A final fling of the football, at the back of the net, into the hands of the goalie & a soupcon of Nietzsche.

I am sitting at home.

Downstairs I hear the drone of football.

Supporters cheering

The World Cup

Opponents

Argentina

and

France.

You see,

I have been paying attention, a little.

It is 2-2 and they are moving into extra time.

Look at me!

A proper pundit,

Afficionado.

Alan Hansen, not.

I remember

As an 18-year-old realising

The centrality of football talk

to Glasgow dialogue.

Once or twice, I tried to join-in

Before accepting my fate. (Sit quiet and pretend you are listening).

Early-on in the championship

after

Jo Lycett and his cash non-burning

And my complaints about

Human rights,

My daughter expressed her hope that England would lose.

Why lose? I asked.

The more England win, the more domestic abuse.

Men, getting drunk and beating women.

My daughter is a very switched-on 16-year-old.

I was also aware at that age

Although of different things.

I focused on Apartheid,

I read,

I lived through the start of AIDS.

‘My mum won’t let me drink that water,’ said a friend, ‘She doesn’t want me to catch AIDS.’

The ignorance was profound.

Apartheid was Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and Rivonia.

Cognitive dissonance is when

You see, experience, or believe one thing but do another.

It is taking a stance against abuses of power

Against cheating

Fair play they say in football

And yet

Acknowledging the bribes and back-handers that took the game to Russia and now Qatar.

It is telling someone you love them

As you lash-out with a punch,

Or passive aggression.

It is inverting,

It is lying.

I popped into the room earlier,

Sans glasses

The players a blur.

One of the French footballers dived,

He pretended

Before an audience of how many millions

And was given a yellow card.

Naughty, naughty.

The lessons we tell our children

The multitudes watching,

Is not not to cheat

Not to find shortcuts or workarounds that save money but cost integrity,

It is, not to get caught.

Don’t get caught

And you will be OK.

And if you are shown to be lying, double-dealing, manipulating,

Just say no,

It isn’t so,

Our politicians provide regular masterclasses in this perversion

As we,

The masses?

Believe,

‘I don’t lie, I don’t cheat, surely not.’

Ever tried to manipulate a parking ticket or tax bill?

It doesn’t work,

We are under-people,

We don’t know the ways of the uber-mensch.

And if we perchance

Believe ourselves to be

Other,

We will fail.