FOOTBALL Football is not a sport for the easily bored. I should know because I get bored easily. And I am a person who patiently tries not to get bored when put in a situation that I know I will be inevitably get bored. I could stretch my patience if someone tells me a long story. But it never changes the fact that im bored. Unlike stories, i can always switch off the television when iget bored watching football. Back in the day, before the Azkals became the poster boys of Philippine football, before the internet got crazy over the World Cup like it is today, football was already a craze in our small neighborhood. We live beside a school that has so much empty spaces they have transferred the football field countless times before. If I am not mistaken, the school could host 8 games at one time over several locations inside. There were a lot of good spots to play on days when the cows and horses werent grazed to trim the fields. Its a different story however if you talk about bleachers. There were no bleachers. Spectators watched along the courtside and crossed the lines dancing when their team hit a goal. I grew up seeing neighbors playing football. If theres one thing I regret, its that I never got interested. They turned out to be Palarong Pambansa players and varsity scholars in certain colleges and universities. One even became am international referee and is now working in Macau as one, traveling across Asian countries officiating football games including games that Azkal participated in. I never understood why they spent so much time playing football then. As years went by, I came across the word passion in a dictionary and came to half-understand that yeah, the ball was their passion. Some played ball so much they missed their education. You cant not call it passion. I wondered then why I can never get interested with football. I sure did kick with the boys volleyballs because no one had the real football ball. But i didnt get to play in a field like the other boys did. I didnt quite get it then or accepted the fact that I had to be physical with my playmates. The game takes a long time and a lot of wrangling and I just couldnt understand the point of it all.I didnt have the patience waiting for the first goal. Watching a game on tv didnt interest me either. Everyone in the field was hell-bent not to let the ball in and an hour after, a goal was nowhere in sight. Id sigh after switching back to ESPN when a game ended and the score flashed, 1-0. Really? Two hours of kicking and just one goal? I admit I probably wasnt even trying to get interested. I was mum when neighbors talked about a football game. Now, with all the world cup hype, I feel like an outsider. Like everyone knows the rules of the game and I dont. Like everyone knows the football stars on the field and Pele and the legendary Hand of God. I feel lame really. If there is one thing I am glad about all this World Cup fever, it is that people come together - seeing the smiles and enthusiasm when they talk about a game and betting on their chosen teams for whatever criteria they may have set - popularity of the teams foremost player, the color of the teams flag and more. Personally, this event somehow brings a bit of nostalgia knowing that the boys back home were cramped in front of the television in the sala of one of our neighbors house, taking sides and cheering like nothing else mattered. Except that today, they are not boys anymore. They are all grownups. It is football that makes them boys all over again. CONGRATULATIONS ARGENTINA!
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 23:41:15 +0000
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