As expected, the World Cup has found an echo on Goanet. Also as expected,
some weird comments (to say the least), have begun to appear, after
England's defeat (no coincidence at all).
Some Goanetters, who are also HM's subjects, are deeply distressed. England
being defeated is bad enough, being defeated by Portugal, of all the
countries, now that's too much to bear for such subjects, in view of their
rather peculiar mind-set! So they have to vent their anger and frustration.
And Cristiano Ronaldo has to be turned into the "bête noire" on whom to lay
the blame for England's debacle. Forget that Erikson said, literally "it was
the force of Portugal that won". Forget Beckham's admission of his team's
failure, without blaming others. It was Cristiano and the entire Portuguese
team that were to blame. This must be the modern version of English
fair-play.
Forget that Rooney stamped on an opponent. This was made up by the
Portuguese, Ronaldo in particular! What you saw on TV was just optical
illusion! I guess the unruly spoiled brat should be lining up for an OBE
(even though there's no empire, the Order is very much there) from HM the
Queen (God Save Her), if she's still around next time awards are given out,
for good behaviour and sportsmanship! As for the Guardian article, the usual
trash, not worth the time it takes reading it.
Someone else claims, rather oddly, that "India's game is field hockey"
(!!!!). Just how many people in the world care about field hockey? Many
don't even know what kind of sport it is. How many Indians could play
hockey, as opposed to football?
Has anyone heard of hockey on roller skates? (Hóquei em patins) I doubt.
Well, Portugal is a world champion on and off, alternating with Spain. But
it is a game no one plays outside Portugal, Spain and their ex-colonies in
Africa and South America, and very few people play in these countries. No
one in his right mind would claim that to be "Portugal's sport", just
because we are the best in the world at that. Football is universal (it is
called "desporto-rei" in Portugal), and every country in the world tries to
muster it. Which brings me to the most interesting question I read today:
Why is India, with more than a billion people, almost a non-entity in
football? Why is India so backward in sports in general, as seen by the
miserable results at the Olympic Games? This question was posed by the
"Times of India", in a dedicated forum, right after the last Olympics. It
questioned, reflecting the country's frustration, whether Indians were
physically weak. I would rather blame wrong policies and underinvestment in
sport. It is troubling, in any case, that one sixth of mankind should be so
inept at most major modern sports. Perhaps too much attention being given to
cricket, which will never be a mass-sport. This is a theme well worth
debating.
Rui Collaço
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