Swami Vivekananda famously said, ‘You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita’
And I think he was right. You will see more miracles on the football field than any house of God. Guru Cingh said that.
My love for football came from playing the game. I was a poor player of the game. I could not dribble, could not shoot, could not pass to save my life and could not tackle. But I could run and I had scant regard for the opponent’s personal space and would stick to him like glitter and like sand, would reach everywhere.
And I had huge thighs and could clear the ball and bloody the nose and get into brawls and get into melees.
Maybe I should have played Rugby; but I was not built for that. American Football maybe with them should pads and helmets and protections – stuff medieval civilizations often used to enforce female chastity. No wonder they call American Football – Rugby for Pussies.
This time the World Cup was in North America. With United States, Canada and Mexico hosting the event. The greatest show on earth, and as I write we would have the teams for the Quarter finals.
I have been watching with friends in England, Spain, Argentina and Mexico. Not to mention my little offspring, who I have to wake at unearthly hours to party with me. My greatest joy has been raising her and this is our third football world cup together.
We get snacks, chip, fry fritters, prepare popcorns and get excited in the middle of the night.
The timings for the games are for the childless and the unemployed.
The timings I can live with. But the coverage by Zee5 is a different story altogether. It is pathetic to say the least. The stream stops and you have to restart and readjust and it gets so frustrated. It is not cricket. The game does not last five days or a day for that matter. It is football. Respect the game man.
And thinking of cricket, there is cricketification of it with Video Assistant Referee (VAR). It is used by officials to review and overturn critical, clear, and obvious errors during matches.
No more Hand of God.
No MORE HAND OF GOD?
What is football without miracles? Bloody Cricket.
And I like cricket. But they are two separate sports with common progenitor; keep it that way. I don’t like VAR, it slows the momentum but worse puts an invisible cloak of fear on players and they don’t slide tackle and I like slide tackles.
Talking of slowing down, the hydration breaks. If VAR was cricketificaiton, this is americanisation of the sport. The broadcasters and the executives and the officials from FIFA must have gotten golden hard-ons once the hydration breaks were implemented.
Even with VAR, breaks and the most expensive tickets in the history of sports: the love for the game is alive and well with stadium full of fans and merchandize sales and before parts and after parties and celebrations; but it seems the game is loving the fans a bit less each day.
PS: I had so much more to say, but the match starts in another 15 minutes and I have things to do. It’s in the Game.