Wednesday, July 7, 2010

A CHILD'S DREAM OF GREATNESS

World Cup Quarter-finals: Germany vs Argentina
Germany team leaving the field after their 4-0 win over Argentina

Allow a grandma to indulge a little here. My only grandson returned from two weeks of World Cup excitement in South Africa early this morning. He skipped school to go with his parents. Which little boy would pass over the chance of a lifetime to watch a World Cup live? And which teacher or headmaster would disapprove when in their hearts they probably wished they could be there too.

Max was six when he first saw World Cup action in Germany in 2006. Two years later he was at the Beijing Olympics with his parents. Max was so inspired by 8-gold winner Olympian Michael Phelps that he vowed to be a world-class champ in the pool just like Phelps.

This framed and autographed poster of Michael Phelps occupies pride of place in Max's room. It is his vision chart.
Max's impressive haul of medals, mostly for swimming and triathlon.

Now that Max has seen many of his football heroes in action, he is ready to take his football skills several notches higher. If my grandson maintains that focus and determination, who knows what heights he might reach, what aspirations he might achieve. The least we can do for our children and grandchildren is to give them all the support they need, and not be cynical about their lofty ambitions.

 A little boy can dream of greatness one day, can't he?

On a related note, it must have been heart-breaking for Ghana, the last surviving African team, to bow out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals. It was robbed of a sure goal when Stephen Appiah's shot was by blocked by Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez's 'hand of God'.

 
Headlines from a copy of South Africa's Sunday Times.
It must have been heart-warming for the Ghanian players to see this double-page spread (above) in the national papers the morning after their loss.

A final note: these little pill-boxes (below) with a football logo on the lid were distributed free in the streets of Capetown. Inside were edible paper-thin wafers each one with a quote from the Bible. Popping one of them in your mouth is like taking communion in church. A rather novel idea for evangelising, I must say.

3 comments:

foodbin said...

If he put his heart into it, nothing is impossible-hope his dreams comes true.

pinsysu said...

looking forward to Max debut in his first World Cup ... keep us posted. God bless!!

Unknown said...

Your pride in Max is obvious, and I am sure he will not disappoint his
doting granny.