We didn’t play but we owned it!
Sayed Ahmed :
FIFA World Cup 2022 is over! Spectacular and luminous stadiums in Qatar are immersed in darkness. All the teams have returned to home; Argentina and France have accomplished celebrations as well. The whole world has resumed normalcy after the great show but only one small South Asian country which is located 4000 km from Qatar, 16000 km from Brazil and 17000 km from Argentina is still occupied with football. After effects include throwing parties, tagging oppositions in sarcastic posts, and even admitting them to the winning party through milk-bath ritual, and what not! Yes, it is us: Bangladesh!
While the rest of the world enjoyed the tournament, the giant football event exposed our inner selves. We did not just watch the matches and supported our favorite teams; rather, we took the opportunity to vent out our suppressed depression, frustration, stress and agony. At a time when investigative journalists leave crimes to hunt actress’ personal lives to fill in, FIFA World Cup 2022 came as a ‘vegetarian’ happening to cover our real faces. To the entire world, we have demonstrated ourselves as a generous, broad-minded, sacrificing nation. We can fight with our family and friends for others. For more than a month, we were divided between Argentine and Brazilian fans, but it was not confined into the playground or football itself; shockingly, it crossed borders of lands, languages and cultures. Unfortunately, the rivalry reached schools, colleges, universities, offices, drawing rooms, even bedrooms. Football was everywhere! Dining tables, tea shops, offices, media, entertainment, talk shows, dramas and so on. All matters-personal, family, official- everything was football-centered in a country where more than ninety percent people are seasonal followers of world football. Our love for football springs up all on a sudden every fourth year. Once the tournament is over, our excitement rests in hibernation until the next show commencing four years later. Our fascination that puts us head on head with our life-time friends and family expires so soon!
We cannot even qualify for FIFA World Cup, so supporting any foreign country for their performance is quite alright but we have taken the issue too far; so far that we didn’t care to hurt family and friends personally: bullying, teasing, backbiting, brick bating even killing each other! We sold land and took loans from bank to make 2K feet long flags of our beloved teams Argentina and Brazil but we never make such a long flag of our own country in World Cup Cricket. During this world cup fest, Bangladesh national cricket team whisked mighty team India and won the ODI series, but only a few Bangladeshi rejoiced as they were intoxicated with literally foreign countries Argentina and Brazil as well as their superstar players Messi and Neymar to name a few who we know only through media. There is no point in detesting motherland and lauding the unknown: we have nothing in common with Argentina or Brazil as nations in particular. This kind of frantic affection doesn’t work!
We hail the attention we have received from Argentina but who would not love to be branded in the farthest corner on the globe without spending a single penny? Messi’s country justified our unprecedented love for them. We are glad. Argentina will reopen their embassy in Dhaka. We are happy! We love foreign countries entirely but if we invested the same amount of love, money, support and concern for our national football team, Bangladesh would play in the world cup. With the money we made the 2K feet flag, gambled on the matches and threw parties, we could support football teams in high schools and localities.
In conclusion, we should feel proud that we can love foreign countries unconditionally but that should come next to our own country. We all must get united to inspire our national football team so they can play in the world cup and we do not need Brazil or Argentina to camouflage our true affection for football.
(Sayed teaches at a university
in Saudi Arabia).
