not down with the fever, but I understand the hype

The World Cup games this year started more than a week ago, and I am now not surprisingly not taken by all the madness. I must confess that I have never liked sports, maybe because even if I do want to be "sporty" I lack the physical stamina and the courage to go out on a court or field and face my team's opponents. I veered away from contact sports my entire life. The only ones I can willingly play are table tennis, badminton, and swimming--obviously sports that make me at least 2 meters away from my opponent. My aversion to sports, especially to basketball, volleyball, and football, are because I don't want to be hit by balls. I experienced being hit on the head by a basketball and a volleyball. God forbid should I ever get hit by a football.

It's not that I totally hate sports. I actually love watching basketball games. That's the nearest participation anyone can expect from me in that sport. I get so crazy watching games between Ateneo and other college teams that I feel like my friends were already getting embarrassed by all the profanity and screaming coming out of my mouth. I seem to be possessed by a mad sailor when watching basketball games. And oh, don't get me started whenever I watch Purefood's (a local team from the PBA...Philippine equivalent of the NBA) games. I'm so passionate about the teams I support that sometimes I don't even recognize myself after every game. With all the adrenaline from shouting at the referee for an unfair call, for taunting the opposite team and their fans, I come out of the stadium looking all sweaty and dazed.

Now the World Cup season has started, I expect to see friends go on 'status wars' on facebook. I've seen quite a few already. With all the jeering and team bashing, I'm glad this'll all be over in 3 weeks. I sometimes think I feel this way just because I can't relate to all the hype, haha! So imagine to my surprise, yesterday I bought the latest issue of Time Magazine. What was on the cover? A feature on the World Cup! What caught my eye was on an article about the Cup. I'm almost done reading all the articles about FIFA 2010 and these have proven to be beneficial to my "education" about the Cup. I like what was written about the sport itself, that people from all walks of life can play it, there's no discrimination about your height and race. You just have to be passionate about the sport and play it really well to be able to get in a team. Unlike basketball where it'd be to your disadvantage if you weren't as tall as your teammates and your opponents, football overlooks your 'shortcoming' in terms of height, no pun intended. What was the term?....Democratic--yes, that's what the author used in describing football. I also like what Samuel Eto said. By the way, he's a player for Italy but he's really from Cameroon, South Africa. He said "(I) always seek to do the best I can in every position, in every facet of the game. Success is much more than a question of quality--it's a question of heart. That's what gives you the winning edge." What he said actually made an impact on me, and the aspect of my life that was affected wasn't even sports-related hahaha!I also love the fact that there's a bit of history attached to the sport, and that nations-at-war forget about their conflicts once there's a football game.

While watching CNN last week, I saw a feature on Cameroonian inmates having a friendly match against England fans. It really touched me because it really showed that the game brings people together. I couldn't help but get teary-eyed when I saw how enthusiastic the inmates were when they were putting on their brand new uniforms and spikes. The looks on their faces got to me--how they lit up while preparing for the game. What was so amazing was the camaraderie among the inmates and the English fans on the field--they were all just having a grand time playing.

I may not be down with the World Cup fever, but now I have a somewhat deeper understanding of the sport. Don't expect me to watch a game anytime soon, though :)