Withdrawal

Two days without football and I’m already going through withdrawal. For those just vaguely aware that there is some kind of a football tournament going on, well, the tournament has reached the quarter final stage and is a on 2-day break before it resumes, to give the qualifying teams ample rest and practice time. Which means that after 19 days of non-stop entertainment which involved some gorgeous men chasing a ball for 90 minutes, running into each other and feeling each other's super toned butts, there is suddenly no such hot action for 2 days. It also means that there are now only 7 matches left. Sob sob...what the hell am I supposed to do with my evenings after July 12th??!!!

Well, I could go back to the gym, for one.

The World Cup has ensured that I run home straight from work and park my ass in front of the TV. Any kind of food discipline I might have had earlier has gone to the dogs. All kinds of junk food that I’d otherwise not have touched - such as fried potato chips, samosas, pakoras etc. - are being liberally ingested. I’ve taken to eating pastries like a global ban on bakeries is imminent. I stay awake for the midnight matches with the help of Nutella. And on top of everything, it’s mango season!!

All this has led to me piling on 2 kgs!! At the places I'd want to pile them on last. I have even received their application for permanent residency, but I refuse to grant it to them. Maybe I would have if they had chosen their place of residence better. Given their current address, no.

So as of tomorrow (not today given that I have already feasted on spicy potato chops) I am going to cut off all the junk-fried-fattening food from my diet. And I am going back to hurt locker, a.k.a. the gym. The pounds have to leave before the end of this month. Suggestions would be welcome.

On another note, I love football. It’s such a beautiful game. Requires such skill and talent. Countries such as Brazil and Spain play like a song. It’s so heartwarming to see players of winning teams hug, kiss and pat each other (most of the times on the butt, there we go again!), with a big smile plastered across their faces. It’s equally moving to see the faces of players of the losing team, facing up to the bitter truth that they couldn’t win in spite of putting in so much effort.

Yes, I do believe that every player puts in the maximum effort that he is capable of into the game, particularly when he is playing for his country, irrespective of whether his team wins or loses.

Moreover, football is a game that teaches a lot of valuable lessons in life…to place the interest of your team as a whole ahead of your ego, to be a fighter, to be strong, to accept failure as part of life, to keep striving to get better at what you do, friendship (I love to see players who trip or tackle a player of the opposing team help him get up), respect for your competitors. In fact, more than a game, football is a lesson in life.