12 Jul 2010 @ 02:21, by Erle Frayne Argonza
The entire planet is glued on the world soccer games at this moment, indicating an ever growing sense of one family sort of planet. We may all experience both euphoria and pain while we watch the events, but one thing is sure about the matter: the World Cup is a banner event that can rally our planetary citizens towards peace and cooperation.
DEVELOPING WORLDS’ WORLD CUP STAKES
Erle Frayne D. Argonza
Happy World Cup Season to everyone!
The entire planet is glued on the world soccer games at this moment, indicating an ever growing sense of one family sort of planet. We may all experience both euphoria and pain while we watch the events, but one thing is sure about the matter: the World Cup is a banner event that can rally our planetary citizens towards peace and cooperation.
That the present world cup season was held in South Africa, a country of the South (it used to be North when it was White-dominated), signals what could be an emerging phenomenon: of world games being held for consecutive times in the South states. Just like the Olympics, there may never be World Cup up North again or later.
I am myself highly appreciative of the holding of the games in South Africa, enchanted as I am with the magnificent architectural designs of the games’ venues. An unsolicited advice would go for the organizers of the games: “let’s have some more games held in South Africa in the future to maximize the use of those marvelous stadium facilities.”
And, I wish that my own country, the Philippines, can catch up on the soccer fever. We seem to be stuck up here with the love for basketball, thanks but no thanks to our colonization by the U.S.A., which explains the older generations’ luke warm attitude towards the World Cup.
I’m happy at least that the youth of my country has been catching up on the World Soccer hysterics. Around my neighborhood area in the suburban boondocks, soccer watchers scream to the highest heavens at wee hours as a cathartic way of appreciating the games.
How about my continent Asia? Where goes my fellow Asians after the games? How far can Asia forge ahead strong teams that can reach the final rounds at least? Of course, the better it is that at least one Asian team that will “bring home the bacon.” We Asians just can’t be let down by sobs and blues over our poor performing teams, can we?
Overall ratings for developing countries remain to be seen yet. Brazil was already badly mauled as of the latest rounds versus the North countries (trounced by the Dutch). But Brazil has consistently shown enormous firepower in soccer, ditto for its neighbor Argentina.
We peoples of the South can proudly say that, no matter how sluggish our development efforts have been, we can at least out-perform the North soccer-wise. Soccer is an instance where we’re able to ‘level the playing field’ and humiliate neo-Nazi skinheads for misplaced White supremacist arrogance.
The World Cup has been an excellent platform for us peoples of the South to regain our damaged self-esteem—damaged by 500 years of Northern imperialism and enslavement—and recoup lost grace. Instead of avenging our impoverishment by declaring a world war versus our Northern ex-enslavers, let us forge stronger World Soccer teams and overpower them in the playing fields.
What say you, fellows of the South? friends from the North?
[Philippines, 05 July 2010]
[See: IKONOKLAST: [link],
UNLADTAU: [link],
COSMICBUHAY: [link],
BRIGHTWORLD: [link], ARTBLOG: [link],
ARGONZAPOEM: http://argonzapoem.blogspot.com]
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