Football madness!

I am seated in a taxi and a cluster made up of about 10 men is involved in a heated argument over football clubs Arsenal and Manchester United. Each antagonistic side is determined to prove to the other that they are better, the conflict becomes physical and the two rivaling parties start throwing punches and slaps at each other up to when the driver stops the car and kicks them out. Just last year, we got shocking reports of a Nigerian Arsenal fan who after his side lost a match to Manchester United deliberately rammed into two cheering fans of the latter club with his car killing them on spot . Many soccer fans lose millions of money every day to sports betting companies, I have also heard of several cases of people dying of broken hearts or depression after their team lost a game, some have even gone to the extent of committing suicide. Most of these football obsessed lads spend a lot of their time and money researching about the sum of Euros a particular player in Barcelona earns per week but what is dramatically interesting is that they don’t even have shelter to house their heads, they would rather gossip about football from morning till sunset than do some work that helps them earn a living. I am sure there are individuals who accurately know the number of goals Rooney has scored and how they were scored ever since he joined Manchester United. Some are self proclaimed football lecturers and coaches, for example; if there is anyone who has watched a match on TV in a public place especially a pub, you will always notice that whenever some player attempts to score a goal and fails, some chaps among the spectators will offer alternatives to what should have been done. I am left wondering and puzzled at why these chaps in question are not football stars or professional coaches themselves. What is so ironic and pitiful is that these victims of maniacism worship foreign matches but pay little or no attention to domestic games. Isn’t this lack of national pride and identity at its best? These poor lads are blinded by their addiction to football and think everybody has to be a football fanatic because one who isn’t is not trendy. I also know someone may merely dismiss me as an old fashioned and boring person but if one employed logic they would find sense in what I am trying to point out for example why someone should get depressed or excited to near-death over an outcome of 22 men running after inflated rubber. I am not against football love, I am only opposed to those who do it with extremism because it has dire consequences such as failing to make personal progress, feeling suicidal or depressed (after losing a match), too much excitement (after a win) which may cause heart attacks or even death. This is where the saying, “Too much of anything good is bad” makes sense. ivan.ngoboka5@gmail.com