Football frenzy

On June 11, I woke up in the morning to hear my sister-in-law complaining. I went to her room and couldn’t help but smile — my brother was busy pasting a newspaper cutting, anaesthetically bang in the middle of the wall. “What’s that?” I asked. He turned around with a mischievous grin and replied, “Happy Fifa.” The month-long sporting carnival has put everyone in a festive mood. Some lucky ones are trying their best to change their work shifts to watch their favourite team play, the not-so-lucky ones who cannot afford to do so, are resigned to their fate and are making do with only recordings. The popularity of this event can be gauged from the amount of space allotted to World Cup stories in leading dailies. Cricket, the most popular sports in India has been relegated to the background and no one seems to be talking about the Asia Cup, as football fans sing and cheer their favourite teams to the rhythm of Shakira’s Waka Waka. The ubiquitous social networking sites have added to the popularity of the event. Debates and comments posted on Facebook, Orkut and Twitter by fans arouse the curiosity of even the non-followers and they too can’t help but chip in and start following the game to be part of the most happening sporting event in the world. The social networking sites are abuzz with updates like ‘Viva la Argentina, Achtung!!’, ‘The Germans are here’, ‘Et tu Roma, then rises Paraguay’ — making it impossible to escape the frenzy. What makes this World Cup distinct is the drone of vuvuzelas, the traditional African horns that lend a war-like triumphant ambience and heighten adrenalin rush. Fans have divided opinions on vuvuzelas — some love it, some simply hate it. But those who hate it will just have to get used to it, “this time for Africa”. As for my brother, he has made peace with his wife and has removed the match schedule from the wall and pasted it behind the door.
Anuradha Adhikary