Football football...=) / =(
This year - being in Sweden I became a part of the football fever, being with friends, discussing the game and the players of course, eating popcorn, not writing thesis..
Yesterday I watched the match Sweden against Germany. The result is not important to me at all. I really do not care who´s gonna win. I was watching the behaviour of players. And from now on everything I m going to write isn´t concerning just football but many other sports as well.
The players when losing (either personal fight with the oponent player or as a team) started behaving as they do not have any limits in hurting someone. Kicking on purpose when a player has jumped and is high in the air..one never knows how will the player land and if he or she will be able to stand up. Running in full speed into a player from back side..HEJ!!! That´s dangerous!!!! I play handball myself and I know that however well a player can be trained and muscles are strong - to be pushed from back side when unexpected it can end very very bad!!! Each player knows this and that´s why I get even more upset when I see the satisfaction in the face of the one who has done it. I just had feeling that the game was not a game anymore. I didnt see an effort to go over personal limits and try harder although the opponent was better at the moment. I didnt see joy from the game.
Another interesting "discovery" were the reactions of people watching the game. How can anybody laugh about the fact that one player pushed another one when the referree didnt see it? That´s malicious. And at the same time to be really upset when the same thing happens to a player of "your" team. Where is the difference? To be honest..I was a bit sad when I saw it.
Maybe I take those things too seriously but I think that health of people should be taken seriously.
I really liked all those blogs when the football championship started about friendship regardless nationality, about common interests and common goal - to see nice game! And I stil wanna see nice game, movement, nice (fair!) tricks with ball based on one´s skills and not on one´s deceit.
This is exacly why I'm not watching football, or handball for that matter. During the handball tournament (world championship? European championship) this winter I was watching a game, and the players were really mean to each other, just like you described here. The players were pushing each other, running in to each other, and I just know I would never want to play such a game because I would get really upset and try to hit back. Unfearness in games is something I don't approve of. Unfearness in life in general, actually. But seeing this on such a high level, in a sport, really bugs me.
Why can't they play nicely? Is the competetivness in us that big?
I know that feeling of kind of "anger" that I wasn´t able to get through defense or that I wasn´t able to defend my "territory" and THEY scored. But sport is also about managing that "anger" and turn it into something smart how to get through or defend next time in a fair way. And then the game becomes something worth to see!!!
I hope you wern't looking at tonights match, Kristina :).
16 yellow cards (ending up in 4 reds) makes it one of the worst i have seen. I agree with one of the commentators on norwegian TV - "The only comfort is that nobody was killed". But, it's drama, though it will destroy the sport if every match is like this. And after the match atleast the supporteres seemed to behave good.
Hej Hej! You said I maybe wouldn't like this blog. Why shouldn't I like it? For the reason you offer another view on the game I love, a more critical one?
I love your blog. It's true, I don't agree with everything that's been said. All the more I appreciate it since I hold that any perspective different from mine I love because if I deal with it carefully it can enrich my view.
That's what the blog did! I learned new words ;)) and it is so interesting to see how many aspects the game has.
I don't think that these days it is important to love the game football - compared to other games. These days it is about falling in love with the things that occur around it.
I understand that this gets harder when watching an ugly match.
And you're right with many things. I watched some mathces of Italy, I saw Nehterlands versus Portugal and these matches were really brutal. These matches destroy the game. And I'm really sad about it. But isn't great that the fans didn't continue this brutality after the match? I wanna offer this to illustrate that a common sense prevails beyond the game almost always.
The match of Germany against Sweden was very fair I think. We need to take into concideration that at this level the game isn't just a game anymore. I could fill loads of lines about the expectations referring to the Championchips and going far beyond football in this country.
I played football and a rahter high level myself and you play handball - so that we know, agressivity and hardness (both against oneself and the oponent) is neccessary to play a good game. Handball is a very physical sport. I think that shouldn't be criticized. Part of the game is, that it is also a fight: Who is faster? Who is stronger? Who is more creative? Who is more infatuated? All these questions have to be answered during a game and the one who answers them best will win.
What you also alluded to is the sense of justice. And I agree with you doubtlessly. This is essentiel not to overstep a certain limit and that is what some players seem to lack. But this not only concerns physical hardness that boarders haressment. It also concerns pretending injuries, making the game slow, demanding cards for other players etc.
You're right and I agree: this is the ugly site of the game and it should be changed.
But there are far more nice sites and I think it's important to realize that players running into each other, falling down, feeling pain is part of the game. If you don't feel this, you cannot really appreciate you good move that looks so easy, you cannot enjoy a brilliant goal.
PEACE maik