbits that may influence the performances of their teams: what is happening where, how is the health of their beloved players, who will referee which game, how would be the mood of the referees when one of their players would be playing with a little élan that may otherwise look a little aggressive to the referee etc.
Football is woven as an integral part into a nation's fibre and prestige. Football is an all-consuming spectacle with universal appeal. People of all ages will watch the World Cup today. World football governing body, FIFA, predicts a cumulative audience of 26.29 billion viewers will be watching the tournaments.
The question that is raising the heartbeats of the people is: which country is going to snatch the trophy this time -- and how. By a penalty shootout? The scene then that will put the breathing of billions of humans on hold would be those momentous moments when the penalty kicks will be deciding the fate of the fighters, a way many football aficionados do not really appreciate.
Personally speaking, I would be happy if the trophy goes at least to an African country like Ghana or Ivory Coast, if not to South Africa, the host.
maswood@hotmail.com