An Ode to Football

Football is termed a contact sport by people who do not know its finer details. It is a game that is to be played from the heart and soul as much as it is played by making strategies. Have you seen grown up men crying when they loose a game on the field and on television? That is their heart and soul coming into the game of football.

Football, to be clinical is a game played by 11 players on each side. Players who have practised probably all year round to get themselves into shape. Practised their kicks. Practised their passes. Practised to play as a team and still maintain their individuality. In the end it is a team who stands by each other through thick and thin. So, each team has a captain, a goal keeper and the rest play at different positions. Some defend, some attack and some keep the ball moving from the defenders to the attackers. As it is a contact sport, injuries are part and parcel of the game. Its at the time of injuries that you find the real strength of a team.

You can tell a team who is not well meshed from another who has played together for a long time when one player is down. A team who is well meshed and are friends get into an argument with the refree, sometimes even coming to blows with him and the opposite team. Blood and gory apart, the thrill of the game is when one weaves or wades through a group of defenders and plots the ball into the net. The pure feeling of exhilaration at that point is something that should be experienced. To get that joy you need not be an experienced football player but only knowing a fanatic is good enough. Being in the stands with such a maniac when their team kicks in a goal gives you the same feeling of joy as to the player who has done the miracle for you.