My football stories boil down to two memories in my life.
The first is about the short, skinny, agile kid I was.
The one who doesn't understand anything about the moves and techniques of football - but at the moment of truth runs very fast, overtakes everyone and kicks Spitz at the goal (true - a kick that is not respectable and unprofessional, but I didn't care what people think so I give it up) and leads the 6th grade in the school Tachmani in Bat Yam for a historic victory.
The second, sometime at the beginning of the current millennium, happened when I was sent to prepare an article about the most talked about telenovela in Israel in those days - "The Champion".
I was cast as an actor in the group "Jerusalem Power" under the management of Liraz Charchi, who played the iconic role of Mittal Ogansian.
The role amounted to ten gross seconds on the screen in which I was presented as Mozafi's son, and in the same breath I was dismissed from the group.
This actually ended my sports career and along with it my understanding of the field.
This week the games are back in full force.
It's hard to ignore them - and not just because of Argentina's loss to Saudi Arabia.
Two major events took place in the World Cup last week and made headlines all over the world, even though they were only indirectly related to football.
The first was the emotional protest of the players of the Iranian national team, who chose not to sing the national anthem of their country at the beginning of the game.
And so, it seems that despite the jarring loss to England (6:1) they are the ones who will be recorded as winners.
The second was the discussion that developed around the wearing of the ribbon in the colors of pride.
It was born after the captains of seven national teams planned to go to the games wearing the one love ribbon.
But this move is against FIFA's ban, and the national teams retracted their decision after receiving a warning. If they hadn't panicked and surrendered, the captains would have become the heroes of the hour.
On the sidelines of the news there were also Palestinians who interfered with the report of a News 13 reporter reporting from the World Cup in Israel, and a violent incident between opponents of the Iranian regime and its supporters outside the stadium.
What do we learn from all this?
A few days after the opening whistle, it becomes clear that the World Cup is indeed a mega-event, representing much more than the rivalry of football teams from countries around the world.
The World Cup succeeds in crossing audiences and producing a conversation that goes far beyond the goal or the penalty or the halftime result or the moods of Messi or Ronaldo.
It is a sporting and social event that covers social, value and political issues, at high intensities.
These occupy the center of the conversation in the world and get crazy ratings.
In the end, one of the teams competing in the World Cup will also lift the trophy.
Until that happens, the world will change a little more.
erans@israelhayom.co.il
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