I Just Love the World Cup™

Jersey from http://apps.facebook.com/makeyourjersey/

Soccer is not a popular game in the Philippines. Kids would frown at it. Instead, kids love to play Basketball and wish they’d be playing somedays in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) league.

I feel sorry with these little kids’ big dreams because those dream are utterly unrealistic. I am not pessimistic but let’s face the fact that we Filipinos are genetically a midget people. The average height for men is 5’5”(167cm) while women are 5’0” (152 cm) and in Basketball (just like in Volleyball), it requires a towering height of no less than 5’10” (155cm) or more. I really don’t understand why Filipinos really are passionate with basketball when that game, in my opinion is not something suitable for their kind of breed.

No matter how skillful a Filipino man can play in barangay ‘Paliga’ there would be very little chance for him to become a Professional Basketball player in the future. Anyway, just play it for fun. It’s good for their body and good for their heart.

In Soccer, it neither requires height nor looks. It requires resilient stamina and long-lasting endurance. Just imagine you need to be constantly moving for 90 minutes (45 minutes intervals) in a Professional match.

For me, Football is the game of the World. It requires a huge stadium in order to accommodate a huge crowd of not less than 50,000 people. In the crowd noise coming from trumpets, drums, cymbals, tambourines, whistles, horns, honks spices up the game—literally you are free to do so.

In Soccer, everyone practices patience. A virtue which is shared by Soccer fans around the world. Awaiting for a single goal for minutes necessitates a lot of tolerance. Each team is expected for a goal of 1-5 (where 5 is most unlikely in a stiff competition such as the World Cup™. One goal would send a resounding, earth-shaking tremor of noise in the stadium. The euphoria is heaven-like, there are tears of joy! Human emotions couldn’t hold the massive ecstasy one goal is bringing to every individual cheering in the crowd. A magic I myself am under its spell. However, one mistake of a referee or brawl between players would be tragic. I hope this year’s 2010 South African World Cup™ Final Match would be nonviolent and affable.

More than half of the total 32 teams) playing for the World Cup™ (with 736 players) ended their chance of bringing home the spoils. The remaining teams are the World’s toughest players including Brazil (my team), Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay, Spain, Portugal, Chile, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Slovakia, England, Japan, South Korea and Ghana (the only surviving African team for Round of 16 match).

Tonight is another day of reckoning. Brazil (my team) and Chile will be vying for the Quarter finals.

I just can’t live without Soccer at least for this moment.