The Golden Goal
weisi
I’m sitting here at my desk, fantasizing about being in a pub with a Grolsch and glued to the TV screen as Germany (or the Netherlands or Brazil) sweep across the pitch and head into the World Cup semi-finals.
Sigh.
What an overpowering emotion it must be to sit in that football arena, and what I wouldn’t give to bottle that fervor that emanates from the impassioned crowd and use it for things unrelated to football.
Imagine the manpower of every fan in the stands if they channeled some of that passion for the beautiful game into being a little more aware, a little more involved, and a little more “activated” (to borrow a word from our MTM: Impact) about the world.
Do people know how easy it is to get activated through Media That Matters? We are literally at your fingertips with films waiting to be seen, links waiting to be clicked, and connections waiting to be made. You can screen a short film, be informed about an important issue affecting yourself or someone in your global community, and learn which organizations are spearheading these issues all in the span of the half-time whilst waiting for the second period to begin. ...How do I get Shades of the Border to play during stoppage time? And Uninsured in the Mississippi Delta to screen after that striker collides with the goalkeeper and is sent off on a stretcher with injuries? Okay, maybe that’s too much.
But really, the World Cup is all about celebrating the global community. If you can sit in a space with 30,000 people from 30,000 backgrounds, nationalities, creeds and perspectives… if you can yell and boo unanimously at the ref… if you can share the same glory and upset when a goal is scored in the 88’, there’s no better time than now to partake on a bigger conversation with the people who share not only your game but your world.
“Empathy not sympathy” is the way to build a connection, said one of our MTM: Impact panelists Zach Niles. So, football fans everywhere, can we use this time of international attention and cooperation to use our momentum and high spirits and empathize with things that will far outlast this sublime month in South Africa? Things that affect us everyday and not just every four years?
Maybe you’ll find out that the opposing team’s country abuses human rights or shamelessly contributes to polluting the environment—what better reason to boo them.
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| Posted on June 16, 2010
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