Football and other such maladies

What is it about football that turns men into tv bozos - actually just simple bozos. I've seen passion for other sports as well. But nothing to beat the hysteria that football generates. There's no other talk during the World Cup month - whether it's the cafeteria, or a meeting room just before or after a meeting or even cars, cabs and buses. My friends refuse to talk to me when matches are on. Hell, some of us even start fighting! I'm sure many-a relationship goes through a trying time just because of these matches.

To find out, I sat through with my father and my brother today to watch the Argentina-Germany match. I started out a non-believer. I ended a convert.

I started out with wondering what was so cool and frenzy-inducing about a game where all these men ran around a vast field ramming into and bruising each other all for the sake of a mere ball.

By the time Ayala shot his firt goal, I'd chewed on the brains of the males in my house enough to figure out what the rules - or lack of them - of the game were. And then everytime the damned referee did not give Germany a yellow card, I'd curse him!

Don't know why, but somehow Argentina became my favored team and I was marveling at the nimble footedness of the players and if I'd so much as see a German player get close to an Argentinian, I'd scream!

Over the course of the game, my father told me about which kick was a good one and why very patiently. It's a fairly simple game really, if you put your mind to it. Not much to understand there, like in cricket.

I'm obviously a baby as far as knowing the game is concerned. But one thing is for sure. I'm definitley staying up tomorrow to watch the match between Brazil and France.

The fact that I felt this sense of loss when Argentina lost the penalty shots was an underline on the fact that today I am a football convert.

Did I hear the ladies hiss 'traitor'?