Fußball

In a cricket crazy country like India,football comes like a whiff of fresh air on a hot summer afternoon. In India,we have all other sports losing out to cricket.Whether it's the glamour associated with the game,or the moolah that the national players rake in, that makes this game a religion in India,I do not know.But more on football.
I am far away from the crazy football fans in the European nations,even distant from the few parts like Goa and Bengal where there is a sizeable following of football,but the EPL and UEFA championships have made me sit up(literally) at nights and follow The Game.Barcelona's heroics,Theirry Henry's disappointment with the Arsenal fans,Rooney's injury scare for England,Lionel Messi's rise as the player to watch out,veteran icons like Zidane and Paolo Maldini,Spain the biggest under-achievers in world football,Cryuff being the epitome of "total football" begun by Holland(my favourites),Brazil with their charisma,the list just goes on............
What makes football so special is that it is truly a global sport(unlike cricket which is played only among the common wealth nations).Also the beauty lies in it being a pristine sport.I have never like sports like golf.To me a sport is one that involves physical exertion,where you can feel the heat,see the sweat,experience first hand joy or pain.Also we have characters in football.Cricket and tennis are constantly being bobbed down by the issue that takes away the sport from the game-unrelenting discipline.So we don't have many John McEnroes in tennis,and Saurav Gangulys face the brunt for showing passion on the cricket field.
Hope football remains what it is,pure and passionate.A game which every boy loves,because it involves what a boy loves doing-run with abandon.
Bring on the World Cup,I am ready to live life in a 8" diameter and bring out the boy in me.