Trivial Pursuits

It`s back on next weekend......football is back, Verdy are back, Tokyo Nerdy 1969 is back. I`d LOVE to be able to give a big loud fuck off WE`RE BACK with bells, air horns and guitar solo`s but I can`t because in the last month for myself football has slipped way down the rankings of the important things in life.. Verdy will be playing at Komazawa Stadium against Ehime, I will be there with my son and a few friends cheering on the Boys in Green but seriously knowing that win, lose or draw, it REALLY matters not.
To be simply alive and at the stadium to be able to take in the game is an absolute blessing in itself. The thought of watching a game, having a beer with friends and catching up has become such a beacon of hope for myself (a person in no way seriously affected by the earthquake) that next weekend really can`t come round soon enough.
The J-League and all teams therein have made a superb effort since March 11th in helping the affected clubs and also (far more importantly); the communities to come to terms with the devastation wrought by the earthquake and tsunami. In terms of "coming to terms with things" there are some things nobody can help with. For the children who have lost mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends; no amount of Charity Matches, Millions raised or Kazu Dances performed will bring loved ones back. Mother Nature is an absloute indomitable bitch at times and in times like these we are utterly powerless to defend ourselves. If Mother Nature decides to plant a 40 tonne ship on the top of a 30m / 3 storey building there is little any man,woman or child can do to survive.
However, for the people who did survive, for life to again be fruitful it, can`t be lived in a permanent state of desperation. And this is where football comes in. 90 minutes away from the troubles that have been thrown up since March 11th. Football can be a temporary band aid for the spirit of the nation, a temporary anaesthetic to the pain of what has happened. Vegalta Sendai and the other clubs can provide a release for the people of that devastated region. A chance to grieve communally, hold on to each other and hopefully fightback against the wave of destruction. Football in all it`s glorious triviality can come to the fore. I for one welcome football back into the life of the nation.
It has been mentioned elsewhere that the J-League has become more of a family since the carnage of the 11th. Many clubs have been working together to raise money and going out to help people in shelters bringing hope to the hopeless. I would go as far to say the whole nation has come together like no other time. The community spirit in Japan is second none that I have ever experienced anywhere in the world. The need to live with dignity, respect for others and helping those less fortunate has been magnified in these current turbulent times and the population of this nation has not been found wanting. To the soldiers dealing with the stomach churning task of (still) fishing bodies out of the sea, the countless volunteers manning soup kitchens, taking in orphans, to people providing logistical help dealing with all the aid coming in from all corners of the globe, the housewives wrapping endless boxes of supplies, the regular citizens organising toy fairs for the kids who have lost everything,  the volunteers driving their own trucks full of supplies, I say from the bottom of my heart that I am proud to be able to share in your generosity of spirit, your willingness to go the extra mile for the people who currently need it. I am proud to say I am part of Japan. I`m not Japanese and never will be in terms of ethnicity or citizenship but I feel as Japanese as the next man in terms of this current disaster. It could just as easily been my family washed away, crushed under a building or wandering hopelessly looking for me. I thank my lucky stars that it wasn`t but know that next time it could just as easily be mine. What goes around, comes around in this life and in that sense I will not be found wanting.
In terms of the usual vitriol contained within this site, don`t be surprised if some of it is turned down for a while. The former passions for both football and the hatred of the opposition has disapated somewhat. I`d like to buy Taira Inoue a beer and encourage him in his pursuits of scoring, thank him for his efforts  and hope that he is OK. I will welcome with open arms FC Tokyo fans to Ajinomoto Stadium, happy that they are all alive and able to do something as meaningless and fun as watch a football game. Football IS just a game and generally undeserving of the column inches it generates and definately undeserving of the negative passions it invokes in people, myself included. Call me a disgusting hippy if you like but I don`t think there can be a person who was been present in Japan since March 11th who hasn`t had his/her thinking changed.
There will be a lot of people at the games next weekend who have lost loved ones and there will be a lot of people who simply won`t be there ever again. For these people I say, we will continue the good fight, doing our best to bring a sense of normality back to your lives. With dignity, respect for your suffering and look forward to the day when you are all able to smile again. We stand with you all.