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Friday, June 18, 2010

Football : The Beautiful Game




Soccer, or football as it is known throughout the world, is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the world. Though not as popular as cricket, football still has a huge fan base in India. States like West Bengal, Goa , Kerala, Punjab, and Manipur have traditional soccer fan base. Maybe Football is so popular because of the excitement it generates and the way its is presented.

On a personal front, being attracted towards football was quite natural. Coming from a Bengali family and having a father who is an avid fan of Mohun Bagan, I was naturally inclined towards football. 

The world's biggest sporting event, the FIFA World Cup is here and it will certainly bring out the best in world football. Yes, the World Cup is the buzz word this season. So let's check out why this game is so popular. 

There are many reasons for this. In football you mainly use your feet, chest and head thus making the ball always open and so the game is fast paced and demands a vast array of techniques. It is because of this fast nature of this game that makes it worth watching. It has all the elements of a Bollywood potboiler. Probably, that's why it is so appealing to the Indian masses. Running after the ball, dribbling it, kicks through the air, ball bouncing off the goal post, on field fouls, yellow cards, free kicks, slight mistakes by the defender, misses by the goal keeper and GOAL ...these are the sights that draw the oohs and aahs from the audience and also bring out moments of eternal joy. People just love it. Anything can happen within the wink of an eye. A goal in the last minute can entirely change the outcome of the game. It is this unpredictability of this game that makes it beautiful.

The popularity of this game is also due to the relative simplicity of the game. All that is needed is a ball and two teams. This game has also diminished the difference between rich and poor. This is everyone's game. This is the people's game. And guess what?? Some of the best players in world football have come from the poorest of families.


The game of football definitely needs some good skills and foot-eye coordination. Millions of dollars are spent in securing players with perfect skills by various clubs and this simply builds media coverage and adds to the popularity of this game.

Football is watched and played more than any other sport globally mainly due to the excitement of hoping to see a goal and the importance each goal scored has on the flow of the match. Each year football becomes more popular than the year before, no other sport has ever been able to achieve this over such a long period of time. 

This game has inspired the today's youth. It has given them hope. It has taught them that if they  are dedicated, if they put in their best efforts, if they are determined, have faith in themselves and if they strive to achieve their dreams, then nothing is impossible. These noble thoughts are taught by the game of soccer, and is one of the many reasons why this beautiful game is so appealing to the masses.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ya Soccer is very entertaining game.
people love it all over.
Even we a Cricket Crazy country is watching with more belief then we watched T20 world cup.
Lots of up and downs in a game.
Its great fun !

Anonymous said...

I just love football! Its awesome! The best sport by far. Dont know why so many Indians still see football as a boring sport. You know what they say? "You have to sit and watch 1 and 1/2 hrs and u get to see one or two goals. Booorrinnng!" And those people watch ODI cricket one full day and Test cricket for atleast 3 days. Oh the irony!

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