The Beautiful Game

“And … the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.”

Zechariah 8:1-8; Matthew 18:1-5

Today we give thanks for a remarkably successful Football World Cup. The prayers of many for a peaceful month of celebration have been answered. Now we have to get on with life, no longer feeling it is here, but certainly feeling grateful that it has been here and that we shared in it. Undoubtedly some amongst us will sigh with relief as they regain use of the TV; others will be sad that it is all over yet exhilarated by the experience; and Paul the octopus will have time to contemplate his future options. Like others at Volmoed, I thoroughly enjoyed the event, found it quite magical at times, and have come to appreciate why for millions round the world it is called “the beautiful game.” I was convinced about this from the moment I saw Tshabalala score the opening goal of the World Cup in Bafana Bafana’s match with Mexico. We all know, however, that the eventual success of the World Cup will be judged not just by what was achieved during the past month, but what is achieved as a result on and off the field in the years to come. The “nay-sayers” have been proved wrong thus far; let us pray that they will be proved equally wrong in the days ahead. Viva the World Cup! Viva!

Bernhard and his son Martin, David my grandson and I will long remember the fantastic evening we shared as we walked along the two and a half kilometer Fanwalk in Cape Town from the railway station to the Green Point Stadium to watch Spain beat Portugal in match 56 of the Football World Cup. What a remarkable experience that was for us, and tens of thousands of others. It was like being part of a mass pilgrimage to a holy shrine. There were people from all over the world speaking different languages, some dressed in national costume, many waving flags, singing and laughing, eating and drinking. But all were moving slowly but surely in the same direction beckoned by the brightly lit stadium -- a sanctuary filled with chants and the sound of trumpets where the saints of soccer performed a liturgical dance – ballet with a ball -- as we watched in delight. You can understand why some refer to football as a form of religion.

I mentioned this a few days later in a seminar on “football, religion and ethics” here at Volmoed given by Denis Muller a professor of theology from Switzerland. In fact, I got quite passionate and carried away in insisting that soccer has become a religion for many people in the sense that for them football is an all consuming passion that gives meaning to life. My intervention caused lively discussion, so much so that eventually Bernhard had to bring the seminar to a decisive end like a referee preventing a fracas on the field of play! I got a red card. But it is true, isn’t it, that sport like other things can take over their lives at the expense of everything else and become the reason for existence, which is surely what religion is all about. Imagine what would happen to multitudes if, tomorrow, it was decreed that soccer, rugby and golf were declared illegal in the same way as Christianity was once banned by the Roman Empire! But let me acknowledge that the word religion is a slippery one that means different things to different people, and that while scholars debate its meaning at great length there is no precise definition that would satisfy everyone. We can be passionate about many things without them becoming an idol or matter of ultimate concern or religion. So let’s simply stick with the description that football is a “beautiful game!”

We humans belong to the species homo sapiens, but we have also been described as homo ludens, that is, beings who play. Playing games has been central to the human story from the beginning not just as a physical activity, but as something which characterizes our humanity, adding value to life and building community. Learning to play is in fact an essential part of the process of growing up, that is why schools have play grounds and sports fields where we play hopscotch and marbles, cricket and rugby. Imagine a world without games! It would be a world of seriously deprived or disadvantaged children, which is why we react in horror to child soldiers and by contrast enjoy children at play as we also enjoy playing with them. So if God created us to play as part of our nature, as it also is for kittens, puppies and baby baboons, playfulness must be a virtue, a sign of life and creativity. Playfulness is not just about playing games, but a way of being human in the world that leads us to invent and play games. Perhaps Jesus had this virtue in mind when he taught us to become like children in order to discover the reality of God’s kingdom in our midst.

But what about beauty as a description of the game we call football? Beauty, as the poets and prophets tell us, is both seductive and redemptive. When beauty is separated from goodness and truth it becomes false beauty as happens too often in the advertising world or in beauty pageants. So, too, the “beautiful game” can become corrupt and idolatrous. Like the circuses in ancient Rome, it can be used by those in power to satisfy the crowd’s need for excitement at the expense of their need for bread, for housing, for education, indeed, for playfulness as a human virtue. When football is driven by financial greed or the lust for power the beautiful game turns ugly and we rightly protest. It has lost its significance as a game; it has been corrupted so that it is no longer an expression of our true humanity, a way of making us more human together. Instead of its heroes being role models that contribute to human wholeness, they promote values that are destructive. But when the game is beautiful, not just in its execution but also in its effect, it brings joy and delight to player and spectator alike, it becomes a source of creative energy for building community.

In his vision of society restored, the prophet Zechariah sees boys and girls at play in the streets of Jerusalem while their elders joyfully sit and watch. What a beautiful image of the coming of God’s kingdom! Imagine if this was true in the streets of Jerusalem today, or anywhere else in the world where violence is tearing society apart. Imagine if our streets were filled with people at play rather than engaged in crime, drugs or xenophobic attacks. How beautiful it is to see people of different races and cultures playing together rather than fighting, kicking or catching a ball rather than hurling bombs and firing bullets. Any game can become beautiful – not just because of the magic on the pitch or the skill of the players, but because of the way in which it helps us all to live in harmony with others. In the end football should not become a religion of ultimate loyalty because then it becomes an idol and turns ugly. It must remain a game because only then can it remain beautiful. It is not the gospel nor will it bring about the kingdom of God. But it is good news if it helps us become playful like children as it did when we walked together on the Fanwalk, and it is a beautiful sign of the kingdom when it fosters human well-being and reconciliation between peoples and nations. So let us pray that the spirit of the Football World Cup will continue and that through it the Spirit of life will continue to bring wholeness to our land. Now that would be something to celebrate, something truly beautiful to behold!

(John W. de Gruchy is Emeritus Professor of Christian Studies, University of Cape Town and Extraordinary Professor at the University of Stellenbosch. This is a weekly meditation given at the Eucharist service at Volmoed Christian Community Centre, Hermanus.)