It only feels like yesterday that we witnessed the Germans celebrate their victory last World Cup. Time surely flies, and the same jubilations of the world’s biggest sporting event have kicked off again after a 4-year gap. The world cup fervor is flourishing and has influenced football enthusiasts to indulge in the magic of the game.
I smile when I see kids walking around, dressed in jerseys of their favorite teams as they predict the final outcome hours prior to the match. Their eyes and tone of their voice clearly illuminate their feelings towards the World Cup.
Reconstruction at Basantapur world heritage site starts
In hazy evenings, as I stroll around, I see the city oozing the aura of the World Cup. This proves Kathmandu’s passion towards the game. Enraptured men dressed in jersey rumble on bikes through the streets waving the flags of their favorite team. Children rush to the football ground more frequently and with great enthusiasm during the world cup envisioning of participating in a world cup game.
These factors emanate the vibes of the world cup. These scenarios make me walk down my memory lane. Also, tea stalls, coffee shops, cafes are crammed with people discussing and gossiping about the World Cup and predicting scores of the matches. Some of the cafes are crammed with jovial youths enjoying the matches on projectors and placing bets and critiquing their way of playing. Similarly, social media also floods with World Cup news, predictions, and evaluations of players and matches.
As I scroll through the news feed of Facebook, I get to see innumerable trolls and memes, especially directed towards the losing team players. Some of them are relevant while some of them are scornful, blatantly disrespectful, and abusive. It enraged me to see people resorting to cheap tactics to grab the attention of the public.
It is totally acceptable to get excited and thrilled about the matches, to praise the team and players. But one should not stoop too low to disrespect and abuse the other teams and their fans in the context of proving one’s team and player superior. Friendly rivalry is fine, enmity is never acceptable.
Football is a beautiful game requiring teamwork, unity, mutual understanding, cooperation, coordination, persistence, and hard work. This beautiful game also exudes a sense of harmony, peace, and unity. Let us be mindful of not disturbing and ruining the sense of harmony and unity it exudes. Let us promote friendly rivalry and discourage enmity, as we sit back to witness the magical performances of the sporting geniuses.
