Just another day in real life!

A Brazilian soccer fan cries as she watches her team 

get beat during a live telecast of the semifinals

 World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Germany, 

in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Now that the nights are spent in slumber land, the eyes are becoming less congested and the mush in the brain is slowly clearing up, I can write. It is amazing how a game, after all a game, can exert so much effect on events around the world. Perhaps, it was meant to be thus. Average Joe being side-tracked by events that are clearly not going to determine the fate of mankind, as, they, the capitalists create a sense of urgency and fascination amongst the lay people and laugh all the way to the bank. If not, how would you expect a supposedly non profit organisation like FIFA to have 5 billion USD in their account, leaving a trail of heartaches as they count their loot. And the money is development of world football, really?

Soccer is just another tool for the powers that be to achieve their agenda. Back in the 1930s as Brazil was developing as a nation as the white masters, black slaves and the mullattos start to develop the nation, the powers that be decided football would be the unifying cement something like how ANC used rugby to unify a young post apartheid South Africa. Brazil became all excited with the young mullattos and their fancy footwork. They were initially a second tier team following the shadows of great teams like Uruguay and Italy. With lot of hope, they hosted the 1950 World Cup. With their high scoring games in the initial games, they were set to win the Cup easily then. In fact, the papers on 15th July 1950 printed pictures of the Brazilian team with the caption 'Tomorrow's World Champion'!

What followed shook the nation for years to come. 

Brazil lose 2-1 against Uruguay in the1950 World Cup

final held in the Maracanã Stadium, Brazil. 

Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty

Brazil lost the game to Uruguay in the final game 2-1 to a devastating crowd who were prostrating in grief. The Maracanã went completely silent when Uruguay hoisted the cup! The ghost of 1950 Uruguay had started. The players were ostracised for years to come. Some went into depression. Mention of the ill-fated game angered many citizens. The ghost was finally buried in 1958 Sweden final with the new kid of the block, Pele. It then went on to 5 World Cups and have the bragging rights of being the only country to win outside their continent.

The prelude of this World Cup (2014) included massive demonstrations by the poor homeless as the disparity between the haves and have nots escalated over the years. Grandiose commercially non sustainable projects like the Manaus Stadium angered them further. The Government was thinking of hoodwinking the public by giving the 'feel good' euphoria showcasing their samba hospitality to the world. They thought this would nicely fit in as the country was due to move into a fresh set of elections.

Looks like history had repeated itself. If the 1950 loss to Uruguay 1-2 was a national tragedy, how would the ghost of 2014 be exorcised? The team, which has a long following the world over, hailing from a land where football is a religion, were humiliated by Germany 1-7 in a highly emotional semi finals. It took 8 years in 1950 before they turned themselves around. Now, how?

As the World Cup comes to an end, the nation has to pick up the pieces, feel the emptiness left after a month's high of activities and pacify the forlorn nation who has to sort out the bread and butter issues too. The politicians are also seeing stars. Are the people going to return to their seats of is it time for them to pick up their money and run?

The lesson the lay person would learn would be, 'Cows may come and cows may go but the bull here stays forever'! The guests would have returned. It is time to clean up, get back to life and get back to reality.