All entries for Friday 07 July 2006

Football: reason vs passion

Football: reason or passion?
I am totally ignorant of football myself. It is usually amusing for me to see so many handsome young men running after a small round ball, and thousands of their fans screaming for hours to hope for one second of ecstasy. It was until today when I was reading Chinese blogs today, I found that football is just such an overwhelming topic that you simply can not get away from it. (It is a bit pathetic when you take into consideration that Chinese football team is not even qualified to play. But of course it is not a reason to stop a real fan from enjoying the craziness of this sport after all.)
One heated debate last week in Chinese blogs was about a Chinese football commentator, Huang Jian–Xiang, from China's CCTV, who was so crazy about Italian team and screamed for Italian??s penalty in its match against Australia.
This are a few quotes from his real comments: "Penalty! Penalty! Penalty! Grosso's done it! Grosso's done it! Don't give the Australians any chance."
… "Let them fuck off!" (background voice)
… "The Socceroos might regret, Hiddink! He played too conservatively and too calmly with one more player (than Italy) in the second half, he lost all his courage. Faced with the long history and traditions of Italian soccer, he didn't attack as fiercely as he did in the group matches. He finally reaped fruits which he had sown! They should go home. They don't need to go as far away as Australia as most of them are living in Europe. Farewell!"
(For more detail, please see link)
Although I was shocked at first at his comments, but in one instant I can not help feeling thrilled at this commentator! With all the criticisms against him for violating the spirit of professionalism, I am wondering to what extend to be a professional means you have to stop being human. If there is anything that this postmodern society is offering us, that is the demystification of human rationality and the recovery of emotion and even sensation as an independent realm of a priori cognition. No sport that can be explained by reason, especially not football. If what we expect from it is not any justified belief, but rather an experience of joy and pain, obsession and passion, emotion and sensation, well, how can we blame Huang for his comments?
(I dont know if he is still going to comment on the final. Hope he can be more careful when he want to shout "fuck off" at the Frech. )
(well, just read the news that CCTV is changing the commentator for the final. :–))

Xiu Wang : 07 Jul 2006 15:36 |  Tags: Life Thoughts |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem