The World Cup Ends
The World Cup is over.. and Italy have been crowned champions...Ho hum ho hum.. good for them italians..
I had a wonderful time..all the highs..the lows..the adrenaline..etc etc..i went through the entire spectrum of emotions..I went into ecstasy with the argentine goal against serbia to go up 2-0- a piece of art; i cried with nedved-when the czechs were knocked out, their indiscipline costing them dear;i whooped for joy when henry scored against the bloody brazilians; i felt betrayed when ronaldo contrived to send off wayne rooney; i felt the buckling of the body when michael owen injured himself- the frustration when the french would just not score the second goal against the koreans and were dealt the sucked punch;i pinched myself in disbelief when the portugese played the dutch- did it really happen?? what a sad advertisement for football; i felt the adrenaline when the australians fought back in the last 10 minutes to kick the japs; i felt my heartbeat go up a million times when the italians scored in the 118th minute against the germans; i felt the steely determination that the french showed to dismiss the spaniards, the brazilians and the portugese- a generation of gifted players who wanted to postpone their retirement- i felt it all; and i felt it all whooshing out of me when the italians lifted the cup- the end of another adventure...
But, for one inexplicable minute, i felt nothing but immense shattering pain- the image of the most gifted footballer that i think i will ever see on live tv, playing the last match of his career on the greatest stage of 'em all- losing his calm, his composure and lashing out. he has always been a bit of a bad boy- i think it comes with great talent- maradona was a bad boy too, so was dennis bergkamp, so were many others... but to see him do it... at that instant.. was just numbing.
To think that millions of people, for whom football means just watching the WC finals, and who will keep this image of the man, its just sad. he has done a lot more for football- he has enthralled audiences, he has captivated an entire generation, he has been named the best footballer in the past 50 years in Europe, he was the most expensive player in the world- i think he still is; he was the torchbearer for a number of immigrants in france- the son of algerian parents who showed that it is possible to be embraced in the mainstream of society; the man who was shunned by clubs in his youth cos they felt he was not good enough- Marseille you missed out- big time;
I toast to you my man- for all the joys, all the thrills and the frills that you gave me.. the languid grace.the roullettes.. the calm passing.. the pure unadulterated joy... thank you! but, i will keep this enduring image too....to show that everyone is human, after all. that your game was out of the planet but you finally showed that your emotions are not!!!
I had a wonderful time..all the highs..the lows..the adrenaline..etc etc..i went through the entire spectrum of emotions..I went into ecstasy with the argentine goal against serbia to go up 2-0- a piece of art; i cried with nedved-when the czechs were knocked out, their indiscipline costing them dear;i whooped for joy when henry scored against the bloody brazilians; i felt betrayed when ronaldo contrived to send off wayne rooney; i felt the buckling of the body when michael owen injured himself- the frustration when the french would just not score the second goal against the koreans and were dealt the sucked punch;i pinched myself in disbelief when the portugese played the dutch- did it really happen?? what a sad advertisement for football; i felt the adrenaline when the australians fought back in the last 10 minutes to kick the japs; i felt my heartbeat go up a million times when the italians scored in the 118th minute against the germans; i felt the steely determination that the french showed to dismiss the spaniards, the brazilians and the portugese- a generation of gifted players who wanted to postpone their retirement- i felt it all; and i felt it all whooshing out of me when the italians lifted the cup- the end of another adventure...
But, for one inexplicable minute, i felt nothing but immense shattering pain- the image of the most gifted footballer that i think i will ever see on live tv, playing the last match of his career on the greatest stage of 'em all- losing his calm, his composure and lashing out. he has always been a bit of a bad boy- i think it comes with great talent- maradona was a bad boy too, so was dennis bergkamp, so were many others... but to see him do it... at that instant.. was just numbing.
To think that millions of people, for whom football means just watching the WC finals, and who will keep this image of the man, its just sad. he has done a lot more for football- he has enthralled audiences, he has captivated an entire generation, he has been named the best footballer in the past 50 years in Europe, he was the most expensive player in the world- i think he still is; he was the torchbearer for a number of immigrants in france- the son of algerian parents who showed that it is possible to be embraced in the mainstream of society; the man who was shunned by clubs in his youth cos they felt he was not good enough- Marseille you missed out- big time;
I toast to you my man- for all the joys, all the thrills and the frills that you gave me.. the languid grace.the roullettes.. the calm passing.. the pure unadulterated joy... thank you! but, i will keep this enduring image too....to show that everyone is human, after all. that your game was out of the planet but you finally showed that your emotions are not!!!
posted by Hitchcock at 6:56 PM
12 Comments:
hmmmm.....and now they r coming up with all kinda racial speculations to the whole episode!!!!!
lovely post, btw.........i know of someone who'd love to read this one!!!!
PS: after the "mission" comment, i came looking for a spelling error/typo here......u DISAPPOINT me!!! :(((
who is the "someone"???
well..i looked again..there are typos:
sucke"d" punch i wrote..sucker it must be.. i am too lazy to even go now and change it... see u didnt try hard enugh. :)
Its over, hey. I can't believe it...I, as well, enjoyed every bit of it. Another four year wait....
I did not expect that from Zidane...disappointing, and proved to be really costly for France. He could have been the difference in the outcome of that game...yeah, not a way for people to remember this great footballer by, but I true fans like yourself would look beyond that.
An excellent post, Anurag. An excellent tribute to football and all its great temas ans players, irrespective of whether they were winners or not.
boy o boy, the longest word verification ever...umhqwmdk!
WHY, ZIZOU, WHY? is all i cud say... now that remains the only regret thru the world cup...
thanks jas..i knew i could count on a long comment from you.. :) captchas are a pain..but better that than get spammed!
saik...hmm...i have one more regret..i was here..in the US..and not in germany! :(
that someone is "arka" : who wudnot read blogs even if i personally drag him to one......including mine.
and if i didnt try hard enuf its only coz i'm not vindictive /vengeful enuf........... :)
nice post! love your passion for the game ra...ur description of some of the moments was awesome (for someone who has no clue about the game :)).
anita
I really like this post ra Anurag!
@moi- make him read it..tell him he'll miss out on a terrific author :)
@akka- yeah.. i am really really crazy about football..cant help it..some people are just like that!! :)
@roman- my once in a blue moon commenter :).. damn.. high time i wrote a post abt u ... :D... but ho hum..its too late now!
That sounds like a cool idea...ur last post being about me :D
Hmm...i dont know whose influence it was that I have these narcissistic tendencies...Do u know? :P
Check this out...
--ro
i dont know..sumanth mebbe..or rajesh?? remember the "i am the most handsome and sumanth is second" line from rajesh. haha
checked it out...its funny..hehe
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