An Emotional Cliffhanger.

Football with a new twist.

There are some things that we rely on to stay the same. World champions should with only a smidgen of resistance and fight advance past the first level of the tournament. The closer they get to the finals then of course the matches should be harder, more exciting and obviously low on goals! We expect it to be a natural order just like winter is accompanied by snow, December has Christmas and our birthdays contain copious slices of cake.

Last night's match between Germany and Sweden had many a fan on the edge of his seat, clutching his chest and either screaming in frustration or crying in defeat until those last few minutes of the game. Those minutes where sanity and reason was restored.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't want any team to merely skip through matches without any effort because of their name or cadre but in our climate of topsy-turvy of just about anything
( recent presidential and head of state elections to name an example ), the game of football has morphed even more into a sanctuary from our current ills. A place to rest our wary souls despite engaging in a vocal exchange with a flat screen hoping that the errant referee will take note and change his tune.

Perhaps in a strange way, football has taken on the mood of our world. So far I've seen a lot of blood spilled on the pitch, many a player engaged in a headlock more at home in the game of rugby and some spectators exhibiting behaviour that isn't us, despite so many politician trying to rile us masses into action. Might as well call politicians the new puppeteers.

Apart from the unexpected ninety odd minutes it was a thrilling to watch, nobody took any loo brakes and the cliffhanger of being only moments away from seeing the German team exit with heads hanging in shame and misery was enough to keep us tuned in for the next matches. The fact that all ended well, has me in high hopes that this political carnage being enacted in front of the world's eyes will also end well.

Biggi