GOL?

by Shannon Teoh

All through this World Cup, the only thing that has remained consistently true, is that football divides opinion, and it divides it absolutely.

For example:

1. Love vuvuzelas, or hate vuvuzelas. Many have screamed bloody murder at the fact that the droning and incessant noise of the African trumpet has killed off all the normal songs and chants you hear. Where’s the football culture, many ask, without any sense of irony. In any case, the UAE has issued a fatwa against the things.

2. Bring in technology, don’t bring in technology. Would England have beaten Germany, scraped past Argentina, vanquished Spain and dumped the Dutch if only there was goalline technology to spot Frank Lampard’s goal? Well, who knows. It’s nearly a trusim, but goals change games. Still, there is no excuse for the way England capitulated in the second half. No team that wants to be called World Champions should ever produce such a display. OR think that Emile Heskey is going to score a hattrick.

3. Metrosexual, or booger-eater ? Just watch the videos.

You’d think that at the very least, in the exhibition match of the tournament, people would just get along. But no, they’re fighting for third place, mate. The bronze medal. Germans and Uruguayans still cared! Strange for teams that have actually won the World Cup multiple times each rather than say, Ghana or Japan who were trying to achieve national or even continental bests.

Credit to the two teams, they did take it seriously and played their hearts out, even if some of those carrying some knocks decided to look ahead to the upcoming season of club football instead. This meant that Miroslav Klose would not break Ronaldo’s 15-goal record at World Cups. A shame for such a nice guy, but yet, perhaps it is fitting that the once unplayable Ronaldo retains his seat among the pantheon of football legends.

However, you’d think that fans would settle down and enjoy a good show of football and treat this as a post-tournament celebration of actually being one of the world’s top four teams. This is out of like 200 countries or so, most of which couldn’t even book their tickets to South Africa.

Well, most fans really didn’t quite care anymore. Twitter was indiscreetly NOT abuzz with the normal banter and (twitter user) @polytikus even posted, “a yawns match. tidur time” after a half of football that saw two pretty good goals and attacking football throughout.

On the other hand, there were still the minority who took it quite seriously. About half a dozen German girls strode into the empty-ish pub I was in and began screaming and dancing and cheering as Uruguay displayed some woeful defending of crosses into the box.

“Behave yourselves!” shouted back an ironically drunk and hefty Englishman seated next to my crew.

Too serious? Or not serious enough?

I guess it’s difficult not to be distracted by the fact that the actual game that mattered was happening the next day, between Spain and the Netherlands – which would inevitably result in a first-time winner of the greatest sporting event on earth. So much so that one Natalie Ambrose (read her musings at standingonpointe.blogspot.com) reached over mid-game and asked me, “Eh, so are you gonna mention me in your Gol? article?”

But here, I want to refer back to my teacher in Standard Three. She used to say, in Malay, that “if you want to do anything, make sure you are the best. If you want to be a doctor, be number one. If you want to be a thief, also be number one.”

I take it that she meant that you must always strive to do the best you can, and then do even better the next time. Strange since she was by no means the teacher with the most initiative…

It’s something we, as sports fans, expect of those we fanaticise over. Show some pride when you pull on that jersey!

But I wonder how often we hold ourselves to the same standards, when we are given the responsibility – I really like the sound of the Malay word for it, Amanah – to clear our intrays at our deskjobs, make best use of our place in university, or, well, when we are given some space to write and express ourselves. Or do we hide behind the dimwittedly faux-enlightened stance that “I don’t have to live up to your expectations.”

While I had to be called off the subs bench to fill in and write this piece for Gol?, as I had to do with a couple of other articles, I would like to think that I have done so while taking some pride in my work and wanting to give my best to all the readers – yes, all six of you.

I might not have had the privilege to have written for the final, the Big Kahuna itself, but being able to be read at all, is still a massive privilege.

So, mission accomplished I hope, for me, you and Ms. Ambrose.

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