The Beautiful Game
on Emily Hopkins (Ghana), 05/Jul/2010 13:53, 34 days ago
It would be fair to say that I have never watched so much football since I have been living in Ghana, the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup taking place in South Africa have meant that Ghana has been in football frenzy for much of 2010. The atmosphere has been incredible here in Accra, cars, houses faces and bodies have all been painted with the beautiful red, green and gold of Ghana’s flag, music has been blaring, the vuvuzellas sounding and people have been shaking their stuff in celebration dances all over the city.It is amazing to see the Ghanaians attitude towards football, EVERYONE loves it, EVERYONE is proudly a Black Star (the name for Ghana’s national team) and EVERYONE says with absolute conviction before any match that they are going to win. The world cup always makes me think about national pride it is one of the very few things which brings us together on a global basis and helps us remember which country we belong to. When asked if I am supporting Ghana in the street I always respond positively and have really got into the football frenzy, but when asked if I am supporting Ghana over England the Ghanaians will say that it is impossible as I still bleed English and it is true for a woman who has little interest in footballmost of the time the world cup brings something out in me, a love for my country a heart beating fervently for those 3 Lions!!! But somehow in England I can’t help think that we have gone slightly wrong with our expressions of devotion to football and indeed our country, when watching a match here there is nothing but encouragement shouted at the T.V, if Ghana scores the whole street will break out into a mass of dancing, singing and shouting people, old women dancing with young men and children running up and down waving flags. If Ghana looses or misses a penalty (I’m thinking of the tragic example of Ghana’s world cup exit this year) there is no shouting or complaining but an almost sense of empathy with the players, a never mind, a win some you loose some attitude. There is no complaining, analysis of how they could do better or shouting and there is certainly no violence, surely this empathy, this cest la vie attitude shows much more national pride than our ‘fight to win’ stance which so often ends up in broken glass and bloodshed. When the black stars are playing we see every Ghanaian as one, truly united over a common goal whether they are standing in the street crowed around an old black and white telly or watching it in the president’s castle the Ghanaians are together, in a country where there are many religions, tribes and languages I think this is something quite beautiful and should be applauded.I guess the football fever has been amplified this year as Ghana was the last team to be knocked out of Africa’s world cup…the sense of ‘Do it for Africa’ has been quite something and it has been a true privilege to be in this country during this time. We decided to watch every Ghana game in a different kind of situation and these have all been unique and memorable in their own ways, from watching in at one of the most famous bars in Osu which I guess can be likened as the ‘Oxford Street’ of Accra, to our neighborhood drinking spot, to a bar on the beach and the final match against Uruguay like many locals watch football in a dark room huddled around a TV in a small town outside the capital. The most noticeable thing about watching football wherever you are in Ghana is the atmosphere at half time, as soon as the whistle blows the Ghanaians are up dancing, shaking the hips and bottoms like there is no tomorrow in jubilation – whatever the score. As the second half starts everyone sits down and watches the game, what is perhaps the most bizarre thing about watching football in Ghana is what happens at the end of the match, no matter what the outcome of the game is Ghanaians will fairly swiftly head home as soon as the game has finished, the party is really at half time….I haven’t been able to find out why people don’t stay around to celebrate!!!Watching the England games in Accra has of course been a little different to watching Ghana play, but amazingly the Ghanaians LOVE England, I imagine because of the amount of them that follow the English Premier League, they are always on our side. It was a great experience to watch the rather unfortunate England Germany match in Ghana cheering for those 3 lions just as much as my Ghanaian contemporaries!!!