EVEN A MIGHTY ELEPHANT CAN, SOMETIMES, FALL

Pic.: Ruma Chatterjee

There is, always, a simple reason why most of us love and support a particular sporting nation or a club. When I first started watching football games, Brazil was a formidable team. Pele was God... A dream! So, my fascination for Brazil team runs back to my earliest memories of watching football. Then came the magic of Maradona... I, now, loved Argentina, too.

So, even today, Brazil and Argentina are my favorites... Remove football, I never, ever think about these countries; never even realize that they exist in this world!

On this Semi-finals night – Brazil Vs Germany, I was all excited to watch it. The next morning, I had the first lecture at 8. I negotiated with my students, shuffled the time and kept no programme for the following day till 10. So, my son and I sat to watch the match... and, you know, what would happen if you were a die-hard-Brazil fan; or, if you had assumed that it was the mother-of-all-contests and so on...

Sulking, feeling depressed and shocked, yes, all this I did go through... But, I did not feel angry with Brazilian players... No, neither with Julio Cesar, the goal-keeper, nor with the defenders, nor with Scolari, the coach. I just couldn't bring myself to think ill about any of those players; not because, I was a great Brazil fan... but, because, I remembered the times such things had happened, in the past, to all great teams and all great players...

Sometimes, such a fall just comes about... and, there is no scientific explanation to it... Both Pele and Maradona had gone through their worst times... Maradona in particular... Just some years ago, when Brazil was in bad form, Pele publicly cried thinking about the state of football in his country! Even in this very world-cup, just imagine the fate of, once formidable, Italy, England, Spain, France and Portugal. At least, Brazil crashed in the Semis... England, Spain and Italy were knocked out much before...

Useless teams, are they? Football is all over for them?

Kids, let’s grow up...

How many times have we all got depressed when Sachin Tendulkar got out on a duck... many times, on the very first delivery? How many times have we thought he was useless, dead meat... and, yes, how many times have we concluded: Cricket is all over for him?

We are fans, the lesser mortals... driven by our emotions.  Sachin, Pele, Maradona, Messi or Ronaldo, Michel Jordon, Carl Lewis, Usain Bolt, Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson, Bjorn Borg, Federer or Maria Sharapova or whoever it is... Are they not mortals, too? Don’t they have emotions? Don’t they have the right to fall? And, don’t they have the right to rise again?

Some years ago, the Pope had made some controversial statement which had angered many people across the globe. The Pontiff instantly tendered a public apology and the reached to those who were hurt by his words. I remember that evening, in a prayer meeting at our place, when someone had asked the Sister who was facilitating the meet, “Pope is a responsible head; why did he have to make such a controversial statement?”

For a moment, all thought there was logic in that question... But, then, a short pause later, the Sister looked at all of us, straight in the eyes, and said: “My brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ, remember, even a mighty elephant can, sometimes, fall!”

To me, that evening, what Sister said made a hell lot of sense...

As millions and millions of tweets and FB posts were relentlessly doing rounds yesterday, making Brazil a butt of joke, another video clip, too, was doing rounds, quietly... The rousing reception, my idol Tendulkar, received as he came out to bat at Lord’s...

Is he the same Indian batsman, who we thought was useless and a dead-meat, yes, when he produced duck after duck during his worst times?

Come on!

GERALD D’CUNHA