Football, the occasional mistress

Torn between Lionel Messi and a thrilling fifth day of Test? © Bongarts

Cricket is an enduring romance for me, but once every four years, when the World Cup comes around, I submit to the illicit pleasures of football.

Club football has rarely held any appeal for me; I might occasionally catch a game with the kids and be touched by a burst of individual brilliance, but I can't get myself to feel anything for a club, just as I can't, despite trying, feel any kinship towards the IPL teams. Mumbai is my home, but I couldn't bring myself to feel a trace of pain when Mumbai Indians were losing to Chennai Super Kings in the IPL final. I root for them in the Ranji Trophy, but must I care for a team brought together by Mukesh Ambani's money?

Of course, being a sports fan is about appreciating the skills of the players and the thrill of a contest. But even more than that, it's about being able or unable to relate to something. I relate to Roger Federer, as I did to John McEnroe. I relate to Lionel Messi, too, but through him I find it impossible to relate to Barcelona the way I would with Argentina.

Sitting thousands of miles away, feeling a bit errant about ditching Test cricket, which was on television as the same time, I felt far more deeply for the South African football team, a side I had never watched before, than I have ever done for an IPL team.

I switched to the game while another South African team were battling away in my chosen sport. Jacques Kallis had been dismissed in Port of Spain, the ball was gripping and turning, and Ashwell Prince had just danced down the pitch to play an airy drive. And though I kept coming back to the Test, I couldn't keep my eyes off the South African men in the yellow jerseys for too long. Even at the risk of disloyalty, it was the better story. Rank underdogs -- they are only at the World Cup because they are the hosts -- but lifted by the will of the nation, they filled the opening match with spirit and emotion. Katlego Mphela, after pulling away from the defender and dodging the goalkeeper in a sensational burst, hit the woodwork in the 90th minute. I have my favourite teams at the World Cup; now I just have to support one more.