World Cup 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A.K. Enamul Haque Ph.D
June-July was the month of World Cup for the whole world. When I came first in Canada, I was stunned to see that Canadians also worry about the World Cup but not in football (soccer in North America) but in hockey. That was a truly Canadian game. But to learn that Canadians are not even curious about it when the whole world is crazy about it was a surprise. However, I do remember watching the World Cup in the Grad Lounge at Guelph but most of us were from Asia, Europe and Latin America. The Americans and Canadians were mostly ignoring it while we were tense to find out who won or lost.
Just to give an idea about the craze for the world cup in Dhaka and also in Sri Lanka (where I visited in the first week of July) I thought of writing this note. In Bangladesh, the total population was mostly divided into two camps - Brazilian and Argentine fans. Flags of Brazil and Argentina were everywhere atop of every building throughout Bangladesh. Flags of Germany, British, Spanish, Italy and France were also there but they were only a few. I believe nearly a million flags of the first two countries were sold in Bangladesh.
The power supply has been a constant threat to our amusement during the game and so the government warned the electric supply companies to ensure power supply during the game - mostly from evening to 2am. Industries were asked to schedule their shifts out of this time or to face a power cut. On several occasions, power offices were attacked by mobs to display their anger for outage of power during games. The threat of such actions was higher during a game where either Argentina or Brazil was playing.
Brazil has been the historical favorite in Bangladesh due to Pele - the legendary football player. The Argentine craze came after it won the world cup with Maradona (not sure if my Canadian readers would know him!) in 1982. I believe Maradona won the cup against England and it was right after the Argentine defeat with UK in the Falkland war. Ever since, younger generations of Bangladeshis became Argentine fans. Interestingly, Bangladeshi cricket teams were playing with England at the same time and I did not see people wanting to watch that game during this time. So much is for our obsession in the football.
I went to Sri Lanka in the first week of July. The world cup was on. The Sri Lankan cricket team is famous and they have special passion for it. Sri Lankan teams were also playing cricket at that time with India (I guess). Our Sri Lankan and Indian friends were definitely keeping an eye on it but their mind was boiling with passion for football too. I had a friend reschedul their flights to ensure that during the Final they are at home to watch the game. It so happened that my flight out of Colombo was during the time of the Final. We watched the most of the game in the airport. Airport authorities played the games everywhere inside the airport. However, we could not finish watching the game before boarding. Our pilot (of Thai airways) was aware of our interest in the game and at 2am he announced that Spain won the cup.
32 countries of the world sent teams to play football in South Africa this time. The process of selection was rigorous too. Every continent was represented in the World Cup and unlike other World Cups; it is played once in every four years. It takes two years to arrange matches for qualifying for the World Cup. This year from Africa (the host continent), Ghana played well. They were unlucky to lose a game, which they should have won. Brazil was knocked out of the game by the Netherlands and the Germans knocked out Argentina. From North America, team USA played a beautiful game. Uruguay played well too. They had one very gifted player and they should be proud of him, Forlain. However, credit goes to the Spanish team who played a very good game with minimum number of fouls and deserves to be the Champion. We will to see another vibrant world cup in 2014 in Brazil.
To North America, What's All the Fuss About?
By Philip Shaw M.Sc.
I don't get it. Most of us in North America are the same. Soccer is so boring. To the typical North American, how can sane people watch a game seemingly forever with the score 0-0? Hardly anybody in North America can, so "soccer" or "football" as the rest of the world puts it, languishes on the fringes. Every four years there is a pique of interest as the rest of the world goes crazy and North Americans try to be good sports.
It is not like we don't play soccer. We do. In fact soccer throughout North America is one of the biggest activities for young people. In places like California there are youth soccer leagues in the spring summer fall and winter and the rest of North America during the summertime. Even in the small community where I hail from, Dresden Ontario there is a youth soccer program. All of this should be taken as an affirmation that soccer is more popular than it used to be. However, at the end of the day, when these kids grow up is the other major sports in North America that catches their attention.
I also played soccer when I was young but unfortunately just like all the other sports I tried hard but was never really good at it. We also have to play in the cold and the soccer ball was really hard. That combined with the fact I couldn't run very fast made me lose interest in soccer very quickly. At that time which was about 35 to 40 years ago soccer was a really niche sport. In North America now, it is much bigger than that but still ranks behind NFL football, NBA basketball, NHL hockey, Maj. League baseball and all the college sports. That doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for soccer.
I like to say it's just one of those things. And since it's always been very clear to us that soccer in the World Cup was off the chart in the rest of the world. Needless to say, there is nothing that mirrors the enthusiasm, which Enamul writes about. In Canada and the United States you will surely see some fans of the soccer nations out on the streets but it is usually just the bigger cities and they are in the minority. Yes, soccer is a great game but after 60 minutes when the score 00 or 1 to 1, North Americans lose interest in.
I have a very good friend who is now about 45 years old. He has played soccer all his life and loves the game. It has been a wonderful game for him because it has kept him in shape over the years. In 1994 he and a bunch of his friends ventured to Chicago to watch the FIFA World Cup. To him, it was Nirvana, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the world's best soccer players. I was very happy for him because he loved the game so much. He had a great time and I'm sure he continues to watch World Cup action with great interest.
At the end of the day in 1994, Brazil beat Italy 3-2 in a penalty shootout. In the second half it was completely obvious that Italy was playing for the shootout, not being able to compete with Brazil. So at the end of this huge tournament, it boiled down to a shoot-out. It seems so crass to me. Italy's attitude on the soccer field seemed so uncompetitive. To me it was an example of why North Americans don't embrace the game.
In many ways it is a North American thing. Another example that you can find is the game of cricket. Every country in the British Commonwealth plays cricket except you guessed it Canada. I have traveled to many of these countries where cricket is played. I remember one time being in Hobart Tasmania over the weekend and all there was to watch on TV was cricket. I found this quite frustrating because even though it was on all weekend, nothing happened. Years later I had friends from the British Caribbean play a match at the University of Guelph. The match lasted all day and once again, nothing happened.
So I say to the rest of the world, be patient with us. In North America, we just don't get it. Soccer is the beautiful game, World Cup and all. Maybe, just maybe we'll come around someday.
East/West is a joint column written by A.K. Enamul Haque and Philip Shaw. Dr. A.K.Enamul Haque Ph.D, is a Professor of Economics at United International University. Philip Shaw M.Sc. is farmer, writer and broadcaster in Dresden, Ontario, Canada. Each month they will bring their uniquely East/West perspectives to specific topics of world interest.
