Monday, February 11, 2013
Football, the international sport! I guess I should say
soccer…although us American’s are the only ones that call it that.
Blake and I watch maybe 1 soccer game a year, and it seems like it’s
only while we are living in Africa. This past weekend was that one game
for us! We watched the finals for the Africa Cup! It was Nigeria vs.
Burkina Faso and boy did we have fun! We were invited to the UN base to
watch on their big screen, eat some DELICIOUS food and hang out with our
“friends” in the air conditioning. There is just something about this
sport that brings the best out of people.
I of course was the only one in the room rooting for BFA, but that’s
just my personality, (always rooting for the underdog). All the sports
talk before the game was 64% for Nigeria and 36% for BFA winning, with
the first goal going to Nigeria. We weren’t directly tied to either
team, and honestly we didn’t care who won (which by the way was Nigeria
– 1 – 0)…the game for us was just being together in the excitement. We
didn’t share the same language with everyone in the room, but you just
happen to be drawn together in an exciting time like this.
The whole night was filled with oh’s and ah’s, laughs and joyous
reactions when someone scores, high fives at plays well done and gasps
at close calls, and for a brief moment, you forget you do not know the
person sitting next to you, and that you do not share the same common
language. Five years down the road we probably will not remember who
won, but we will always have the memories of celebrating together. We
will always remember what brought us together giving us hope for a
struggling nation, something to root for, and a shared common interest.
All of this comes from a truly international sport!