Life is just a Game

We are One

In late 2011, I remember watching a football match in Greece featuring the most decorated and successful Greek team, Olympiacos F.C versus the finest European team of our age, Arsenal F.C in the formers’ home ground, the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece. It was a typical Champions League night and the game might have been but a far-fetched memory had not a moment of brilliance occurred as the game wore on. Arsenal scored through Yossi Benayoun with the assist coming from a certain Marouane Chamakh. Neither of them is a household name even though coincidentally Chamakh wore the number 29 shirt while the goal scorer wore number 30 on his back. But the significance of that moment of magic hit me on how football can be a unifying factor. You see, ladies and gents, Chamakh is a Moroccan international and was then the captain of his national team. Yossi on the other hand, you guessed it right is the captain of the national team of Israel from where he hails. A Muslim and a Jew linking up to inflict damage on the Greek champions. Such is the magic and power of football.

Gor and Ingwe fans United

Since time immemorial, sports and football by far has been used as a tool to bring warring communities together, preach peace and campaign for moral values and their practise. At times, sports has also served to divide people especially where competing teams and their loyal hordes of fans just can’t stand the sight of each other. Amidst all this, more positive than harm can be attributed to football and sports at large.

We all know the simmering tension and warfare experienced in many parts of the world but in the world of sports, there is no black and white, Christian, Hindu, Muslim or Jew. It’s an avenue where humanity’s greatest traits are exposed, where the simplicity of a unified world is demonstrated whether on a pitch, stage or even a swimming pool.

A great act of Kindness

Needless to say, it’s not always nice and smooth. Sometimes racism rears its ugly head and nationalism exceeds human value. But also in such a stage is where we can watch citizens of the most secluded nation on Earth, the North Koreans take on a football giant in Brazil, as it happened in the last world cup in South Africa. It’s also in sports that a Kenyan lady relinquished her sprint to victory in a marathon to help an Oriental man without arms to drink a bottle of water.

There are many other wonderful things and traits that are nurtured through sports. Ranging from team work, hard work, unity and respect both for self and others but that’s a point of discussion for another time. Until then keep it sporty and live out the values of the game, especially the gentleman’s game; football.

Till next time, I remain Njabia, the 3rd.

No need for Caption

TRIBE ALL

I absolutely love football. I play it less often now, realized sometime back I’ll never make it to play for the Arsenal but that hasn't reduced my passion for the beautiful game. I watch football on TV more than anything else, talk about it almost every day whether with friends in college, at home but mostly online. My favourite team Arsenal happens to have the best blog writes who also are many covering many aspects of the North London club. Well, constant winning of awards makes me so say by the aforementioned writers. Sometime I was reading an article about ‘tribalism’ in football. Actually, it was the headline that caught my attention. It was a moment of reality of just how uncontrolled passion, while good and care-free fun, can result in disaster occurring.

The ugly side of football

The article was written after St. Petersburg club in Russia, considered to have the most violent and aggressive of fans (read racists) had attacked those of a rival team and maimed several. The writer was repeating a story that happens when most rival fans collide and blood is shed. He called it tribalism and that made me think deep of our local situation. See, in football, it’s part of the

experience to have a feeling of belonging with fans of the same team while making mockery of those of rivals especially after beating their team. Also, a lot of unbiased and negative feelings and enmity develop against any other team, more so that of rivals. To many fans, that’s just part of the experience, I included but psychos exist and so do they even in society.

Unity in diversity

There are more important aspects in life than football. And more serious issues that need addressing like tribalism. No one chose what race, nationality or tribe to be born in unlike football where one chooses. No one should gloat over the tribe they belong to but that’s acceptable in football. Growing up, the truth is it’d never hit me of my differences with friends I grew up with. All that changed in 2007. We all know what happened then and how worse it has become. I log onto Facebook and the posts I see in relation to the same make my stomach turn with ire. I heard some kids outside the barbershop I go to turn violent and abuses were hurled between them. Besides the usual ‘mbwa’ and ‘jinga’ words, the name of the other kid’s tribe was used to pull him down.

What have we become, Kenyans? Considered the most optimistic people in the planet, 10 years later we’re probably among the polarized of people. United we may seem but that’s because we choose to speak in hushed tones and now more behind out keyboards, spitting hatred against each other on social platforms. We can blame the leaders but the buck stops with us at the individual level. It starts with you, and me. Ball’s in our courts now.

One Kenya

Like footballers who earn mind-blowing amounts of money, we cheer them on and hate on them when they prove disloyal by moving to better paying clubs. Like politicians who seem ever agitating for more pay, we get duped more often than not. Their utterances make us hate each other, and unfortunately even kill each other. Makes me wish we’d live by the rap line sang by a popular hip-hop musician; WE’RE ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.

Yesterday, I attended a match between Kenya’s Harambee Stars and Nigeria’s Super Eagles. We did lose at home from a freak sole goal but I also learnt something at Kasarani. All of us were draped in the national colours cheering on our team. I couldn't tell whether the people around me were Luo, Kikuyu or any other Kenyan tribe. We joined together, singing, jeering and having a good time; as Kenyans. How I hope this would flood over in other aspects of our lives as Kenyans. I choose to act. Hope you do the same and as incense spreads a sweet smelling aroma of peace, love and unity. For this three need to define us as a nation.

Until another time, I remain, Njabia the 3^rd.

LOYALTY

Number 1 fan my foot

Robin van Persie. A lot has been said about him already but this was a man who made me believe so much…that the world still has some good people, who despite the riches and fame that come with being a modern top flight footballer in a major league, maintained humility. As an Arsenal fan, I went through the expected cycle after his departure to Manchester United. It began with sheer shock that gradually turned into anger, resentment and finally into acceptance that the inevitable had happened. Arsenal’s captain, talisman and best player had signed up for our most bitter rivals in the name of his own words; a ‘lack of ambition’.

Arsenal's 'captain curse'

Arsenal made you.

Robin had arrived in England in 2004 from his former club Feyenoord amidst allegations of being an egocentric 21 year old who was selfish in play and plain hard-headed. Even his school records support this as he was constantly on the wrong side of the rules. Disagreements with his manager made him get minimum time on the pitch and at the end of the season, had him placed in the market for 5 million Sterling pounds. Arsenal captured him for half the priceJ! Nevertheless, his time of arrival in the North London club coincided with an era of unprecedented success; the era of the 'Invincibles'. This confined him to the bench for long periods of time as the likes of Henry and Bergkamp ran the show.

Who needs Robin when we have Podolskiiiii?!

Even when he began playing on a regular basis, you could tell he was immensely gifted but would go on to suffer from various injuries season after season. This cycle repeated itself and only in the 2011-12 season did he have a solid and injury-free season under his belt. Not only was he suffering on the physical front but Arsenal stood by him when rape allegations were levelled towards him in June, 2005. I do not know whether he had cheated on his Moroccan wife, Bouchra though he apologized in public for indecent behaviour towards a former Miss Holand-Nigeria. The rest as they say is history. I admired this man but I know he is no saint having seen him lose his temper on the pitch times a plenty.

Maybe Arsenal felt too ol' school than ol' Traff?

Among my DVD collections, one I intend to throw away, ‘RvP’s 100 goals’, the man speaks so loyally of the club that made him a household name and a world-class striker. He recalls the goal against Manchester United when Arsenal won the F.A cup back in 2005 in glee. Then he goes ahead claiming a 'boy in his tummy' always shouted for Man-U upon signing a deal worth millions with them. Strange you have to agree. He knows pretty well than a mere fan like me that you do not join a most fierce rival unless you are plain greedy or dumb. Well, I believe he is smart and left for the riches because he knows, just like anyone who knows football well that had he stayed behind, Arsenal has a better squad than United.

Au Revoir!

Sometimes I think that as much as money is good and we all should have ambition, we should not get over ourselves and even hurt people due to what even the Bible calls selfish ambition (Philippians 2:3). I do not hate RvP, neither will I deny that he is immensely gifted and most importantly will I really be engrossed with him anymore. So, BYE!!! And I hope you continue smiling every time United fans hail you a legend after years of calling you ‘rapist’.

FOUR TEAMS...ONE FAN (Part 2)

ARSENAL...KENYA...GERMANY...REAL MADRID

21st May, 2005. The day brought with it two immortal memories, the wedding of my friends Caro and Joshu and the F.A Final pitying Manchester United and Arsenal. The game was broadcast live on K.B.C and we were crowded with friends watching the exciting game that ended goalless, even after extra time. The penalty shoot-out was nerve wrecking. Five men from either side were to decide which team I would be a supporter of; though I already had a soft spot for the team in red and white.

All but one scored, a Man-U player called Paul Scholes a.k.a ‘Ginger Prince’ due to his gold hair. He had his kick punched away by the ‘Crazy German’ as he used to be called in Jens Lehmann, Arsenal’s goalkeeper. I was in love and now had the privilege of identifying myself as an Arsenal fan. The bond remains, just grows with each passing game. Arsenal till I die. Period.

But there are other three teams I love you know?

113 in the current FIFA World rankings, mostly terrible but with genuine talent here and there and the occasional win, like the 4-0 over Comoros or the famous 9-0 win over Djibouti that happened over ten years ago! I love the Harambee Star’s, Kenya’s national team due to the fact I am Kenyan and still hope we make it to the World Cup 2014 in Brazil and hopefully win in the final against the hosts. Amen.

La Liga, the Spanish league had me a Barcelona fan since ’02 for the wrong reason until last year when I realized their pretty football, hauls of trophies and rich tradition loses its worth due to the team’s unethical practices such as player diving, player tapping and when they finally lured Super Cesc, Arsenal’s captain and cheated their way to the Champions league did I know I have to jump ship. Still in the honeymoon stage with Real Madrid but liking every single bit and memorable gamesJ

Anytime I play FIFA on play station, I choose Germany for an international game. Reason? I honestly think they are the best in World football but that’s not why I like them. Being with Germans as friends and colleagues was a factor and I took time during the last World Cup in South Africa to finally choose a team to support on the global stage…well, till Kenya wins the World Cup anyway! And it had to be Germany, brilliant skills, awesome talent and they play a style I like…technischen Fußball !

Thanks for reading you wonderful people. I remain, Njabia the 3^rd.

FOUR TEAMS, ONE FAN...(Part 1)

I love football. It was not always like that. The first time our family owned a television set was way back in 1998, the year France hosted and won the World cup. I was around a decade old but my least concern was football. I remember not leaving our house entirely due to the T.V, watching shows as boring as ‘Good Morning Kenya’ and ‘Dunia Wiki Hii’ with my small sister and as the two suggest, K.B.C was the only station we had access to!

But then the World Cup began and it was time to leave the house…that is how much I hated football. Fast forward and Japan with South Korea are the World Cup hosts in 2002. Three factors got me hooked to the beautiful game; a certain Brazilian with a unique hairstyle called Ronaldo, Kilosh, a neighbor who used to pin all the football pictures from the dailies in a blank book and my school mates who already were in tune with the English Premier League.

If it was not for my strict mum, I would also have gotten the ‘Ronaldo’ hair style like almost all boys my age. He really was the best footballer of his generation and his record speaks for itself. Period. I always wanted to be opposites with Kilosh and so when he started fancying Real-Madrid, I decided to be a Barcelona fan. But the biggest influence was listening to my classmates discuss, argue and boast of teams like man-U and Arsenal. That made me curious for I wanted to be part of the ‘pundits’.

For the next three years, I faced a football ‘identity crisis’ when I knew not where to pledge my allegiance to. The aforementioned Kilosh tried all tact to convert me into a Man-United fan but I was not convinced and so when Arsenal booked an F.A Cup final with them on 21st May 2005, I decided that was the D-day. I was finally gonna choose which among the two English soccer giants to pledge my allegiance to…

Wonderful people, have a great weekend. Till next time, I remain Njabia the 3^rd.