Football.

One of the many things I feel like I'm being left out from: football. My dad, the only guy in my family, isn't a football fan. In fact, I'd be surprised if he watches any sports at all. So naturally, I was raised without a touch of sports fanaticism.

The first time I remember hearing about the infamous FIFA World Cup is when I was in Year 4, which was in 2002. My whole class was buzzing about the players when I cornered away to do my homework, not because I wasn't interested, but because I didn't have a  clue on what to talk about. I remember fighting with my parents for them to let me watch the world cup, to no avail. Ah well.

Then, the football fever hits again when I was in Form 2. During that time, I was in a girls' high school. There, I witnessed a new form of football fever. My friends (most of them,
anyways) were football fanatics because of the hot guys chasing after a ball. I familiarised myself with a few football players' names, due to gossiping with my friends. One name that was very popular among my friends that time was Kaka. But, unlike them, I didn't find any sweaty, big-built football players 'hot'. Ah well. Italy won that year.

I visited India in 2008. That visit was memorable because it was then when I watched my fist match of ... not football, but cricket. It's my first time ever watching a form of sports live. I stayed up with one of my cousins and watched the match between India and England, if I remember correctly. I still couldn't forget getting scolded by my cousin for cheering for England's 'six ball'. A 'six ball' is a hit where the ball passes the boundary of the field without touching the ground. That was my first 'six ball'. After that, I became interested in cricket, though not addicted. I followed online feeds of the finals of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 when I was supposed to be studying for an exam the day after in my college.

2010. The first time my parents let me to stay up late at night to watch FIFA World Cup. It ain't the finals, but it was a match between Argentina and Brazil I think. I watched the game alone. All I remember was I was drooling for Lionel Messi. No clue why I did that, but I think it's most probably because of the cute appearance that he frequently made in one of the Astro advertisement. Sadly, I had to miss the finals because I was busy moving to Subang Jaya to continue with my studies at that time.

This year, I got to know about Euro Cup. I'm kinda embarrassed to admit that it's my first time hearing about it, but oh well. I heard that it's held every four years as well. And so, I wanted to watch the finals of the game. So I did. My sister said that she'll watch the game with me, so I woke her up at 2.40 am. I don't know much about football, but I think it was a good game. Spain crushes Italy 4 - 0. I held my breath every time a goal attempt was made. I have to say that I was amazed by Spain's goalkeeper, Iker Casillas. He caught the ball cooly everytime Italy made their move to strike a goal. I was glad I stayed up late, though I was guilty of waking up my sister every time Spain scores a goal. And I think I have a crush on their team already.

I can't wait for the next football match. Maybe I don't need a football fanatic dad or brother to become a football fan. FIFA World Cup 2014, I'm waiting for you!!!