I love the slogan of this Games: "One World One Dream"
The biggest sporting event in the world got underway yesterday with the biggest display ever at the spectacular Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing, China. The Olympics which comes around once in every four-year got off to a carnival-like atmosphere, electrifying fireworks, dazzling displays, ingenious and breath-taking performance.
A paramilitary officer stands guard at the Chinese National Aquatics Centre, also known as the Water Cube, in Beijing, which host swimming and diving events for the 2008 Olympics this August.
A month of football fiesta ended at the Olympiastadion in Berlin yesterday with the crowning of the Italian team as the world champions for the next four years (that's a full term in office for many political governments around the world!). It's going to be a long celebration for the Italians.
It was a grand finale to a world cup that had the clear favourites Brazil, Argentina bowing out at the
quater-final stage, and others like the Czech republic, The Netherlands and Spain making a disappointing exit at the group stage and second round respectively. World cup debutants like Ghana and Ukraine put up a fairly impressive performance that got them to the second round and quarter-final stage respectively, while England was knocked out again at the quater finals via the dreaded penalty shout-out.
For billions of fans of the game popularly referred to as "footie" here in the UK, we are in for a month of football fiesta and razzmatazz. The footie World Cup is expected to dominate the headlines, tv screen, programme schedules, popular discussions and public analysis in the next one month.
Though the once-in-every-4year tournament, and the biggest sporting event on planet earth kicked-off yesterday at the FIFA World Cup Stadium in the German city of Munich. The World Cup fever (not the sickly fever but the excitement fever) will gradually spread to all the nations and continents of the world as all the 32 participating countries begin to take the centre stage for their respective matches.
The emotions, passion, excitement, razzmatazz that will be generated during the World Cup, will
translate into different strokes for different folks. For some it will be sheer excitement, huge jubilation and celebration if their team and country wins, but for others it will be dissappointment, anguish, sorrow and anger if their team loses.
It is pertinent to note that the ultimate prize in life is not the 36.5 cm tall, 5 kg of 18 carat solid gold with a total weight of 6.175 kg FIFA World Cup which will be presented to the team and country that emerges as the world champions after the final whistle at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on the 9th of July.
What then is the ultimate prize in life? "Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever. I don't run without a goal."-1 Corinthians 9:25 & 26
This is the ultimate, unfading and everlasting prize in life. "I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done."-Philippians 3:14
Since Nigeria my beloved country failed to qualify for the World Cup fiesta, may the best team and country win. Hope that is fair enough!
Enjoy the Games.
NB: If you are a student living in and around The University of Glamorgan and Treforest, you are invited to join us and other students at Saron Centre to watch the matches of the World Cup on our big screen in a comfy lounge setting.
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