To watch or not to watch? FIFA World Cup.
Why is the world cup so important? What's the frenzy all about?
I'll tell you why. Since its a complicated issue, I will start at the start.
At first, you grow up observing the older men in your family watching the world cup and reacting with extravagant enthusiasm to 22 men in two colors running around kicking just one ball.
As a child who is accustomed to regarding those men with respect as wise elders who are at the very least sane, the occasional and sudden outburst of insanity, rabid rants and near foaming in the mouth (though temporary) is so shocking that it burns forever deep with-in your consciousness and beyond reasoning, that this thing is so important it nears being sacred.
And then come the layers.
At layer 1, you get that you are rooting for a team to win. Winning is attained by driving the ball through one square, but not the other.
You also get that there is shouting and jumping, or cursing and sadness. Depending on which square has the ball. Btw, the single person wearing a different color and running around whistle happy is totally irrelevant. You find you cannot root for him.
At layer 2, you understand teams, and score, and rules.
Layer 3, you understand offside. It commands its own layer because there is so much heartache when you first see your team lose a goal because of the bleeding offside.
Layer 4, you get tactics and strategies, and impact of injuries and of attacking too early in a game, and the balance between revealing your game plan vs the need to win in stage 1 games.
Layer 5, you are now comfortable with the game and behave exactly like the lunatic you are, and feel you've come of age and finally belong. You are insane only when it is proper, and you play your role in burning the world cup into the new comer children and in effect, fulfilling your purpose in life.
Layer 6, you see the countries and cultures, and sportsmanship and achievement and the underlying sentimental value and social impact of the world cup. And you fall in love with the game.
If you love football/soccer. You probably shouldn't read the following.
Layer greed. Its all about the money. I remember when I first realized after connecting the dots that what the dots made was a dollar sign. The world cup is an organism that wants to see the money.
I am sad to say that behind the scenes, thats what it all comes down to. And while at some level, some people do believe in international competition and sportsmanship, the majority of the players/coaches/staff are all about the money.
When you see a player on the verge of braking down in blubbery sob after losing a game, you should realize that it is because he is worried about his market value and how that would affect his new restaurant chain business.
I long to the days when I could still see athletes competing in country-theme-colored uniforms, when I could still share their pride of achievement and sorrow of failure. But those days are long gone.
All I see now is business men running around in business suits calculating the bottom line behind each pass, shot and tackle.
I must say though that there lapses, where you forget about it, and start seeing a blur of uniforms and athletes and feel happy again. But that doesnt last long, because the second you start feeling that way, you are bombarded with a steady stream of commercals before and after the game and during the half time break.
Those commercials are designed for the soul purpose of making you feel insecure about everything in your life and then showing you the solution to make your life complete (but there is a little fee involved). But that's a whole different can of worms.
And just in case you can still muster up enough positivie attitude to actual enjoy the game. ART Steps in to ruin it for you.
ART introduces the annoying and vulgurizing new financial aspect of the world cup to your living room and your pocket. The greed has surpassed royalties, advertisement and player market value, and has now fixated on the last frontier. Your pocket.
Its got to a point where its no longer a matter of argument or opinion. There is no longer a need to sugarcote it to the public. It is blatantly and unapologetically a financial transaction now. If you have the money you get the smiley face and semi-white teeth in your living room. And if you don't, well, tough.
The funny thing is that you hear the comentator higlighting that ART is bringing the match to us. Well the match was coming to us anyways, but ART stopped it you ignorant noise box.
As a result of all this, I have reached a conclusion, and I've decided to do it. It is something I never though I would do.
..... I need a minute ..... HERE GOES!
I am boycotting the world cup.
I am boycotting ART and every channel that has purchased monopolistic rights to your enjoyment.
I will no longer partake in the frenzy, or shout-spit-spatter the TV. I will no longer allow ART or any other company into my pocket, and I will no longer have a score sheet hanging on the whiteboard in my office, and no longer will my colleagues have to step in and attemp to make small talk on "how thing are going with the world cup".
So there, I've said it. Farewell world cup, fare!Well ART and God bless you all.
..
*who am I kidding* *GO BRAZIL!!!*
May be 2010 will be better.
I'll tell you why. Since its a complicated issue, I will start at the start.
At first, you grow up observing the older men in your family watching the world cup and reacting with extravagant enthusiasm to 22 men in two colors running around kicking just one ball.
As a child who is accustomed to regarding those men with respect as wise elders who are at the very least sane, the occasional and sudden outburst of insanity, rabid rants and near foaming in the mouth (though temporary) is so shocking that it burns forever deep with-in your consciousness and beyond reasoning, that this thing is so important it nears being sacred.
And then come the layers.
At layer 1, you get that you are rooting for a team to win. Winning is attained by driving the ball through one square, but not the other.
You also get that there is shouting and jumping, or cursing and sadness. Depending on which square has the ball. Btw, the single person wearing a different color and running around whistle happy is totally irrelevant. You find you cannot root for him.
At layer 2, you understand teams, and score, and rules.
Layer 3, you understand offside. It commands its own layer because there is so much heartache when you first see your team lose a goal because of the bleeding offside.
Layer 4, you get tactics and strategies, and impact of injuries and of attacking too early in a game, and the balance between revealing your game plan vs the need to win in stage 1 games.
Layer 5, you are now comfortable with the game and behave exactly like the lunatic you are, and feel you've come of age and finally belong. You are insane only when it is proper, and you play your role in burning the world cup into the new comer children and in effect, fulfilling your purpose in life.
Layer 6, you see the countries and cultures, and sportsmanship and achievement and the underlying sentimental value and social impact of the world cup. And you fall in love with the game.
If you love football/soccer. You probably shouldn't read the following.
Layer greed. Its all about the money. I remember when I first realized after connecting the dots that what the dots made was a dollar sign. The world cup is an organism that wants to see the money.
I am sad to say that behind the scenes, thats what it all comes down to. And while at some level, some people do believe in international competition and sportsmanship, the majority of the players/coaches/staff are all about the money.
When you see a player on the verge of braking down in blubbery sob after losing a game, you should realize that it is because he is worried about his market value and how that would affect his new restaurant chain business.
I long to the days when I could still see athletes competing in country-theme-colored uniforms, when I could still share their pride of achievement and sorrow of failure. But those days are long gone.
All I see now is business men running around in business suits calculating the bottom line behind each pass, shot and tackle.
I must say though that there lapses, where you forget about it, and start seeing a blur of uniforms and athletes and feel happy again. But that doesnt last long, because the second you start feeling that way, you are bombarded with a steady stream of commercals before and after the game and during the half time break.
Those commercials are designed for the soul purpose of making you feel insecure about everything in your life and then showing you the solution to make your life complete (but there is a little fee involved). But that's a whole different can of worms.
And just in case you can still muster up enough positivie attitude to actual enjoy the game. ART Steps in to ruin it for you.
ART introduces the annoying and vulgurizing new financial aspect of the world cup to your living room and your pocket. The greed has surpassed royalties, advertisement and player market value, and has now fixated on the last frontier. Your pocket.
Its got to a point where its no longer a matter of argument or opinion. There is no longer a need to sugarcote it to the public. It is blatantly and unapologetically a financial transaction now. If you have the money you get the smiley face and semi-white teeth in your living room. And if you don't, well, tough.
The funny thing is that you hear the comentator higlighting that ART is bringing the match to us. Well the match was coming to us anyways, but ART stopped it you ignorant noise box.
As a result of all this, I have reached a conclusion, and I've decided to do it. It is something I never though I would do.
..... I need a minute ..... HERE GOES!
I am boycotting the world cup.
I am boycotting ART and every channel that has purchased monopolistic rights to your enjoyment.
I will no longer partake in the frenzy, or shout-spit-spatter the TV. I will no longer allow ART or any other company into my pocket, and I will no longer have a score sheet hanging on the whiteboard in my office, and no longer will my colleagues have to step in and attemp to make small talk on "how thing are going with the world cup".
So there, I've said it. Farewell world cup, fare!Well ART and God bless you all.
..
*who am I kidding* *GO BRAZIL!!!*
May be 2010 will be better.
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