Futbol

Today someone asked me if i liked Football and I remember as a youngster when people used to ask me that every day.


As most of you may know already. i happend to have grown up in one one of the countries more obessesed with football: Argentina.


But i've always hated it!


I'm a social person though so I wouldnt say no to a friendly match among good friends, but i despise the commercial aspect of sports.


I despissed the fact that some football players from brazil,  argentina, etc, make millions of dolars while at the same time, in those same countries people are unnemployed and die of starvation every day.


And what i despised even more is that everyone seems to think that's ok, because that's just the way it is. And people, specially poor people, keep supporting those sports, give the few pesos they have to buy a ticket or a tshirt, so the football clubs can get even more billions that what they already have and poor people sometimes even give their lives to support that sport.


Unless you've lived in latinamerica, you can't imagine how much violence sports generates, and again, everyone thinks that's ok, that's just how it is. and i always seem to be the only one who's off for not supporting it.


And again, unless you had grown up in latinamerica, you can't imagine how much peer pressure there is for you to join a local club, cheer for them, fight for them and support them financially.


In my hometown (rosario) there were 2 local clubs rosario central and newells old boys.


They are both the same of course, lots of guys running around behind a football, the only difference was that the their t-shirts were of different colours. One of them was red and the other one was yellow.


And that tiny difference was the only excuse people needed to start a fist fight or draw their guns or knives agains the people who for some reason had decided to follow the team that had different color t-shirt.


And my dad wanted me to follow newells old boys and my mother wanted me to follow rosario central, and all my friends wanted me to follow their teams, and I was like WTF!?


Everyone will ask (always) "de que cuadro sos?" (what team do you belong to?) and there's no right answer to that question, well if they are wearing the shirt of that team is easy, you just say you belong to that team.


But if they weren't wearing anything that gives them away you had to pray you get it right, because if you happen to belong to the opposite team you in for a fight.


And If i say i dont like football, they will say "what, are you gay?" which means you're also in for a fight, because football fans are not usually famous for their progressive sexual ideas.


What is with all this Football business?