There really is magic in the game of football. If not real magic, it’s the magic in one kick, in one goal scored or in a single game won. It’s the fact that the small round ball of synthetic leather means so much to so many people around the globe. And as 32 countries from around the world compete for football supremacy on the greatest stage of all, it’s seeing flags fly high, the abundance of colour and the euphoria of such an occasion on the streets of Russia that make the FIFA World Cup 2018 so special.
Two weeks in and football fans at Sancta Maria College are truly in football fever. From late nights watching every game of the World Cup, to constantly checking updates on their phone, football enthusiasts at the College are quick to admit that it hasn’t been easy keeping up with all the games with matches scheduled to come on as early as 2am when most people are sleeping. But with the passion for the game that they have, they find it not a problem at all. In fact it’s a football fan’s dream to say that they’re able to stay up late to watch games when there is school the next morning.
There has been a variety of students cheering for different teams. Most are going for Germany to win back to back World Cups. But as a Year 13 student put it, he would much rather see Lionel Messi with the gold trophy in his hands at the end despite the early struggles of Argentina.
“I’m going for Argentina because I want Lionel Messi to at least win one World Cup. At first I was going for Germany but because they lost their first game, I’ve lost interest in them.” He continued to say that he thought that it was a bit disappointing that New Zealand didn’t qualify for the World Cup but did think that the better team (Peru) qualified in the end. He is thoroughly enjoying getting up to watch the games and getting into the football festivities.
Another student who is getting into the World Cup spirit is Year 7, Isaac Sheng, who is a massive fan of the game and of Cristiano Ronaldo. There are many teams who he believes can take the cup but if he was to just choose one he would go with Germany. He’s extremely excited that the World Cup is on but is sad that he can’t watch all the games due to them coming on in the middle of the night. Mr Hunn on the other hand has been staying up to watch every single match. A native of England, he is very patriotic and would love to see his Englishman be crowned champions after 52 years since they were World Champions. They look like they have a good chance after beating Tunisia in Game 1 by one goal and absolutely dominating Panama to win 6-1 in their second match.
His favourite players from the Cup so far have been captain of Croatia, Luka Modric who had an MVP performance against Argentina in their second game of the group stage, scoring a flawless goal in the 80th minute, and also likes England’s Dele Alli. Mr Hunn loves the game so much that he came into school late the other day after watching the football. He commented on his thoughts about the Kiwis not being in Russia saying: “I thought they were quite unlucky, I thought they could have beaten Peru. They were a bit behind the times.” He looks to carry on his FIFA World Cup marathon as the action continues.
With Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi looking like favourites among football fans at the College, there have been some students who admire other players such as Neymar and Thomas Muller. Of all the current players, Muller has the most goals with 10 and the most assists with 6 in a World Cup. As the football consumes most of the day, some conversations on school have turned into talking about if someone saw the heartbreak of the Argentinean faithful on SKY in the morning after a devastating loss to Croatia which brought some to tears. There have also been students posting their predictions for the winner and the final score in the school library where there is a competition to see who can guess the correct score or the closest to it and whoever does will win a prize. As well as this there is a whole wall in the library dedicated to the FIFA World Cup with a whole lot of facts including the countries in each group and also some books on the history of the Cup and its memorable moments.
As much as the World Cup is about watching the games itself, it also gives people the chance to step back and take a look at what sports can do. Nearly half of the whole planet tunes into watch the FIFA World Cup and if you not only think about the people who have traveled to Russia but also consider people like the students and teachers at our school, the World Cup has brought so many people together despite the issues and challenges that we currently face in our world. It’s an opportunity to look past our differences and celebrate this one thing that we all love, which is football.
Mr Green couldn’t have said it any better. “I love the World Cup as a celebration of diversity. The Olympics is fantastic, but it is about individuals. The FIFA World Cup is about teams – 23 people from a nation of 200 million (Brazil) or a nation of 300 thousand (Iceland) carrying the hopes of a whole country from Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, North America and Australasia … all across the globe. There will be laughter, joy and also tears along the way. Four weeks when the world is brought together. We could all learn a little bit from that idea.”
Shontelle Matano
