I don’t know about you but I am loving the World Cup!  I, like most Americans i guess, was never really into soccer until my son started playing it and then got onto “the team” in high school .  I actually was never much into any sport but once I got the hang of soccer, I found it to be pretty exciting and realized how challenging a game it is.  I know I could never run and kick a ball around without falling on my face, never mind pay attention to everybody else on the field and do fancy footwork and shoot goals.  Forget it!

As I sit here watching Ghana and Uruguay kicking penalty shots to determine who wins the semi-final, I’m amazed how intensely people all over the world feel about this sport.  The stadium is packed full and all of Africa is counting on Ghana to be their beacon to the world.  People put their hearts and souls into this sport.  In some countries, you can’t even show your face in public if you lose.  People were stoning the bus in Egypt when they came back. Now that’s a bit much.  Never having been a sports player of any kind and definitely not a fan of competition, letting a game become something that important is not good.

I love watching and it’s fantastic fun to cheer and celebrate when “my” team scores or wins but if they don’t, well, so what?  If the game was good, then I’m happy.  I actually usually feel bad for the ones that lose.  Hey, it’s a game!  Life goes on.  By the way, Ghana just lost.