WC in the Desh

Sorry I haven't posted in a while - things in Dhaka have certainly picked up! I guess this is what happens to would-be bloggers - they get a life and no longer have time to blog. Only the strong, friend-resistant ones survive. It's like natural selection in the blogosphere.

Since I know the internet is just dying for more of my rambling drivel, I won't keep it waiting. Let's talk about .. sports!

There's a sports tournament going on that has gotten a bit of attention. It's called the World Cup. Perhaps you've heard of it?

I sound like I'm being facetious, but honestly, I've never noticed the World Cup. A few weeks ago, you could have told me this was going to be the first World Cup ever and I would have believed you. Then I would have asked you which sport it was for. I have only paid attention to soccer long enough to notice that, of professionally played sports, soccer has the best looking guys. I'm saying this as a completely objective observer.

I would have remained blissfully unaware of the World Cup this year as well had it not been for one small factor: I'm in Bangladesh.

World Cup team flags are on sale at every street corner, in every store, at every stand. The WC has created an entirely new revenue source for street hawkers, tailors and sports apparel sellers. Flags are all over office buildings, in people's homes, hanging on walls and on door frames, I even saw someone's gate painted blue, white, blue, exactly like Argentina's flag.

Most of the country is divided into two camps: those for Brazil and those for Argentina. When I ask people why these two in particular, they say, "Because they're the best." Alright then. Bangladesh likes winners. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's soccer team is ranked 157th.

So how strong is this rivalry? Three weeks before the WC started, two villages - one supporting Argentina and the other supporting Brazil - actually came to blows fighting over the teams. According to Gulf News, village residents used "sticks, clubs and sharp weapons" in violent defense of their respective teams, and police had to fire a round of shots in the air to control the fighting.

This past week, Rosie and I joined a CARE colleague on a trip up to Rangpur for a field visit. On the six hour drive north, we saw lush green paddy fields, burgeoning towns, and... you guessed it, flags. Brazil came out ahead as the clear winner of Bangladesh hearts. Check out some of the WC loyalty we saw on our way up!



What I didn't catch on memory card were the dozens of people huddled around a single TV in a cha shop, the distinct change in traffic density depending on whether an important game was on, and all the kids who exchanged their cricket bat for a soccer ball in their playtime endeavors, at least for a now. Bangladesh has WC fever, and it has it bad.

One question kept coming to mind, "Is this normal?" I haven't figured out whether the Desh is unusual in its loyalty to teams that have little to do with it (is this happening in other countries?) .. and if either the Brazil or Argentina teams has any inkling of the passions they are sparking around the world.

We didn't see any random acts of WC madness on our field visit (bummer), but we did get a close-up look at some impressive social business at work. Will post about field visit soon..