World Cup-ize Your Community
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
What would the world be like if we all lived in communities where everyone had access to healthy foods, quality education, and a safe environment? It is easier than you might think. I believe that world can come true in one particular moment or event, such as the World Cup.
Who watched the England vs. United States World Cup match on Saturday? Where did you watch it? Did you watch it with friends, neighbors, and strangers? And who did you high five when the U.S. scored? Although it may not have been the most beautiful goal, did you still high five anybody who you could reach? I did! Sporting events have this amazing ability to bring us together. The rush that comes from knowing other people from around the world simultaneously have their eyes glued to the same match creates an amazing sense of international camaraderie. It’s a sense that compels you to want to accomplish virtually anything with those people. And that sense has enormous power and potential to make inroads towards working together on a myriad of issues.
How can we translate these effects into similar events to unite our communities? Here are a few lessons that I derived from the watching World Cup and from participating in the Chicago Black Hawks’ Stanley Cup victory celebration that I think can help us to “World Cup-ize” our own community process:
- The event needs multiple or incremental phases, like first and second round playoffs. Yes, of course, I wish it were easy, but the more matches we face in the playoffs, the more we bond as fans and the greater our thirst for victory.
- This event must make us feel like we are a part of something that is bigger than ourselves. We then become proud of the Ghana Soccer Team’s first World Cup victory for an African nation on African soil rather than of us as individuals.
- It needs to be something that a) many have a vested interest in b) that all people feel and are welcome to attend, but c) that will not negatively harm anybody’s person or human rights. In the U.S., all are welcome to attend and cheer for sports games, but the outcome of the game will not negatively impact the opponents’ human rights (even though it may hurt their feelings).
- We should initially gain an unconditional reward. The team’s accomplishment may not happen again or it might lose next year, so the reward is the ability to reap, enjoy, and savor the moment with friends and family.
- We need some magic – the successful game-winning “Hail Mary” pass, the overtime Black Hawks goal, or the Paraguay beautiful shot. “Magic” provides safe excitement and the belief that the “impossible” is possible.
These events, whether they are far away in South Africa, at Chicago’s United Center, on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, or in our own backyards, have the opportunity to bring more people to together in a common spirit and purpose to create a stronger more vibrant community where people will want to live, work, and to play.
But we need more! What else can we, as Americans, do to create our own community World Cup?
