There is the skill of the individuals and of the team as they work together in an effort at total concentration and the ecstasy when a shot goes in. There is the agony when an opportunity is missed and the far worse agony when a player receives a red card for a blatant foul, the result, as one commentator kindly put it, of a sudden rush of blood to the head. He offends in an instant and repents at leisure on the sideline.
I cannot offer an informed opinion about the tournament or the different teams. I just enjoy the spectacle of it all. The world, well nearly all of it, is captivated as we see the players mirror in a dramatic way our own successes and failures as individuals and societies. Their triumphs are human triumphs and so they are ours too. And we see ourselves in their failures as we too do stupid things.
But what engages me is not the detail but the way this sport literally draws the attention and fascination of perhaps half humanity. People who were enemies now meet on this small green field and use all their skill within set rules to overcome one another. And it is the only forum where Israel could meet Palestine on equal terms or North and South Korea.
One moment that struck me was when the Nigerians huddled for a prayer before each half. The team must be made up of Christians and Muslims. Whose prayers did they use? Maybe it is no problem to them but it still highlights the impact of football. In what other forum can you imagine people of these two great religions coming together to ask earnestly for success?
The World Cup dredges up so many reflections: is the money well spent? Will South Africa really benefit from all this to say nothing of its neighbours like us? What are we to say of the opportunities for crime and exploitation of the vulnerable? But in the end it is a celebration of humanity. It draws people together. It is expenditure not on arms but on a sport that lifts people out of their ordinary life and thrills them for a moment and gives them a taste of what ecstasy is.
Post published in: Opinions