The world (excluding America) loves this sport called football. Because we have American football (E.A.G.L.E.S. EAGLES!! and oh yeah...WHO DAT) we call this game soccer. We also don't respect the game as much as the rest of the world. Strangely enough, there is a large number of American children who are on soccer teams and grow up in a country that barely pays attention to the sport. Nigeria is different, these folks have football fever and I, an American who barely paid attention to the sport, was bitten by the bug.
In June and early July, everyone in Nigeria watched the Fifa World Cup 2014 in Brazil. In Ondo Nigeria, in the living room with Sister and her parents, I learned to appreciate the sport and love the world cup. The Nigerians were of course rooting for their national team the Super Eagles but everyone had a secondary country that they were also rooting for. In the beginning, my favorites were USA (my home), Nigeria ( my current location), and Ghana (where I'd travel in a few weeks). Then I added Brazil to the list, and any of the South American countries.
In Nigeria, when the Super Eagles played, you could here the neighbors' cheers in unison with your own. On Sunday at church, a young man testified how thankful he is that the Super Eagles won the last match.
I watched one match in Lagos at a sports bar and the energy of the fans was addictive. The bar was a sea of green and white and everyone sat on the edge of their seat as Nigeria played Argentina.
When the super eagles scored, everyone yelled and clapped and blew these small horns that were deafening. The energy was electric! When the team made a bad move, they were scolded in Yoruba language by the masses. A few fans shook their fingers at the televisions as they yelled. One man said 'These players are lazy'. The same man was on his feet jumping when the Super Eagles scored their second point. The rest of the crowd went wild, me included. In the end, Argentina won the game. The Nigerian fans were happy with the performance of their team and excited that they still qualified for the next round. When the game ended, Nigerian music echoed through the bar and 2/3rds of the crowd were dancing. And yes, Nigerians know how to get down!
I also watched the final Nigerian Match in Lagos. This time, I was outside of my hotel watching the game on the front lawn with a crowd of anxious Nigerians. This match was not as successful as the last unfortunately, and half way through the game, as France scored its second point, half of the disappointed crowd dispersed. They didn't even want to see the rest of the game. A few people yelled at the exiting people in Yoruba. I assume that they were calling them out really bad. Because one of them yelled back in anger! One man at the bar looked as if he was fighting back tears and ordered another drink. The remaining fans talked about the game's highlights and mistakes with so much passion. I admired all of the Nigerian fans for loving the sport and their team so much that they showed the entire range of emotions.
I continued watching the games in Ghana. At this point, the US, Nigeria, and Ghana were out. I was now rooting for any of the South American teams. My favorites were Brazil, Argentina, and Columbia. In the end , Germany took the prize after 24 years and I became a huge fan of the world cup. Thanks for all the Nigerian and Ghanaians who taught me what football is all about. Oh yeah, Shakira, Wyclef, and the amazing Carlos Santana's perfomances were the ish!!!! I can't wait til 2018!
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