I always thought that the American football is such a great metaphor for life, every time you move you get whacked. But then, like in all American games, there is a fractured rhythm with the frequent results. But as David Brooks points out, the Soccer is even a better, a truer metaphor. Long, tedious, exhausting stretches with the goals that are more luck than the effort or the skill:
“…the rest of the world follows a sport that rewards resilience and neuroticism. Soccer is a sport perfectly designed to reinforce a tragic view of the universe, because basically it is a long series of frustrations leading up to near certain heartbreak.
The author Nick Hornby once had the brains to turn around while at an Arsenal match to watch the faces of the fans instead of the game. He observed that over the course of 15 minutes, the fans reflected frustration, rage, bitterness, despair, false hopes and discouragement. That’s because the players are perpetually pushing the ball forward, and it often looks like something is about to happen, but in reality it almost never does.”
And then this apt observation that equally applies to the “stars”off the grassy fields:
Further reading:“Soccer is a sport that rewards neurotic creativity. Many of the greatest players have been marginally insane. They see a situation unfold before them and they respond in unpredictable ways, not straightforward ones. Their neurons are just a bit off. I guess you could say that about some of their fans, too.”