Why football is not zen

Summer time in Madrid means terraces, “tinto de verano”, and sunlight until 10pm. It is the one time of year where just about everyone hits the streets in search of a cool place to escape the heat and to be with friends…. It is also a very “dangerous” time if you are trying to have some sort of order in your eating schedule. All in all, a difficult time to be ayurvedic!

This week, all fury broke out on the streets of Madrid after the Spanish national football team qualified for the World Cup final game! Even I, who normally doesn’t dedicate more than 20 seconds to the sports page, was on the edge of my seat during the World Cup final! The game started out normal enough, but as each excutiating minute of the game wore on, the more tense and nervous I became. I really did want Spain to win, as I knew what it would mean for the country (it’s been a tough year!); and so I found myself become really involved in the play by play. All those missed goals, missed opportunities and close-calls, it all adds up to tension. Although I must say that when they actually did score, the screaming for joy was a good relief of that pent-up tension.

But what if they hadn’t scored? What if my team was on the losing side (afterall, if there is a winner, there must also be a loser)? It would’ve been a sad, disappointed ending to a very tension filled 100 minutes! What would’ve happened to that tension? It most probably would’ve remained within me, brewing and growing, and waiting to come out at the least provocation.

Not to mentin the football diet consisting of chips, beer, and any other prefab, greasy junk food you can get your hands on! If it were a once in a while thing, you could make an exception by stretching your imagination. But football in this country is a year long thing!

So I’ve come to the conclusion that football (i.e. soccer) is not a “zen” sport. It does not promote the calm, satvic state of mind we should be aspiring to. It does not assure that our minds are filled with peaceful thoughts… All in all it is an activity that, although it does bring people from all walks of life together, it does not contribute to a balanced (i.e. healthy) lifestyle.

Where does all that accumulated anger end up? Well, you can see for yourself as people lose control of their temper in any given situation: behind the wheel, in the subway, in the line at the store…. Maybe if we watch less football, we can be more “zen”??

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