By Ezekiel Nabieu
It may be necessary sometimes for us to absent ourselves for awhile from the nitty-gritty of politics as a means of escape from the harsh realities of life. The cliché: “All work, and no play, makes Jack a dull boy” applies.
In sports or games there is a recompense for dexterity and industry of the mind offered by such sports as football, cricket and tennis, etc. These sports arguably rock the tedium out of us. Human nature inclines towards relaxation anyway. If possible we would wish life to be all recreation and fun. That would be paradisiacal but where will production for our continued existence stand?
While we cannot afford to be left out of international sporting events with special reference to sports how much of our resources and attention as a nation should we devote to sports? Undoubtedly some nations have loomed large on the international sports scene because of their sporting prowess but that does not argue that we should expend at the expense of other sectors of the economy such as education and agriculture.
Sport has become not only a nation’s prestige carrier but it has also become highly commercialized. For high level performance it requires natural talent and suitable training. And because of its commercial nature cheating has become part of the game. Performance-enhancing drugs are also in vogue. Not only that. Aside from disgraceful cheating there are other means of winning that are not so dignified.
In order to win games players and athletes sometimes resort to prayer which is not a bad idea for the devout and God-fearing. What I can say to my religious friends is: pray to God but hammer away.
The book of James in the Bible states that faith without works is dead. Every side and every competition has faith of winning but it is necessary to work towards that faith. And working towards that faith is to train, train, and train again which is why the best stars in every sport are forever training. God does not listen to the prayer of the lazy. Each side in a competition prays to the same God for victory. Do we expect God to take sides?
Prince Leopold of Belgium said before a battle “O God help our side and if you can’t don’t help those scoundrels”. Can you beat that? Here was a Prince putting God on the spot as it were.
There are others who rely on supernatural powers for victory especially in African sports. This is done on and off the field of play. This excludes prodding like drumming and Vuvuzela presence on the field of play. If supernatural or “juju” power was really effective then African sportsmen and women would certainly have been on top of the rest of the world.
Football
Football has become by far and away the most popular sport world-wide. As a result rewards for those who achieve stardom are mouth-watering. Like I hinted earlier every human being has a talent, and those who have a talent for sports are getting on the top of society, which is why there is some diversion from academia by those who may never make the top football grades.
Sierra Leone’s progress towards the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup seems to have stalled at the Zone 2 level under the NPRC, Sierra Leone had great players and great teams in earlier days but just what has gone wrong is an enigma wrapped up in a mystery.
Referees
Here are the Ten Commandments for football supporters by the Rev. Evan Evans, Vicar of Churcham, Gloucestershire:
(1) There is only one referee, he is supreme in all things
(2) His judgment never fails, his watch never stops.
(3) His mistakes are only errors and do not affect the game but only the result.
(4) Honour and respect him for his days may not be long on your ground.
(5) Do not blaspheme him nor cause him to be blasphemed.
(6) Do not bear him malice nor put it into practice.
(7) Do not covet his watch, nor his fee or his job, nor anything that is his.
(8) See him safely off the ground and wish him God speed – he needs it.
(9) Report him only when he is good.
(10) Bless him and love him for in the next match he may be worse.
