Although this might sound politically incorrect, I must confess I’m not a football fan. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help sharing in the collective joy we Argentines felt last Tuesday, after Marcos Rojo scored that winning goal (“un golazo”) in the match against Nigeria. Actually, we were starving for joy, for a little bit of happiness, of relief, in a society like ours, in which we are all sick of permanent tension, stress and chronic bad mood.
Unfortunately, the World Football Cup seems to be the only occasion when we, Argentines, experience a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. Apparently, we need an external “enemy”, so to call it, a foreign opposing rival, to join forces. That makes all “grietas” (cracks), all barriers, all kinds of confrontation, disappear. But once that external factor is gone, we go back to the old “bickering and fighting” , “Montagues” versus“Capulets”, close enemies battling in our own land.
It’s a shame that our team spirit should last just a couple of weeks, every four years.