Burrito
The thing I like about sport is the thing I like about stuff generally.
I like the (it’s a phrase that Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh coined) “inter-are”-ness. Things are what they are because other things are a part of them. Say you grow some chillies in your garden and you cook some vegetables, fry them up with the chilies, stick them in a tortilla and you’ve got a burrito. But without the chilies, it’s a vegetable wrap. So the burrito only exists because of the chilies. And chilies on their own do not a burrito make. They “inter-are”.
Oh, and the chilies wouldn’t have been there if you hadn’t grown them, so you inter-are with the burrito from the moment you grew the plant. You’re wrapped up in the whole burrito thing too. So is the sun and the soil. And the garden centre that sold you the seeds and the girl behind the counter and your car and the guy whose job it is to put the wheels on it before it rolls off the production line. Or even the machine that put the wheels on it. Yep, there are more than just vegetables in your burrito.
So what’s fun about sport, and the World Cup in particular, is that when that goal for Ghana trickles over the line, there are millions of people in Africa going crazy when you’re sitting there thinking “Nice goal. Good for them.” You’re a part of the experience.
I remember being in a marketplace in Gambia a few years back and Senegal were playing someone. Many of the traders had come across from there and people were crouched around radios dotted around the market. Or when my Australian friend Adam celebrated Tim Cahill’s goal against Japan, I was happy for him, because I like to see emerging nations do well in global sport, but also because I knew he has a connection with millions of people also cheering even though it was on the other side of the world where it was the middle of the night. Also, Tim Cahill plays for Everton, which I support and my dad supports and that’s where our family are from, and you can read more about that attachment if you like and what it means to be a fan.
When Beckham scored last weekend, I ran over to the TV and turned down the sound because I wanted to hear people in my neighbourhood cheering while I was watching the fans celebrate in the stadium in Germany.
These connections make our victories sweeter and they cushion our defeats.
When I was watching Wimbledon yesterday, I could hear planes flying over the players, the jet turbine noise picked up by the microphones on the court and then a few minutes later the same plane would fly over my house, and there’s another connection.
It might sound egotistical, but it’s not to do with me. Well it is, but it’s to do with us and our connection to what’s happening.
Have a great weekend.
June 30th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Thanks … and you.
When Jack is not with Liz (mum) or I (dad) we make sure he can see the moon and tell him, “That’s the same moon that Dad/Mum can see” - he connects via a block of stone (or some such) floating in the sky (or whatever is the actual scentific reasoning for it not falling on our heads).
June 30th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
Two thumbs up, Cliff.
June 30th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
OH, and can I have a cheese burrito?
June 30th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
That’s great Mike. On ya.
Coming right up Ed.
July 1st, 2006 at 11:22 am
Hi Cliff. With you being red/green colourblind, perhaps you could take a peek at my blog and leave a comment on its legibility… I’ve given it a bit of a redesign, but it is heavy on the green and the title’s in red. I’d be interested in your comments, since from what little I know about colourblindness, red/green is one of the most common types. Cheers.
July 1st, 2006 at 11:27 pm
Hiya, I had a look and here’s what I think:
Title:
The word Nowt looks strange. The t doesn’t look crossed and the w has no top to it. I guess because it’s on a grey background.
Your About Me profiletext is very light, and the red text which says Blogroll me - I can barely make that out as it flickers and interferes with the background colour.
I can’t read the icon to the left of the Sitemeter icon and the bit that says how many comments you have under each post isn’t very clear.
It may be different for other people - I am deuteranomalous, which means weak on greens, or the greens shift towards red and at certain stages just get mixed up completely. Poppies on grass are most perfect match that springs to mind, but only when they are next to each other.
Run your site through this and see what you think:
http://colorfilter.wickline.org/
Not a big deal, but a small one for a fraction of people who find it hard on the eyes.
Thanks for the question - it’s rare that anyone checks!
July 2nd, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Thanks for taking the time to do that, Cliff. I’ve used the site you mention and can see what you mean to some extent. The banner image was only temporary anyway; I just have to get around to creating a replacement. I changed the “Blogroll Me” text. I am currently battling with the profile text. And then I will see what I can do about the other bits.
I know making if “Cliff-friendly” will still mean billions of other people won’t be able to read it, and you can’t please all the people all of the time.
Thanks again.
July 2nd, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Actually, making it friendly for me will have no impact on anyone else, because they can see everything I can. It’s me who can’t see everything you all can’t.
Wayne Rooney - still annoyed. Bringing Beckham down with him because he can’t be controlled.
July 5th, 2006 at 10:50 am
Yeah, I meant billions of other people who have different types of colourblindness, if you know what I mean!
January 31st, 2007 at 6:36 am
Manual Trackback. This post is cited in Blogisattva, Announcement: 2nd Annual Blogisattva Award Nominees.
February 25th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Manual Trackback. This post is cited in Blogisattva, Announcement: 2007 Blogisattva Award Winners.