Lessons for my son from Brazil battering

By Romae Gordon, Guest Columnist

I was tuned intently to my TV on July 8, not because I am a Brazil fan but simply because I am a fan of football (I have been a consistent consumer of the game since I was a child. My memories of World Cup football can only be rivalled by those Sunday morning English matches back when Liverpool were the team to beat and Everton, their fiercest rivals).

Cole, my one-year-old son, on the other hand, naturally was not viewing the game with as much focus. Dressed in his Neymar Brazil jersey which his aunt had just brought back from her time at the wonderful games in the land of samba, he was more inclined to run from either end of the room shouting his newly learned word of the moment, "Goaaaal!"

Cole is lucky enough to have the living influence of three generations of men who are entrenched Brazil football supporters. His granddad has a way of remarking how easy it is to compose a Brazilian football team. "You can drive down any street in Brazil and pick up any 11 men, and they can play for the team," my dad once jokingly boasted. Cole will live through a lifetime of World Cups and he may even settle on supporting a different team other than Brazil. However, there are crucial lessons from this painfully historic day for Brazil and football followers that he must learn as he gets ready to play his own little league football, tennis or any other sport.

As I watched the match, I was transfixed, waiting for things to turn for the home side. Within the 24th minute, Brazil was experiencing a mauling of unprecedented proportions by opponents Germany. OK, so by then, they were down 4-0 and it appeared that all was lost. But, Brazil had time. Time to make amends. The stubborn optimist in me remained adamant.

consistency & purposeful play

Despite the commentator's pronouncement of the end for the winningest side in World Cup history, I was unmoved. Something had to change. Someone had to take the reins and cauterise the wounds as a solution to the problem was sourced. It was as if I was willing this to happen, completely distracted and unaware that I was unable to exert any influence on the proceedings.

The results have been in and all the street-corner pundits, expert analysts and football authorities among families have shared their thoughts on why and how it all happened.

Germany were strong and must be congratulated for their consistency and purposeful play. And although they won 7-1, they must even be credited for appearing to not want to further embarrass Brazil. Yet, as I accept the outcome, some disbelief still lingers with me as to what occurred that day. The positives I must take from the experience are the vital lessons my son ought to learn when he reads of the history of this game:

When you play a sport to time, if you are playing poorly, there is no one or nothing to stop the time! In fact, as all of us who play sports know, when you are down in a game, time lingers longer. You must have the basic faculty and awareness about you to make that change to stop the onslaught. Football's format, unfortunately, has no time-out until the half-time break. Though you may be shocked by your opponents' strength and prowess, you are playing to time, and it is this time that you must use to turn around your fortunes. Wishing and hoping that the time passes quickly will keep you stuck in the rut. You have to get yourself out of it. Heavy though your legs may be, embarrassed though you may be, you must find a way to turn the tide.

Lead. Even if you are not tasked to, do so, especially if you see where there is a void. If your team is going down, and your captain seems to be drifting without solutions, step forward and take charge. Double down and take one for the team. Marshal your mates and rise!

Fight. It is fundamentally wrong to give up on yourself. This is more acute when you have time to do something about your condition. In this case, many football analysts thought Brazil had made it well beyond their capabilities to the semi-finals, and so they were being properly exposed. But, in the same way that we witness aberrations of all types in life, there is no reason to believe that in a football game where all the odds seemed stacked against you, you cannot change your circumstances.

There are several examples that I can think of where many teams have made championship-winning changes when they seemed to have been soundly beaten. Steven Gerrard's shouldering of his Liverpool team as they appeared sure to be beaten in Istanbul against the formidable favourites, Milan, led by the indomitable Paolo Maldini in 2005, comes to mind. Liverpool, behind 3-0 at the half, rallied back, with Gerrard leading the way with the first comeback goal. Tied at three apiece after regulation and extra time, the game eventually went to penalties. Liverpool came away with the Champions League title that year.

In 2011 (a memory I loathe referencing but must in this case), my team, Arsenal cruised to 4-love at half-time in Newcastle until Tiote made that wretched strike that tied the game 4-4 as that match wound up. Of course, there are many more, and these are the memories of fight you will want to have etched in your mind. When in trouble, get back to some basics. Fight. To the end.

Loss is expected in all sports. How you manage defeat is essential to your mental well-being and bouncing back to play your next game. The memory of fighting, even if you are going down, is much easier to bear than wishing away time. For time will be eternal on a memory of a loss without a fight.

Romae Gordon is fashion director of Pulse modelling agency. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and romae@pulsecaribbean.com.