A few lessons from BOLA 2014.

A few lessons from BOLA 2014.
By Andrew

June/July football season has been characterized by pomp and colour as far as the participating teams and their diehard fans are concerned. Right from the group stage of the epic duel to the very final whistle I witnessed football in its highest peak, the best of dribbling, spot-on passing of the ball and magical saves. Players and their loyal fans alike, in and out of the stadium celebrated in exuberance after well fought for wins and in equal emotion let tears roll down their cheeks in disappointment after their teams lost. How on earth can you explain the fact that grown up and kids glued to their screens would start crying when their teams lost? How else would you explain the sheer madness and electric feeling that would engulf a whole nation when their team overcame their opponents?

Football pundits from around the world made their predictions, some got the right, some outrightly off mark, some had no comments but at the end of the day a result had to be found in all matches! Many persons carried out researches on the participating teams’ track records and by the same researches they made emphatic conclusions about the chances of their teams sailing to victory. However this was not to be as bountiful of surprises occurred leaving many a person agape! That brings me to my first lesson from bola 2014-Never judge someone or the probability of a success story based on the past. Yes, the past was a stepping stone to where we are today but it is not the basis upon which our future is written. Our future is determined by how we plan today!
As each world cup day passed, many teams experienced casualties in the field of play. Some teams lost their most dependable players thereby having to redraft their offensive and defensive patterns contrary to their wish. By this I got my second lesson that we should always hope for the best and also prepare for the worst. Just because everything is in good proportion today does not mean that factors will always remain constant. There will occur odds which we can only surmount if we prepare for all eventualities.

Many teams considered as “underdogs” in the tournament put up a spirited fight to the very last minute to the utter surprise of many established sides. The so called small teams were ruled off long before the tournament kicked off. However to many people’s utter dismay the marked teams produced spectacular displays second to none. They fought their hearts out, ran for the ball with all the zeal, attacked with their guns blazing and defended to every letter of the word. This led to many people rethinking their positions about the world cup outcome. Lesson learnt- Never take anyone or anything for granted. Do not in any sense of the word despise those whom you feel are way below your class. Yes we are human and at times our egos override the acceptable dictates of reason but we should always work through common sense and maximum output. Just when you thought that someone was below your standards, you might be surprised to find them interviewing you for a position as their juniors in the corporate world!

As tears rolled down the losers faces I couldn’t help but pity them for their loses after spirited fights. I watched as dejected faces moved out of the field and hoped that they had faith that they would live to fight another day! True to my word, some of them came for their subsequent matches with fresh zeal and strong intent to win. This led to the upset of some big guns that erroneously pegged their mirage success on the fact that they were world cup regulars! From this I learnt such a vital lesson- that today’s loss should act as an inspiration for tomorrow’s success-that we should live to fight better, harder, smarter on another day, another opportune moment.

Above all, success is definitely not the opposite of failure. Some gallant “soldiers” among the participating nations did not reach the finals, neither did they lift the ultimate trophy but they won admiration and praise all around. They may have been eliminated but they fought fights worth remembering. Lesson-you might not have posted the best result but if your result today is better than what you have ever achieved then you definitely are a success story!

Good day!