Passion in Sport: You don't just play it you live it.

Last week I was moved by the anniversary of the Olympics; this had me thinking. Sports, bring people together; it unites teammates, fans, families, friends, communities and even countries. What sport does this more than any other, even more than the Olympics? Football, or more commonly know in America as Soccer.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world according to Wikipedia. The FIFA 2010 World Cup South Africa broke records all over the world in TV and in online views.


You regularly see scenes of riots and other sorts of violence during games due to the intense passion people have for it and their teams. But you also see displays of joy and people crying because they cant hold back the the tears of happiness when their teams win.

2006; Me with my family, friends and others celebrating Italy's Victory!
I'm not putting in the picture of me crying.

Now this happens with every sport, but with soccer it's different, you see the same emotions expressed in every corner of the world. Where as other sports are usually celebrated within the nation it plays or even city. During the the last world cup in 2010 businesses let people take longer breaks and set up TV's in offices and in lobby's for the entire tournament, which lasts just over a month. Yes this even happened here in Canada. The last time Canada made the world cup, actually the only time, I wasn't even born. This brings me to question, why, why soccer? What is it about this game that drives people crazy? Where does the passion come from?


I think a lot of it has to do with tradition, the passion for the sport is a learned behavior. A child will learn to love a team or feel a certain way because the parent feels the same way. In many parts of the world, the passion for a team is like a religion for some people they live and breath it.


Now I wouldn't go this far obviously because I'm not sure what my passion is yet. But I can understand the love of the game. Watch some of these highlights and you may feel the same way.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is still 3 years away but it feels like it is going to blow the past one out of the water. Brazil is a mecca for the sport and I can't wait to see what it has in store for us. Qualifying starts next year!