A matter of Faith!

“My God! Why can´t we just score?!”, was my continuous thought during the Argentina- Greece football match this June 22nd. And I bet that most of the fans gathered around me were sharing the same frustrating feeling. Most of them were wearing the Argentine t-shirt, singing and cheering, some swearing, others complaining; but most of them simply enjoying the football. You must know that if for most Argentines football is like religion, then the World cup is like a competitive pass to Heaven. Leaving aside mayor differences, there are indeed many points that Football and Religion share in common.

To begin with, most of the matches are played every Sunday, the same day mass is held in church. Many people, in fact, attend games without failure. They are present in every event, no matter the distance, the weather; no matter their health conditions or if they got skimpy wallets. Fans will be there faithfully cheering and supporting their team.

Faith is another point of agreement between football and Religion. Fervent followers actually believe that if they wear the same sweaty t-shirt they wore to the last winning game, if they take the same route to get to the stadium and if they sit at the same spot , then their team has actually more possibilities of triumph. People pray before a match; some lit candles or wear crosses to the event!

And this takes me to PASSION: sitting on pews or hopping on stands, only a great passion can bring so many people together. It´s the love for their team that makes them hug each other when the players score a goal; that makes them cheer all together uniting in one only voice.

There are martyrs that sacrifice themselves for the sake of the team; Demons with red cards and players that kick like Angels; miracles occur in the field and many sins are committed in one game, there are chants and anthems; and in Argentina we even have God in our team! (If not ask the English who shook hands with him once…).

It has been a wonderful experience to have watched the World Cup in a foreign country, cheering and toasting with strangers, calling the family back home to exchange opinions in the middle of the match; even waking up at 2 in the morning just to watch the game was felt with pleasure!

Have you got a hobby that keeps you awake until late ours in the evening? Do you feel so passionate about something? I´d love to hear your story! I´ll feel less alone in this madness!