The Religion of Football (Soccer)

As I write this, Germany has just trounced my beloved England 4-1 for a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals.

As an Englishman living in New York — the world’s unofficial capital city — I’ve been inspired by the passion and excitement I’ve witnessed, as fans of all nationalities gather in the bars of Brooklyn to celebrate “the beautiful game.”

I’d hoped this would be England’s year. After all, I am a man of faith. Yet when England was knocked out, I was well prepared. Partly because I’m a faithful supporter of Manchester City, a team that has yet to win so much as an eggcup since the year I was born.

So yes, I know the meaning of pain. In fact, I was a season ticket holder for many years. Then when Manchester City was demoted to the old second division, I was motivated to rip up that season ticket and enter rabbinical school. (Well, several life changing trips to Israel helped, too).

As luck would have it, my beloved City has now grown into one of the world’s richest clubs, and is in the running for some major silverware next season. I don’t know if my tantrum had any effect on that.

But I was happy to trade my season ticket for a siddur after I began to notice how today’s fans idolize their football heroes. Perhaps because of our sedentary careers and routine lives, many of us live vicariously through professional athletes. Their success becomes our success, and their failures become our failures. Should David Beckham’s injured knee really result in a national day of morning? Where are our priorities? The great Bill Shankly got it wrong: football is not more serious than life and death.

Saturday afternoon is a perfect time for faith, family and friends. We should be relaxing on the pews of the shul, not in the terraces.

Don’t think I’m bashing the beautiful game; after all, once Shabbat over, I still run to check the scores.

In fact, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, noted that football is a powerful metaphor for life.

The objective of the beautiful game is to kick a ball into a “goal.” It sounds easy, but we all have opponents to face, and our true potential is only awakened by challenge and adversity.

In his enlightening and entertaining book “How Football Explains The World,” American fan Franklin Foer uses football anecdotes to explain how the world at large works.

He notes that every four years, we see globalization made manifest in the World Cup. During this communal event, the world is united. Nations may be battling other nations, but they are doing so without weapons – and all are united by their passion for the game itself.

The most important thing to remember is that, win or lose, it’s just a game, and a funny old one at that!

Simcha Weinstein is an internationally known, best-selling author. His first book Up, Up and Oy Vey!, received the Benjamin Franklin Award for the best book of 2007. He has appeared on CNN Showbiz Tonight and NPR, and has been profiled in leading publications, including The New York Times, The Miami Herald and The London Guardian. He is a regular contributor to The Jerusalem Post and The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), and other publications. He chairs the Religious Affairs Committee at the renowned New York art school, Pratt Institute. His latest book Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st century (Barricade Books: 2008) is out now.

Shtick Shift now on iPhone and iPad

Download Shtick Shift on your new iPhone4

With all the excitement around the launch of apples new iPhone4, thought i would remind you that my latest book Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century is available to download and read on the iPhone and iPad.

Whilst its not currently available via Apples ibooks store, you can purchase it from Amazons Kindle store, which can be read on all iPhones (not just iPhone4) and the iPad using the free Kindle app.

For those of you who dont have an iPhone or an iPad, Shtick Shift is also available on Kindle, Blackberry, PC, Mac and for the less tech savy paperback.