Soccer Mania

Soccer mania grips the world and the talk of the town is "Who will win it?" With the South American teams out of contention, it has turned out to become an all European affair and I'll bet on a Germany Vs Portugal final. But I am not as sentimental as some of my soccer maniac friends whose lives hang in balance as their favorite teams slug it out so I really won't give it a damn if Italy or France make it to the final two either.

I tried doing some psycho-analytic tests on myself to find out why my reponse to the mega sporting event was so cold and bereft of emotions and then came up with a reason. My career as a budding football great was shelved at quite a young and tender age when I was diagnosed with myopia. For the less informed this disorder is not as serious as the Lympho sarchoma of the intestine, it simply means that I had to put on specs. I still managed to play the game for a few years because a football is too large to be ignored even by people on the verge of losing eyesight but with no family support I couldn't continue.

"Kahan se aa raha hai?"

"Football khel ke"

"Football jitne bade goley milenge tujhe kal ke exam mein. Kal se tera khelna koodna sab band"

Slowly I too lost interest. Only once in four years do I get to know the names of these football players and then I brush up my knowledge about the leading scorers, teams, etc of the past and present football teams so as not to sit like a dumbass with zero soccer knowledge quotient in a discussion on whether defensive play suits the Argentinians or on the caliber of the Portugese goal keeper who kept England at bay.

I can however understand the emotions involved and can relate to the frenzied fan reactions on their favorite team's loss. I felt the same during the 1996 World Cup Cricket semi-final against Sri-Lanka. The loss left me completely heart broken. The thought of making a mark as a cricketer in future then crossed my minds. That plan too was nipped in the bud.

"Kya? Tujhe Ranji team ke selection trial mein jaana hai? Aur kal ka exam kaun dega?"

"Sachin bhi to 10th failed hai. Fir main kyun nahi?"

"Sachin..Sachin kaun? Gavaskar ka beta hai kya?"

They always used examinations as an excuse to keep me from following my dreams. And Dad is still struck with the Gavaskar bug. You ask him who is M.S.Dhoni and he might as well say Gavaskar ka pota.

Coming back to the Soccer fever, I wonder how we would have reacted if India had made it to the top 32. Poor Bhaichung would have been mobbed by crazy fans and we might have had our own version of Bend it like Bekham as Bend it like Bhutia. But that dream seems some distance away. Till then manage by going crazy over the Beckhams and the Rooneys and the Zidanes while I manage with this:

"Football dekh rahe ho? Kaun jeet raha hai?"

"Jeetne ki baat chhodiye, Brazil haar gayi."

"Haar gayi? Kyun Pele nahi khel raha tha kya?"