I am not a fanatic of anything, let alone the round-leather games, whose players only entertain and then smile to the banks. Why should people bully and kill themselves over a “game”? The result of a game can go either way. So, it is important for the supporters of players to withstand the outcome of football matches, even when they are not happy about it.
Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, a 29-year-old Kenyan football fan was once reported to have committed suicide just because the club he supported (Arsenal) lost a match. This is not proper. Maybe psychoanalytic experts may help us explain why some people take football as a religion, and often allow their emotions to overcome their reason when watching the game. The losing players may weep, and react negatively on the pitch, and may even call the bluff of the referee, as Drogba (some Nigerian supporters call him Aderogba!) once did when Chelsea played with Barcelona. But players don’t kill themselves. Look at Kanu or Essien, win or lose, they always take it easy; gentle, cool, calm and collected. It is because they know it is a game.
The problem with fanaticism is that it leaves a bitter taste after a sweet experience. While the players play with one another and even exchange jerseys, knowing that losing a match is not the end of their career, their fanatic supporters fight against one another. Informed investigations show that some football fanatics don’t talk to their spouses for days, some go on sex strike, and some don’t even eat at home in protest of ‘their’ loss. This is still bearable. But ending one’s or other people’s life as a result of a football match is the most unthinkable.
In fact, If Drogba’s Chelsea did not win and Eto’o’s Barca won, what do you stand to lose? If there was no game called football or soccer would you not live your life? If your club does not win today, can it not win tomorrow? We must watch matches responsibly. In short, we should be enthusiasts and fans of football, and not fanatics of it.
§ Earlier version published in The Guardian (Lagos)
