We’re getting into the last matches of the World Cup Qualifying stretch now. For those of you without a clue as to what I’m talking about, the sport is football or soccer, and the World Cup will take place next year, in South Africa.Tonight is another round of matches.
Some teams have already qualified, the Netherlands being one of them, and some are totally out of the running, Luxembourg being one of them. But other teams still have a chance – and one of those are Switzerland.
Despite being rather unashamedly patriotic and Norwegian, especially when it comes to sport, I cheer for Switzerland at football. (Of course, should Norway and Switzerland meet, I would probably cheer for Norway. Probably.)
I am frequently asked why I do that – most others, when they root for something besides their own national team tend to lean towards the teams that tend to win. England, France, Brazil, Italy, Portugal, and so on.
The thing is, if you’re rooting for someone you’re anticipating to win, in my view, you’ll often end up disappointed. Whereas when I root for the underdog, which Switzerland is most of the time in the football world, any victory is a great triumph – and a tie works well, too.
I started rooting for the Swiss squad during the World cup in Germany. Norway had not qualified, yet again, and if there is one thing I like when watching a championship – it is having someone to cheer for.
My second choice, after Norway, was Denmark, but they had also failed to qualify… And the same with Scotland. Instead I started my pondering.
And I ended up with Switzerland. The only problem with following Switzerland is that the qualifying matches are not airing on television anywhere near me, so I’m missing out on a bit of the fun with it.
But at least I have the good results to rely on. (Defeat to Luxembourg nonewithstanding.) So far, they’re in the lead of group 2, but both Greece and Latvia are breathing down their necks.
I’m looking forward to the final matches. As well as crossing my fingers that things go Switzerland’s way.
