World Cup Dreams
by Chris Harvey
Copyright 2014 Chris Harvey
Additional image copyright
World Cup Trophy – Copyright Freddyballo, no date
Player performing overhead kick – Copyright Chatsam, 2013
Foreword
Writing is a hard thing to do, particularly for those writers that need to hold down a full time job and write for the joy of it rather than wanting to be famous or make a living using words. As I write I set myself many goals which, ultimately, I fail to achieve. However, I like a challenge. A goal is something you aspire to achieve where as a challenge is something you set yourself over a short space of time. It is a quick win, or loss.
Being a teacher, my job is hectic, I don’t get to write much but need the escapism so when events such as the World Cup come around I have an opportunity to get away from my thoughts and move towards pure entertainment. Anyone who knows me, or has even met me, knows that I love football; the passion, the tactics, the pure excitement. So I thought to myself, I want to get writing again and I need some inspiration. Why don’t I combine my love of football with my love of writing? At this time I was getting a few emails from the website Wattpad, if you don’t use it and want to write I would suggest you register now! These were from people I was following posting short stories. To me a short story is a couple of thousand words long but these were all under five hundred. An idea sprung into my head; surely it would not be hard to write a short story of around three hundred to five hundred words every day of the World Cup. Thus the challenge was born and World Cup Dreams came into being. I thought about football and the many issues from many different people, those who loved the game, those who hated it and were annoyed by the World Cup’s takeover of all media, the players, managers and referees. There was so much material, all I needed to do was put myself in someone else’s shoes. So I popped on my phone, opened the notes app and wrote down a load of titles. I was amazed how easy this was, at first I thought I would get to ten stories then struggle but a wealth of ideas were springing forth from my mind. So I was ready, all I needed was the time to write.
I managed to put thirty minutes aside each day and found this just enough time to write and edit a story. I managed to finish a story every day of the World Cup and get it up on Wattpad, ok one was at one am the next day but I was out during the night and it had been written on the correct day. The response, whilst not amazing, was much better than previous short stories I had written. So at end of the challenge I am proud, I have done it and it means that I now know that thirty minutes writing a day can keep me going on other projects.
I hope this journey, although not very exciting, will inspire others to write and share their work online. For now, sit back and enjoy the edited and formatted World Cup Dreams (the results tables took me ages so you better appreciate them!). Not all views are my own (I looked at football from many different angles remember) but I am proud of what is written here. Last but not least, I finished the challenge….whoo!
Day 1 – 12/06/14
What happened in the World Cup
Opening Ceremony
Group A
Two Tickets
My hand shakes as I stare at the two pieces of card I am holding. I hear a cough from behind; as I look up I notice the queue has moved forward. My girlfriend is now a few metres ahead, she just walked forward and did not say anything.
I turn, "sorry," I manage through a dry mouth and walk the few paces to where my girlfriend now stands.
My hand shoots into my pocket and feels the smooth leather box. I grasp it tightly, my clammy hands making the lid greasy. In all this time I have not looked away from the two tickets.
"Will you stop staring at those things?" my girlfriend asks irately.
"In a minute," I reply, not realising that it was more of a command than anything else.
"They will probably lose," she says.
'They,' I think. Us football fans always get mocked when we say ‘we’ but those who do not support a team don't understand the passion. I have followed my team through thick and thin, through good and bad, through high and low. I have cheered them on in the rain, paid over the odds for a shirt emblazoned with my hero’s name, watched countless hours of highlights and given my own tactical view a million times more. I am invested in this more than she realises.
She gives me a shake of the head as we reach the front of the queue.
"Next please," cries the heavily made up check-in clerk.
We walk slowly over the threshold, as if in slow motion I slam down the two tickets in my hand.
The girl in front of us gives a little chuckle. "Sorry about him," my girlfriend replies, taking the two tickets to the match and replacing them with passports and booking information.
I go a little red as I smile the embarrassed grin of someone who has made a silly mistake, kicking myself for something that will be forgotten in ten minutes.
A few clicks of her keyboard later and the checkout clerk says, "boarding is at 6:48 at Gate 17."
We say our thank yous and move off, my heart starts to pound. This is it, the first part of the journey complete. There is no going back now.
My girlfriend looks back at me, noticing the large grin across my face. She smiles back, happy for me. Knowing how excited I am to see my team play at the World Cup. Little does she know that this trip is more than seeing the greatest spectacle in the world, this trip will change our life forever.
Day 2 – 13/06/14
What happened in the World Cup
Group A
Group B
The Shirt
I thought the first time was the best, the most amazing feeling in the world. Coming into training and getting that small package. Ripping it open, the smell exuding from every part of the freshly pressed shirt in front of you. A smell that says, "you've made it." Picking it up, staring at it, turning it around to see your name emblazoned on the back, having to pinch yourself to make sure this is all real. These are all checks the uninitiated need to go through.
I have played in friendlies, in qualifications in front of thousands upon thousands of screaming fans but this is different. So there is an injury on the pitch, the crowd are devastated. But this situation helps one person, me. You feel for your teammates, you really do, but the profession has taught you that one man's misery is another man's gain.
I put behind me the feelings of guilt as I head to warm up, running past both home and away fans. There is a strange hush in the stadium. As I watch my teammate hobble to the touch line I am called back in. I feel excitement as I unzip my track suit top. Like Superman ripping open his shirt I reveal the strip underneath, it looks like the ten other outfield players on the pitch but to me it dazzles more. The brightest shade of this colour I have ever seen. A smile tries to sneak its way onto my face but I suppress it, I do not want people to think I am happy about the injury but deep down I am.
The fourth official holds aloft the electronic board, my number lights up a dark mood in the stadium. As my teammate, aided by physios, moves past me he gives me a disappointed smile. I try a look of "I'm sorry," but my face gives away the insincerity of the gesture. Almost dizzy I run on to the pitch, my heart tries to leap out of my chest but I push it back, making sure any urge of being overwhelmed is sent to the back of my head.
As I look around at the fifty thousand strong crowd I expect them to cheer, to chant my name, to offer songs of encouragement. Instead there is worry and fear across their faces; I am not their hero, not the one they want on this hallowed turf. Their hero, their messiah, has just limped off, a crumpled mess.
Day 3 – 14/06/14
What happened in the World Cup
Group C
Group D
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br /> The Uninitiated
I really don't understand it, eleven grown men kicking about a bag of wind. That used to be a pig once, now it is some kid's toy that they never outgrew. And they get paid too much. One hundred thousand pounds a week! I barely get that in five years and I work more hours than them. They swan in for a couple of hours at the weekend, waste time playing a stupid game and are now somehow national heroes. What about those guys in the army or the police or firefighters? Don't those guys deserve even fifty thousand a week? And they don't act like spoilt brats, kids who can pick and choose what they want to do and when. You all know that annoying kid at school who has it all because Daddy is rich. That's them that is, that's footballers.
What about the endless discussion, it was bad enough on a Saturday afternoon. Every TV and radio channel blathering on about football. Now we get the World Cup, a whole month of rubbish taking over our screens. Not that they haven't been going on about it for months anyway. Should he play? Will he be injured? Who will win? Who even cares? Well for one I don't.
I bet my twitter and Facebook feeds will be full of rubbish about this waste of time competition. It doesn't seem like you can get away from it anywhere. Even walking down the street there are flags draped from windows, signs telling you which games pubs will show and unfit people wearing shirts a size too small.
But hey, I'll just grin and bare it. "Did you see the match last night?" they will ask.
"Missed it, I was busy," I will say to them.
"You should have seen it,” they will reply.
I will want to reply, "no I shouldn't," I will want to shout and scream in their face. Instead I will just listen to them tell me about this spectacular goal or that bad decision or another horrendous tackle. It's enough to make you sick!
Day 4 – 15/06/14
What happened in the World Cup
Group E
Group F
Adverts
And there is another one jumping on the bandwagon. You know the tournament is approaching by what you see between each break. It starts with one or two and as the weeks go on nearly all the adverts are about football or use stereotypes from the host nation to sell their wares. This is supposed to be the greatest sport ever, the beautiful game, but it is now nothing more than a sell-out.
Oh, look at this one, some people playing football then suddenly out of nowhere a car appears. A few seconds ago I didn't know it was a car advert. The links are just so tenuous. There's a man having a shave, oh it's a famous footballer, probably paid thousands for that, not that he needs the money.
You know, I bet these chief execs and marketing gurus know nothing about football. The way they shoehorn it in nowadays isn't even subtle. Show some football, here's my product and BANG, job done! I understand big tournaments sell and football is a global market but surely there should be some rules, some link between the product and the beautiful game, not just one star endorsing something or a few shots of a free kick then what you want to sell. But no, put a little football on something and then you can use the World Cup to your heart's content.
I can understand sportswear and sports equipment. They still use the competition as a marketing gimmick but at least it is related and will do some good if kids get active.
The worst though are those fast food adverts. It's hypocrisy, look at this amazing sport, right, good, now eat a burger! I can't wait till they sponsor individual players so they need to endorse the products on the pitch. Yeah they do that already with boots, but imagine if they did it with fast food. I can hear a player now, in an interview after the game, "sorry I didn't score, I was finishing my chicken nuggets and chips!" Or the commentators mentioning, "look he's being sick at the side of the pitch. He needs to eat three more burgers before ninety minutes or he doesn't get his advertising money, let's hope his stomach can take it." Absolutely ridiculous.
Day 5 – 16/06/14
What happened in the World Cup
Group F
Group G
This One’s For The Fans
This one's for the fans
The passion and the pride
The unswaying resolve
The will to believe
This one's for the fans
Painted faces and flying flags
The music they drum out
The rhythm of the crowd
This one's for the fans
The analysis they weave
Who should play and who is dropped
In our own fantasy teams?
This one's for the fans
For all the highs and the lows
The ones who keep supporting
No matter where the team goes
This one's for the fans
Those who spend their hard earned cash
Following their time
Jet setting round the globe
This one's for the fans
Each wearing a hundred different shirts
Gathered from each season
Each with a different story
This one's for the fans
The rivalry and the friendships
The ones who unite
To defend the beautiful game
This one's for the fans
Without you it would be nothing
Just people kicking a bag of wind
Just more faces within the crowd
This one's for the fans
Keep cheering loud and true
Roar your team on to success
Keep the game going forever
This one's for the fans
Day 6 – 17/06/14
What happened in the World Cup
Group H
Group A
Benchwarmer
Here I sit again, staring out in despair, my third World Cup and I haven't moved from this position. At least my seat is warm; the guys around me keep getting up and running down the touch line. Each time, the heat from the bench dissipates into the night air.
These eleven on the pitch will be remembered, remembered for the fight they put in even if glory eludes them. What will I be remembered for? Nothing, just another player. In years to come they will forget I was even in the squad. I may as well be sat in the stands; the only bonus is that I did not need to pay for my front row seat. That said, sitting at home might have been better, a HD TV with multiple angles allowing me to see replays again and again so I can make up my mind on the referee’s controversial decisions. My wife would probably take pity on me for not being selected, she would bring cool drinks and snacks while I vegetated on the sofa.
No use thinking about that, I don’t want the TV cameras to pick up how bored I am. How disappointed I am. Stopping a footballer being on the pitch is like removing an actor from the stage, it is their soul, their passion, their life. How I secretly hope for an injury or for the team to get destroyed so the gaffer puts me on as something a little different. It would be better if we were five nil up so he rested players, but we are not good enough for that and thus I am not needed.
No, once again I am sat here. As always, sat here in the wind, sat here in the sun, sat here in the rain. It is my lot in life. I am a hero to my club but not my country. Another player with a few caps and nothing more. Maybe I should have brought a book, no that would break the stereotype that footballers can’t read. Oh well, I’ll be back home in a few days the way these guys are playing.
Day 7 – 18/06/14
What happened in the World Cup
Group A
Group B
Heard On The Radio
The radio buzzed, the sound of thousands of chanting fans nearly drowned out the two commentators currently explaining what should be a simple win for the World Champions. Their opponents had never got out of their group in four attempts. Of those they had lost three and drawn one of their opening matches. Today was the first day of the tournament and whilst most neutrals prayed for a shock there was little chance of that happening.
"The World Cup is under
way," one commentator declared as the World Champions kicked off.
Less than a minute into the game and the first shot was reeled off, "here come the World Champions, it's played out to the right. Flores skips past his man with ease, cuts inside, the cross is deep into the box. Sanchez, just wide. A wonderful cross and a powerful header, just off target, this may be a sign of things to come. There is going to be a lot of defending for them today."
The Champions continued to surge forward, a few minutes later, "through the middle this time, great turn from Sanchez, oh, just wide again. They are getting closer and closer, you just feel it will happen soon and when it does the floodgates could open.”
The other commentator made their analysis, “yes, it is clear why they are World Champions, you usually get cagey affairs in World Cup openers but they have been driving forward and are definitely on the front foot. Sanchez and Costa are great strikers and the service to them has been fantastic. The midfielders are pulling players out of position to allow them to get in on goal. It is only a matter of time.”
As the half came to a close still the World Champions could not find that elusive goal, “shot after shot continue to reign down on the goal but still no breakthrough. Steve, what do you think the manager will say at half time?”
“More of the same please, they have been a little unlucky really. Some great skill and movement, they are running the defence ragged, sooner or later the defence will make a mistake.”