Stars/Brazil match: A case of being so near yet so far

Simbarashe Msasanuri


Many soccer loving hearts were left bleeding last week following two high profile matches (against Brazil and Rwanda) our lovely Taifa Stars were involved in. The Rwanda match saw our boys biting the dust, a move that sent us out of the CHAN competitions with a thud. This was heartbreaking as we fell 1-0, something many soccer fans could not stomach as we had set our eyes on the finals of the competition.
Hardly 24 hours after that game, another high profile game was penciled at our giant stadium that saw us tumbling again. But, dear reader, it is not the result that was of concern to most fans, but the blunders made by those organizing the match.
It was a case of being so far yet so near for many fans, as their favourite soccer stars such as Kaka, Maicon and Robinho were playing on our soil, but we were forced to eat a humble pie, with our tails in between our legs, closed our doors and glued ourselves to our small television sets, to watch the best team playing, a stone’s throw away from our homes because of prohibitive entry fees charged by the organizers.
You saw it for yourself, the stadium was half empty and this adds insult to an injury because had the stadium been filled to capacity, and tickets running out, then most of us would not be living with this disappointment for the rest of our lives. To tell the truth, this is a lifetime opportunity and to have the number one ranked team in the world not only visiting your country but playing a match with your team is a rare opportunity in the sense that without a major tournament like the World Cup near by, it will be very difficult to bring such a team to this country.
The result of the match doesn’t matter much because we were not expecting a miracle, everyone knows Brazil are the kings when it comes to this game and hosting them was to our advantage, but unfortunately the ordinary man on the street did not benefit from this match. They failed to get the chance to see their favourite players, face to face and resorted to what they are used to- that is watching them play on television.
Still on soccer, as we speak, history has been and is still being made down south as the first ever World Cup to be hosted on African soil began last Friday. Just like a solar eclipse, this is a lifetime opportunity such that once it’s over, we do not know when such a tournament will be held on African soil again.
Maybe we will all be dead when that happens and won’t be there to witness it. I am not a pessimistic here and neither am I judgmental but the truth remains that when the tournament finally comes back, most of the people in this generation, will have rested in their small houses without windows.
But, why worry about the future. Let me reiterate what we said, sometime back, in this column that when such tournaments are held, besides the great benefits that comes with hosting such an event, the waves of the tournaments are so strong that they easily sweep across the whole globe.
As we speak, relationships and families are beginning to be strained as many soccer loving or addicts, usually husbands, prefer to watch their favourite teams rather than paying attention to their partners. It is that time again where husbands turn into strangers not only to their wives but to the whole family as they usually don’t tolerate any disturbances when their favourite teams are playing. To avoid such disturbances, some people prefer to watch the matches in clubs far away from their families where they will be sharing views with other drunken viewers.
What is interesting is that, not only family relations are strained but even work relations are soiled when it comes to this. Just imagine that Brazil is playing against Ivory Coast and it happens that you are at work. You desperately need to watch this game but the time the match starts, you will be required to attend an important meeting or to fulfill some of your duties, your manager is keeping a keen eye not only on you but on every employee so that no one will escape.
Five minutes before the game, the manager leaves your office after heaping a lot of work on you and goes to his office where there is a television set and watches the match while you work. He keeps on making constant calls to make sure that you are there and at half time, he comes physically to check the progress. Such is life.
To avoid this, some workers pretend to be ill so that they don’t report for work on that day. This will help them escape the grip of their bosses. I am not saying people don’t fall sick during this time but there are a few genuine cases where people become really sick. The problem with this is that managers can’t reprimand someone because he or she became sick on the day a big match was supposed to be staged. Even the requirement that people bring medical cards or receipts from doctors, showing that they had been checked or are ill don’t work.
It is common knowledge that it is difficult for a doctor to tell someone that he is not sick while that person is telling him otherwise. The doctor in most cases relies on what the patient is telling him for diagnosis, so even if the guy is lying to cover up for failing to report for duty, then no one will tell.
So many fake medical reports have been submitted at workplaces and nothing will stop many people to do it this winter when the WC is being played next door.
In this list are school children. Most of them, especially boys are soccer addicts to such an extent that they will play every trick in the book to watch all the matches. The good news is that most schools will be closing for holidays anytime this week, others have already closed, so the hide and seek game between students and teachers has been spared.
Though everything is now all set, with the tournament having started, we still have another problem that I feel will spoil many people’s parties, the problem of unannounced power cuts. Let me not be a prophet of doom, but believe you me, many people will definitely miss games pitting their favourite teams due to power cuts.
Though soccer drives people crazy, with some doing every trick in the book to watch it, the sport commonly known as the beautiful game has a magic bullet effect that unite people. Let’s therefore, cherish it being hosted on African soil, hoping and dreaming that one day, Bongoland will host this event. Or, if we fail to host it, then one day this country can win it. What a dream I have. God bless you
bongoblast@thisday.co.tz