How It Feels When My Team Loses - Essay Example

How it feels when my team loses? The feeling of loss is very hurting especially when one is a hardened fan of a particular team, and it would be difficult to cope up with the loss. A feeling of desperation and deep sense of anguish would be prevalent and it is a fact that one day every team may lose a crucial match, which is very disappointing for their fans and well-wishers. Coping with loss without losing one’s cool is a good example of a good sports fan. Everyone wants to win but only one team can win so somebody has to lose. “The tricky part is that sometimes you might react before you even realize it. For instance, its the last out of your Little League game and, in a flash, the other team has won. There they are celebrating on the field and you burst into tears.” (How to be a Good Sport. 1995). Though losing is disappointing, we have to learn to control ourselves the way we react to the loss of our favorite team. We should not get emotionally worked up and there is a general tendency to start accusing the other team of cheating. The best thing to do is to control oneself and congratulate the winning team. If one is entirely devastated by the loss, and feel like crying aloud, one could do it later. And if he wished to complain of unfair means, being used by the winning team, it could be done later. So all things need to be done after a while because one may be very upset when the game ended. Be cool, ponder over the losses. One may become violent and resort to violent methods like arson, looting, and burning public places and property to give vent to pent-up emotions. This should not happen under any circumstances and one should keep one’s cool and act rationally. One should pre-judge the outcome and consequences of one’s actions before acting and should desist from harming another person or causing either physical or mental injury to other person or property. The topic for the interview was the loss of France in the FIFA Soccer World Cup Final. Soccer is one of the most popular games across the world. It has adherents in all parts of the globe. In Latin America, it is a way of life for millions of people. In Europe, soccer is widely played and followed and in Asian countries there is a frenzy and passion for the game. In some parts of the world, especially in USA, there are little adherents to the game. In the World Cup Final, the teams, Italy and France were locked 1-1 in the extra time. Before the first 20 minutes both teams were able to score once. France scored first through a controversial penalty kick in the 7th minute through Zinedine Zidane. “Zidane had put France ahead early on with a coolly-taken chipped penalty” (BBC World Cup 2006) http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991652.stm) Italy equalized through Marco Materazzi in the 19th Minute following a corner kick. There were opportunities for both the teams for scoring again and winning the Cup. Italy’s Luca Toni’s shot hit the cross bar, later on, a header was disallowed due to off side. France was not given a penalty in the 53rd minute of the game, though one of their players, Florent Malouda, was fouled in the box. After the end of the regular time, both teams stood at 1-1 level which forced the match into the extra time. In the extra time, Italian goal keeper, Gianluigi Buffon made a brilliant game saving save when Zidane’s header he tipped over the cross bar. The game saw one of the greatest controversies in modern day soccer when Zidane head butted Materazzi and was sent off the field for foul play. “But France legend Zidane may forever be haunted by the moment of madness which cost him a second World Cup title.” (Stevenson, Jonathan. 2006). No further goals were scored in the extra time. In the ensuing penalty shoot out , Italy defeated France by a margin of 5 -3. France’s David Trezeguet penalty kick hit the cross bar which resulted in Italy’s first world cup title in 24 years. We chose for interview Claude Allegre, President of the football club in France, BC Girondins de Bordeaux and Phillippe Petain, a company executive, who are ardent followers of the game. We selected Claude since he is a former National player and represented France in several games. After his retirement he devoted his full energies for the promotion of the game and infused a great deal of passion and commitment for the game amongst youngsters. Many of the top football players today were coached by Claude. They nurse fond memories of their association with him and his skill and knowledge of the game. Later on, he became the President of the BC Girondins de Bordeaux. Since he is an expert and ardent follower of the game, he would be able to analyze causes for the failure objectively and should be in a position to provide suggestions for improvement of all aspects of the game. Philippe has been chosen because he would be able to analyze the feelings of an ardent fan when his team loses. Though he is a layman, he has been a follower of the game since his childhood and soccer is his main hobby and he has developed a good working knowledge of the sport over long years of association with it. We also handed over a detailed questionnaire to the interviewees so that they could come prepared for the interview. Content and Structure of the Interview: We discussed about the present Football organizational Structure in France which may have played a part in France’s ultimate loss to Italy in the finals. The advantages of the present organizational structure, its deficiencies etc were laid across the table during the course of the interview. The purpose was if there were any political or other factors that influence team selection and performances it should be high-lighted and commented upon by the interviewee during the course of the interview. Moreover, the team organizational set-up may suffer from certain inherent or acquired disadvantages which need to be analyzed in detail and wherever possible, necessary action has to be initiated for deviant policies and establishment of fresh policies for the betterment of the game in France. An important topic for the discussion was the feelings and reactions of an ardent fan when his team loses. The French league football system was also be a subject of discussion during the course of the interview with Claude since he has wide and diverse views on it by virtue of his long association with the football fraternity in France. During the course of the interview with him regarding the league system, we delved into the existing league systems practiced in Italy, Spain, Poland, Brazil and Great Britain and made a comparative study with their respective systems and whether certain lessons could be taken from them regarding their present systems. Next, we discussed with Claude, regarding the composition and selection of the team, and whether there was room for improvement in the manner and modus operandi of selection. It needs to be analyzed whether the standard criteria for selection like physical and mental fitness, current performance and other attributes like leadership qualities, agility and sportsmanship and above all, the right attitude towards professional soccer is adhered to and also whether all selections for the national team by selection committee is fair. Another point of discussion during our interview with Claude and Philippe was the behavior of French player Zidane. Zidane was a brilliant player but his behavior during the World Cup final has been shocking. His head butting Materazzi had caused his ejection from the game at a crucial stage. He was instrumental in reaching France to the Finals of the World Cup and therefore, had he remained throughout the final encounter, may be the result would have been different. A person of his maturity and caliber should have avoided violence and show of ill feelings towards Materazzi. In the final, he could have swung the game in France’s favor but his departure, in a way, contributed to Italy’s victory. We also discussed other factors which are responsible for Italy’s victory. An Important factor was the strength of the Italian defense which was unbreakable and impregnable despite the speed and resourcefulness of the French forwards. The Italian Goal-keeper, Buffon, also proved more than equal to his task, and, time and again, made brilliant saves to frustrate the designs of the French forwards , who were able to breach the defense of the Italians, but could not score goals. Thus, the goal keeper’s alertness and anticipation saved the day for the Italians and in the final penalty shoot outs, the French lost the match by a margin of 5-3. Another issue we discussed during the course of the interview was the Materazzi going scot-free. It is believed that Materazzi provoked Zidane to act the way he did, but, surprisingly, he remained unpunished. Whether not giving punishment to him was fair or not was also discussed with Claude and Phillipe. Venue for Interview We have conducted the Interviews in two different places. We sought an appointment with Mr. Claude Allegre, President of a football club in France, BC Girondins de Bordeaux, at his club office in Bordeaux. The interview lasted for around two hours in which we discussed all significant aspects mentioned above. The interview was conducted in a very cordial and pleasant manner and he fully co-operated in answering all the questions put to him regarding his reasoning for the failure of French football team in the FIFA World Cup Finale and the feelings of a hardcore fan. During the interview probing questions were asked. Probing questions are “follow-up questions when we do not fully understand a response, when answers are vague or ambiguous or when we want to obtain more specific or in-depth information.” (Ellen Taylor-Powell, Linda Camino). His expert knowledge of every aspect of high level soccer was visible during the course of the interview and he explained a range of path breaking structural reforms intended to improve French soccer in the years to come. “By drawing on practitioners’ intuition and experience, it can generate findings that are meaningful and useful to them” (Myers, Julienne. 2000). The second interview with Company Executive, Phillippe Petain, was conducted in a 5 star hotel Lounge, in suburban Paris. He provided a layman’s view of the reaction after the French defeat in the World Cup Final. He also expressed the true and deep undercurrents of feelings of the French people on this matter and the personal agony and anguish suffered by his countrymen at this loss. The proceedings of the 2 interviews were recorded live on video and analyzed by replaying of the video tapes. Since the questionnaire was handed over to the interviewee much earlier, the interviewee came prepared for the interview.” In an interviewer-administered questionnaire, the interviewer plays a critical role in the perceptual process.” (Cleo R. Jenkins1 Don A. Dillman). The interpretation was made through facial expressions of the interviewees and their body language. “Transcription or analysis of these (video) tapes can also be valuable for purposes of research, in addition to strict questionnaire evaluation and development.” (Willis, Gordon. B. 1999). It was also done through study of their choice of words, the pitch and tone of their voices and the emotions they felt during the course of the Interviews. “Respondent debriefings have the potential to supplement information obtained from behavioral coding.” (Scheuren, Fritz) As regards the atmosphere of the interview, the interviews were held in a cordial and smooth manner and the interviewees co-operated fully by answering all the relevant questions to the best of their knowledge and abilities. The answering pattern of our 1st Interviewer, Claude Allegre, was that of an expert, well versed in the art and science of the game of soccer, and who had devoted, almost his entire lifetime for the passion of the game. Besides the personal interview, the questionnaire which was provided to interviewees was very useful for them. The questionnaire contained a list of topics to be discussed. “Sometimes the question is simply a list of topics that the research wants to discuss with an industry expert.” (David S. Walonick 1997 – 2004). The second interviewee was Phillippe Petain, a company executive, who voiced public opinion and fans’ feelings in the wake of France’s defeat at the hands of Italy, in the FIFA World Cup soccer final. Work Cited How to be a Good Sport. (1995). KidsHealth. The Nemours Foundation. Retrieved May 16, 2007, from http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/emotion/good_sport.html Stevenson, Jonathan. (2006). Italy 1-1 France (aet). BBC Sport World Cup 2006. Retrieved May 16, 2007, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991652.stm Taylor-Powell, Ellen., & Camino, Linda. Quick Tips #34 Probing Questions in Interviews Program Development and Evaluation. Madison: University of Wisconsin-Extension, WI. Retrieved May 16, 2007, from http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/resources/pdf/Tipsheet34.pdf Julienne, Myers. (January 15, 2000). Qualitative Research in Health Care: Using Qualitative Methods in Health Related Action Research: BMJ. Vol. 320. Cleo R. Jenkins1 Don A. Dillman. Towards a Theory of Self-administered Questionnaire Design. Willis, Gordon. B. (1999). Cognitive Interviewing: A ‘how to’ Guide. Retrieved May 16, 2007, from http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/areas/cognitive/interview.pdf Scheuren, Fritz. Preface. What is a Survey? Retrieved May 16, 2007, from http://www.whatisasurvey.info/ David S. Walonick. (1997 – 2004). Excepts from: Survival Statistics. Retrieved May 16, 2007, from http://www.statpac.com/surveys/surveys.doc Appendix 1. First Name : 2. Last Name : 3. Middle Name : 4. E-mail address : 5. Residential address : City: State: Zip code: Country: 6. Gender : 7. Hobbies : 8. Occupation : 9. Designation : 10. Could you briefly talk about the organizational set-up of the French Football? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. Advantages of the present set-up : ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. Disadvantages of the present set-up : ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. Areas needing improvement in the French football league : ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14. Comparisons of French football with other premier leagues (English, Spanish, Italian, British, etc.) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 15. The selection procedure of the French Football Team: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. Your suggestions for the improvement of the selection procedures : ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. Whether Zinedine Zidane is a hero or a villain? : ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. The role of the Italian defense and their goal- keeper, Gianluigi Buffon in ensuring victory for the Italian team : ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 19. What was your initial reaction about the results of the Final match : ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 20. In retrospect, what are your present feelings about the failure of France in the world cup? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Read More