Meaning to Life

Healthy modern Japanese error atonement

With the South African 2010 FIFA World Cup in its final stages I have found another surprising smiling winner. I had already awarded the Danish footballer Simon Poulsen a personal award for his Buddha Smile but now I have discovered another. Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura gets my runners up medal although if points were also awarded for breaking with tradition he would perhaps get the first prize.

Nishimura San was the referee appointed for the Brazil versus Netherlands quarter-final match and in spite of his cultural background: usually requiring that all official matters be taken extremely seriously and should errors be made, well… the ultimate atonement, of course, is seppuku (hara-kiri), he completely dispensed with aeons of tradition by chuckling in front of the world when he made his mistake.

Andre Ooijer (wearing the unlucky 13 shirt) had committed a relatively minor infringement by kicking the ball away contrary to the spirit of the game and Nishimura San came running over initially brandishing a red card. He soon realised the error and the funny side by chuckling as he proudly thrust the correct yellow card up in the air in front of the extremely relieved Andre Ooijer.

It has to be said that Nishimura was credited with an excellent refereeing performance at this and other games and Andre Ooijer also played his part in a positive result for the Netherlands which eventually took them through to the final.

So well done Nishimura San, de heer Ooijer, Simon Poulsen and last but not least South Africa.

 

 

Simon Says, “Smile; the Buddha would”

I have already chosen my own world cup winner. He is Simon Poulsen of the Danish team and I award him a winner’s medal for the nicest smile ever for scoring a goal and the opportunity to see his beatific smile unimpeded by his fellow players jumping all over him in congratulations. The simple reason is that he scored his goal and not Denmark’s goal (that is presumably why they are referred to as own goals) not necessarily at the right end, or perhaps at the right end but not in the right 45 minute period. Whichever way you look at it he didn’t get something quite right but the Buddha smile most certainly he did.

Simon says "smile" - the winningest smile in football

For a little extra World Cup entertainment I have focussed more on the football fans as my contribution to the South African World Cup fun with these videos:

For the full range of videos: Meaning To Life video archive

Kurdistan to hold 2012 World Cup (a bit unofficial)

Perhaps we should just get one little thing straight first off. The second “F” in FIFA stands for football so perhaps it would be reasonable for the “whole” world to call this sport football although one inventive (or condescending – still not quite sure which) American friend of mine came up with the notion that it could be called kickball although I didn’t hear him suggest the Americans could by way of two-sided compromise offer to change their sport’s name, for example, to bruteball.

I had heard that Cost Ricans were mad about football although a swift periscope-like peek around the world right now and it does beg the question as to where people are not mad about football. I tried scouring the planet -not with a periscope I might add, that would have taken me a very long time indeed- and came up with a short list. Not only are they not mad about it in these countries they did not even bother to enter or turn up for the pre-qualifying events in spite of being members of FIFA. Bhutan, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Guam, São Tomé and Príncipe, Brunei, Philippines and Papua New Guinea are the culprits.

As is usual there are those that spurn their opportunities in life and there are those that hanker after that which those that spurn have. By easy reference I refer to my Kurdistani hairdresser. Yes, mad about football and he is convinced that Kurdistan will be competing in the next World Cup. He said that Iraq will have to give back the Kurdish members of its team. At that point in the conversation my mind had too many things to consider politico-logistically but I did investigate later and discovered there is a very vibrant non-FIFA World Cup which Kurdistan hopes to host in 2012 and a whole stream of regional associations, unrecognised states, autonomous regions and minorities that would love, just like Kurdistan, to be participating in the official World Cup. Shame on you Bhutan, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Guam, São Tomé and Príncipe, Brunei, Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

The photograph below was outside a very ordinary store at about 9 am in a San Jose shopping street where I was surprised to find that the Ticos (male Costa Ricans) were not watching anything remotely live but a rehash of an important World Cup qualifying match that had taken place the day before. In fact, in the 94th minute (usually of a 90 minute contest don’t forget) of their all-important encounter that unforgettable night before with the USA they conceded a goal which prevented what had been looking like their direct entry to the South African world party. They had one more chance, in fact two more chances, through two very lively and hard fought games with Uruguay. In spite of the millions of Ticos and Ticas glued this time to live television sets urging their team on, the presumed at least equal urging going on in Uruguay held sway and Uruguay by the margin of another slender goal went through to South Africa.

Ticos are football mad. Photographic evidence suggests Ticas less so!

A quick look at the calibre and ranking of the two teams who barred their way indicates that Costa Rica are absolutely no push overs. Uruguay have actually won the World Cup in the past, though it be quite a distant past, and are currently ranked 16 in the world, the USA are ranked number 14 and both have started this year’s tournament very solidly and that my friends is precisely how Costa Rica have so narrowly failed to win the World Cup on this occasion.