Day Thirteen: World Cup Fever (25 June)
on From Banglatown to Bangladesh (Bangladesh), 14/Jul/2010 03:29, 34 days ago
The flags started appearing weeks before the tournament. A Brazil here, an Argentina there, flying high above houses, dominating Khagrachari’s skyline and displaying the owner’s team of choice. It’s been quite unexpected, this sudden surge of interest in football. While the Premiership’s international popularity extends to the Desh, like it does everywhere, football is not exactly Bangladesh’s national sport. The final of the ‘South Asian Football Federation’ tournament I went to in Dhaka a few months ago was half-empty. Big European matches are watched by some, but the numbers who play seem to be few. And, sadly, judging by Bangladesh’s performance in the South Asian tournament it hosted, it will be a while until it has the chance to participate in the World Cup itself.It’s entertaining to see, this surprising fascination with the World Cup of my friends and colleagues, and it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement. Office talk is dominated by the teams we support, and the players we like. The Latin giants are easily the favourites, and it’s the big namesof the present and the past that are reeled off in conversations: Kaka, Ronaldo, Maradona. And morning post-match analysis is a daily occurrence: opinionated, animated, and full of debate. Not having a TV, I’ve had less chances to watch the matches, basing my contributions to the discussions onThe Guardian’s match reports, rather than firsthand viewing.But, tonight, I received a call from a friend to watch Brazil draw with Portugal. The match itself was dull, but it was accompanied by fresh mangos, vodka smuggled from India, and whoops and cheers from my fellow spectators. And, when the crowd is good, it doesn’t always matter what happens on the pitch.