Okay, Okay, K'Naan! We're Waving Already!

When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
So wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag

- K' Naan "Waving Flag" (Official FIFA World Cup Song)

I cover my ears as the song threatens to literally blow my mind (and eardrums), yet with a goofy smile on my face. And the crowd around me continues to sing along. For the first time in my life, I see my countrymen come together in large groups, not for a political riot, not for a religious gathering, and definitely not for a mob fight. No, they're...I'm sorry, WE are all here to join the rest of the world in the ONLY sport that can make us all come together, a sport that inspires rivalry, and yet due to it's very nature, ensures that the enmity stays covered by the face of friendship: The FIFA WORLD CUP! Yes, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but football has been my love since as far back as I can remember trying desperately to be my older brother's younger "brother." The attempt failed, for obvious biological reasons: I'm female. However, ever since I took on the role of being a tomboy, football was my sport of choice. I've tried to play basketball, badminton, tennis, volleyball and even cricket, but none of these other sports really held my attention the way football did. And even when my parents disallowed me to play with my brother and his friends because i was "getting too old to be playing in the dirt with boys" (they used these exact words, I kid you not), I continued to enjoy the game vicariously through my league team: Manchester United. Sometimes I'd sneak out and go play with the boys regardless of my parents inhibitions, but I got caught too often and found myself grounded enough times to realize that perhaps it was safer to just limit myself to watching and enjoying the game. And resigned to that fate, I persisted in being a football fanatic.

Oooooh woowoo ooh Wooo ooohh ooohoh
And everybody will be singing it
Oooooh woowoo ooh Wooo ooohh ooohoh
And we all will be singing it

I've always been surrounded by football fans since childhood. My older brother is an avid football player, and is a die hard Inter Milan supporter. All my cousins are football fans: Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Roma being some of their teams of choice, and my father and I have always been truly UNITED. I think my love for the game pushed me to seek out other girls and boys who felt similarly, because today, when I think about it, most of my closest and best friends are football freaks too. Even then, the leagues never really brought us all together, or really created the atmosphere that is so strong around my country right now that it can almost be seen and touched, and not just felt. That's what the World Cup does to you I guess. Who needs to push plausible ways to achieve world peace when you can just keep having FIFA World Cups which bring people together from all over the world, sharing the same dreams and hopes for their countries? Yeah when one country wins, most people are disappointed. Whenever a country is out of the running, the people are devastated. But the point is, even then, people continue to watch. They continue to be a part of this amazing experience, and like true teams they maintain their team spirit, and like true sportsmen, they behave with decency towards opposing teams (maybe light jokes thrown about, or intelligent discussions, or witty repartee), and take a loss with as much grace as possible. Truthfully, I have never seen people change so much. Especially people at home. On most days people on the streets are irritable, because everyone is hot, tired, in a rush to get somewhere, but undoubtedly stuck in traffic, and therefore fights break out, and people snap at each other. Not a smile or a nice word. Now, people stop to speak statistic to someone wearing their team's color, jersey or sporting the flag. There are smiles all around, and excitement, enthusiasm and anticipation charges the air seeming to smother the neat layer of smog that is the usual backdrop of a Dhaka City scene.

Lets rejoice in the beautiful game,
And together at the end of the day.
We all say

Yes, K' Naan is right. At the end of the day, we are all indeed TOGETHER as we stay glued to our TVs, waiting for the games to begin. Whether you're in USA, France, Australia, Somalia, Honduras etc, if youre country is in the running (and even if it isn't), and even if you're not that big a football enthusiast, I'm sure you'll be watching the game tonight. And when you do, think about the hundreds of thousands of people out there who are watching with baited breath, just like you, who probably share the same dreams and hopes (and maybe even support the same team) as you, and allow yourself to FEEL that connection. Tonight, we'll all be connected. We'll all be ONE, "as we lose our inhibition..."

Celebration, it surround us, every nations, all around us...
So wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag!