The Soccer Corner
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        Soccer is more than a sport for Brazilians. It represents a way of life, the passion of a people, their dreams and their wild and unabashed spirits. When those boys in yellow dash across the field chasing after the ever elusive ball, the whole nation embraces them. They become their brothers, husbands and sons. Then nation cheers, sweats, sway, celebrate and cry with them. And when, by any chance, the ball gets inside the net of the opposing team, those boys in yellow become instant national heroes. When, by a stroke of fate, the adversary scores, the boys in yellow become vile and wretched villains. But at the end of the day, heroes or villains, the boys are still honored by a fervent nation that adores the 'beautiful game'.   The object of this section of my website is to keep you informed on the progress of the Brazilian team. Olee!

Not fair! Not Fair! We almost had it!
 The boys in yellow sure didn't deliver in 98. Sure that we were almost there, but there were many factors that kept us from getting the final prize. But one of them was that the team didn't play as a team. But Lord willing, 2002 is just around the corner!

What happened in France? Let's see: The team went to battle as individuals and not as a team. France on the other hand, came to the game as a team and played as a team. Brasil's team was sorely divided over the participation of Ronaldo in the last game. As it is known, Ronaldo suffered severe convulsions the night before the game. Half of the team was against Ronaldo playing and the other half was for. How in the world are you supposed to get a team playing as a whole in those conditions? In my opinion, the coach should had put Ronaldo out to pasture on that decisive last game. One other factor that is not widely known is that the Brasilian coach when interviewed prior to the game stated that he wasn't nervous about the game because in soccer he was God. Talk about pride! That's it folks, you make statements like that, you're in for a loss. Brasil just wasn't clicking. They were sluggish and the team played as if had no spirit. When that second goal from france surprised Brasil, I knew right there and then that Brasil had lost the World Cup. I stayed around to see, to my horror and unbelief that spetacular third goal from France. My sister was so disenchanted that she announced that she was leaving before the end of the game. I should have done the same, but I decided to stick with the team. Through glory or shame, we're in this together. I left for home with a broken heart that evening. I took my Brasilian flag that hung from the rearview mirror and angrily tossed it in the back seat. My wife was speechless. That was a long quiet ride home. The next day I put the flag back and smiled. Well, at the office I was totally humiliated. It was an exporting office and even my former international customers were taking their punches. But I survived and reminded them about 2002. Some might say that it's just a game, but once again, Brasil is soccer and soccer is Brasil. Keep checking for the current status of the Brasilian national team.