Football

Lacking both skill and sportsmanship (win or lose never mattered), I was a bored and unwilling participant in school sports like football and volleyball. On the field or court, my ironic detachment shadowed me everywhere and monopolised my attention. Everyone looked so amusingly single-minded and primitive, thundering around the field in a sweating and grimacing herd. It was all too serious.

So I was surprised to find that watching sports is so much fun. Cricket, tennis, football are enormously entertaining. On the other hand: basketball is too quick, and there's little to choose between the teams -- they're all American. Baseball seems a small and dull game after cricket; and American football is silly. (One can get tired of watching Americans on the TV.)

But this is about the football World Cup. I'm loving it. Who could witness Germany-Poland and not think of history? Or Italy-anybody and not think about hairstyles? It's the underdogs that get my cheers and fist-pumps, but the best footballers are awe-inspiring no matter their colours: there's magic in their feet and networks in their brains. While the heroes are getting on with it, all parts of the mind are fed -- the animal portions with steroidal floods, and the rational bit with a flood of metaphor.

I regret not being able to enjoy playing sports. But watching them allows me to taste their cleansing fury, and the controlled delirium of the body unleashed.