I am not a sports fan and never watch any of it on TV. Earlier this year, though, I forced myself to watch Argentina play in some World Cup matches. No one can spend any time in Buenos Aires without learning all about Maradona and hearing the names Messi and Tevez, and I wanted to do my part by cheering on the national team.
What started out as a brief distraction became something of a compulsion as I watched more and more games, not just Argentina but Uruguay and Spain, Germany and Italy, every match that came on found me in front of the set ready for more. It didn't matter who was playing or even who won, I wanted to watch fútbol!
Once the World Cup was over, I started flipping through the cable channels, mostly the Spanish language stations, looking for more games. The South American Cup, the Mexican premier league, replays of match-ups from the English league, exhibition matches, some game or another was on almost every day, each one promising 90 minutes of entertainment.
I began to understand why fútbol is called "the beautiful game." (I think the Americanism soccer sounds silly and 'football' in this country means the NFL and NCAA, so fútbol seems the most apt.) It is simple and elegant -- you kick the ball with your foot (football!) -- but it's also much more.
As I watched more and more games, I began to see fútbol not as a sport but as an art form, a kind of extemporaneous modern dance. It's as if Merce Cunningham or Twyla Tharp choreographed a daring piece and every day, all over the world, various dance ensembles reinterpret that creation, each match adding its own subtle variations and flourishes while staying within the strict limitation of twenty-two performers and 90 minutes.
Simon Kuper summed it up perfectly when he wrote, in an article about the English player Wayne Rooney, "Football is best understood as a dance for space. The team that can open spaces when it attacks, and close down spaces when it defends, generally wins." ("Inside Wayne's World," Financial Times, October 30, 2010.)
We haven't traveled beyond Texas since we got back from Buenos Aires, but that's about to change. In early January we're going to Barbados, then later in January we're off to Brussels. I could say that one trip is for our anniversary and one is for my birthday but really, who needs an excuse to travel?
Have a happy holiday!
