Life Lessons From World Cup Soccer Even For People Who Hate Soccer
Posted: Saturday, June 19, 2010
by Mogama
http://www.mogama.info
Begun in 1930 World Cup Soccer takes place every four years. Over the span of one month 32 teams, usually representing all liveable continents, participate in the equivalent of American college basketball's March Madness. Though soccer is becoming more and more popular in the United States, millions of Americans still think all the soccer craze is madness that cannot be justified. (In fact, SearchWarp does not have a Soccer section under the Sports category, so I posted this article under "Other Sports", and that for the one sport that most of the world's people play and watch!) Some Americans have posted "Why I Hate the World Cup" articles and blogs. Let me share why I love soccer and the World Cup.
1. The Field of Play
The poorest child can play soccer just as easily as the counterparts in the world's richest countries. No expensive gear needed. In my village we used the leaves of cocoa yam plants or dried latex from the rubber tree for soccer ball; we staked dead tree limbs in the ground for goal posts, and played the game barefooted. Really, soccer can be played on any ground grassy, gravel or paved.
2. The Goal Keeper
Kicking the ball straight into the goal does not guarantee it will make it to the back of the net. A goal keeper stands in there to teach us that no meaningful goal in life can be achieved without one final obstacle that may foil all previous obstacles (opposing players) you may have overcome in the past.
3. The Value of One Goal
Every goal in a soccer match is celebrated as though it is the winning goal. That's because players work so hard and for so long to score a single goal. Lesson? Celebrate every achievement even if your assignment is not over.
4. Loads of Patience
This is where fast-everything Americans just lose it. "What? They play for a whole hour without one goal, and you call that exciting?" If that's your attitude, forget it, you are too impatient to be a soccer enthusiast. Your impatience will likely multiply stress and frustrations in other areas of life.
5. Draw Game
No one has to win for players and fans alike to enjoy a good game of soccer. A nil-nil game can be just as exhilarating as a game with three goals. Life does not always have to produce winners and losers.
6. Unifying Power
Soccer can unite an entire nation across partisan, tribal and even religious divides. In the West African nation of Ivory Coast, soccer superstar Drogby brought an end to civil war by appealing to warring factions. In that sense, Africa has yet to fully utilize the potential of soccer for national unity. Perhaps soccer is the silver bullet to end Mother Africa's deadly conflicts. Not only that, but as the biggest global event, World Cup Soccer holds the potential to unify nations in a way that no super-power or the United Nations can.
7. World Means World
On Thursday night, June 17, the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in the United States. Immediately the words "World Champions" were splashed across the TV screen, but there is nothing really global about the NBA or the so-called "World Series" in baseball since the tournament involves only North American teams. When it comes to the World Cup the term "world" means exactly that. Besides the 32 nations represented in the games, at least one billion people watch around the world. Hundreds of millions more will listen by radio. Even nations whose teams did not make it to the big dance will display just as much soccer fever as participating nations and fans on the scene of the World Cup. More people travel from other countries to a World Cup Soccer venue than to any other event on earth. Lesson? America or your country is NOT the world. The visual of World Cup Soccer reminds us that the world is truly a diverse playground for humanity's children of all colors and cultures. This game leaves no room for racists and segregationists.
8. The Ultimate Equalizer
Soccer is perhaps the only competitive event where a small nation like Slovenia can beat Russia fair and square. And that same Slovenian team believed it could deal the United States the same fate, as they came close to doing on Friday, June 18, 2010. Boy, did we breathe a sigh of relief when the Americans came from behind to tie the game 2-2! That cannot be said of baseball, basketball or American football. Soccer gives the little guy not just a fighting chance but a winning one.
9. Development for Host Country
When the USA hosted the 1994 World Cup, only residents of Atlanta, Georgia may have been impressed with the development the games brought to their community, while the rest of America hardly noticed all the new building projects. But when hosted by a less developed country the World Cup can literally transform families by providing thousands of jobs and punching a dent in that nation's unemployment rate. The end result of hosting the game can be a lasting makeover for entire communities, not to mention the newly found confidence that the mass undertaking may strike in an entire population, giving them the feeling for the first time: "If we can host the World Cup, we believe we can change our nation for the better forever!"
The poorest child can play soccer just as easily as the counterparts in the world's richest countries. No expensive gear needed. In my village we used the leaves of cocoa yam plants or dried latex from the rubber tree for soccer ball; we staked dead tree limbs in the ground for goal posts, and played the game barefooted. Really, soccer can be played on any ground grassy, gravel or paved.
2. The Goal Keeper
Kicking the ball straight into the goal does not guarantee it will make it to the back of the net. A goal keeper stands in there to teach us that no meaningful goal in life can be achieved without one final obstacle that may foil all previous obstacles (opposing players) you may have overcome in the past.
3. The Value of One Goal
Every goal in a soccer match is celebrated as though it is the winning goal. That's because players work so hard and for so long to score a single goal. Lesson? Celebrate every achievement even if your assignment is not over.
4. Loads of Patience
This is where fast-everything Americans just lose it. "What? They play for a whole hour without one goal, and you call that exciting?" If that's your attitude, forget it, you are too impatient to be a soccer enthusiast. Your impatience will likely multiply stress and frustrations in other areas of life.
5. Draw Game
No one has to win for players and fans alike to enjoy a good game of soccer. A nil-nil game can be just as exhilarating as a game with three goals. Life does not always have to produce winners and losers.
6. Unifying Power
Soccer can unite an entire nation across partisan, tribal and even religious divides. In the West African nation of Ivory Coast, soccer superstar Drogby brought an end to civil war by appealing to warring factions. In that sense, Africa has yet to fully utilize the potential of soccer for national unity. Perhaps soccer is the silver bullet to end Mother Africa's deadly conflicts. Not only that, but as the biggest global event, World Cup Soccer holds the potential to unify nations in a way that no super-power or the United Nations can.
7. World Means World
On Thursday night, June 17, the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in the United States. Immediately the words "World Champions" were splashed across the TV screen, but there is nothing really global about the NBA or the so-called "World Series" in baseball since the tournament involves only North American teams. When it comes to the World Cup the term "world" means exactly that. Besides the 32 nations represented in the games, at least one billion people watch around the world. Hundreds of millions more will listen by radio. Even nations whose teams did not make it to the big dance will display just as much soccer fever as participating nations and fans on the scene of the World Cup. More people travel from other countries to a World Cup Soccer venue than to any other event on earth. Lesson? America or your country is NOT the world. The visual of World Cup Soccer reminds us that the world is truly a diverse playground for humanity's children of all colors and cultures. This game leaves no room for racists and segregationists.
8. The Ultimate Equalizer
Soccer is perhaps the only competitive event where a small nation like Slovenia can beat Russia fair and square. And that same Slovenian team believed it could deal the United States the same fate, as they came close to doing on Friday, June 18, 2010. Boy, did we breathe a sigh of relief when the Americans came from behind to tie the game 2-2! That cannot be said of baseball, basketball or American football. Soccer gives the little guy not just a fighting chance but a winning one.
9. Development for Host Country
When the USA hosted the 1994 World Cup, only residents of Atlanta, Georgia may have been impressed with the development the games brought to their community, while the rest of America hardly noticed all the new building projects. But when hosted by a less developed country the World Cup can literally transform families by providing thousands of jobs and punching a dent in that nation's unemployment rate. The end result of hosting the game can be a lasting makeover for entire communities, not to mention the newly found confidence that the mass undertaking may strike in an entire population, giving them the feeling for the first time: "If we can host the World Cup, we believe we can change our nation for the better forever!"
This Article has been viewed 1,072 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Well done, Mogama. This article made a lot of sense. I especially liked lesson No. 2, the Goal Keeper.I welcome your praise, GL. Thanks much. ~mogama~
Hi Mogama, I like your approach to soccer and the lessons you draw from it.JoelThanks, JK, for reading and commenting. ~mogama~
I really enjoyed reading this, thanks. I'm not much of a fan of sports, but I think soccer is the most interesting of all them, and I agree that it brings qualities that are way beyond the parameters of "sport".I'm glad you enjoy the read, Jennifer. Thanks for commenting. ~mogama~
I don't "hate" soccer, but I have no interest. I know the World Cup is playing out but don't know anything about it. But I do have interest in what you have to say, so now I know more about the WC in the few minutes I read your article than in all the little blurbs that have snuck into my ears over recent months via the media. Well done, my friend.I admire your taking the time to read this article, Jeff, though you "have no interest" in soccer or football as the whole world but America calls it. Thanks for commenting, my friend. ~mogama~
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.