Perspective Check

Sometimes you just need a little perspective check. Arsenal’s Wednesday loss really did a number on me. It sounds stupid to be so upset over a league game loss, but all Thursday I was pretty depressed.


Pain like that usually lessens with time, and it has. But I’ve also had a bit of a perspective check that has reminded me that while I have a pretty big love affair with Arsenal, I have an even bigger one with the game they play; football (soccer).

I was in Borders for my family to get something when a clearance book caught my eye. The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup. It’s about the 2006 World Cup, but that doesn’t mean the book is a piece of junk. It’s 32 essays about the 32 teams that qualified for the 2006 World Cup. Essays put together by a guy who got a lot of prominent writers to write for this. I only recognized two, Nick Hornby and Franklin Foer of course, but the credits to a lot of the others names make it good. I’m only a couple chapters in, but it’s interesting, engaging, and exactly the kind of thing I like to read.

I love the game. I can get goose bumps just looking at a picture of a wonderful pitch. The book I got has reminded me that it is bigger than just Arsenal. I can remember the 2006 final. Italy v. France. I didn’t get to watch it, but I tracked it online. I remember the rage I felt at Zidane for his head butt. And I remember my excitement even then for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. I love soccer. And sometimes I need a perspective check to say that while some things may be bad, it’s not the most important thing out there.