For those of you who don’t know, the Homeless World Cup is a competition that started back in 2003 and today reaches 30,000 homeless in 64 countries. Their slogan is A Ball Can Change The World and 70% of their participants experience significant life changes. You can read more over at the Homeless World Cup website.  The reason I bring this up is two-fold, there’s a new book about the Homeless World Cup coming out (with a signing in Brooklyn next week) and they are in the midst of fundraising to bring the Cambodia, Kenya, Malawi (first ever all women’s team!), Palestine and  Paraguay squads to Paris.  If you have never seen it, I highly recommend the fantastic documentary, Kicking It, which follows the lives of 6 players: Najib (Afghanistan), Alex (Kenya), Damien and Simon (Ireland), Craig (USA), Jesus (Madrid, Spain) and Slava (Russia) as they compete in the 2006 Homeless World Cup in South Africa. It’s available in the US for instant play via Netflix and so worth it! I was so into it – I cheered, I cried and I was on the edge of my seat during the matches. Click through to watch the trailer and to hear more about the book launch/signing…

It’s such a great documentary. As a fan of footy, you really owe it to yourself to see it. Just fantastic and it makes you realize what power the game has to transform people and lives.

Canadian musician/journalist Dave Bidini is the author of Home and Away: One Writer’s Inspiring Experience at the Homeless World Cup of Soccer. The book chronicles his experiences with Team Canada at the 2008 HWC in Australia. He’s launching the US edition of the book and doing a signing on Thursday, July 14th here in Brooklyn. It will take place from 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM at the bar Woodwork which is located at 583 Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Members of the US Homeless National Team will be on hand to support the book launch and it we can cheer them on before they head off to Paris. Special thanks to my beloved watishista! NJOD for letting me know about this event. We’ll both be there and will attempt to drag the happily betrothed couple Shiggers and ginboonmiller with us as well. If anyone is thinking of coming, please let me know, it would be wonderful to meet you and to have a pint together!

And now, back to the donating bit.  The Homeless World Cup organizers are asking for donations to help bring the teams from some of the more economically disadvantaged countries to Paris to play. If you go to this link, it has places to donate for each of the teams (Cambodia, Kenya, Malawi, Palestine and  Paraguay) as well as a place for a general donation to HWC. For as little as 5 Euros (which is about $7.16 US – to find your currency’s rate, go here), you can help support a team. They only 39 day left to raise 10,000 Euros for the teams (2,000 each) and most of the teams only have about 150 Euros each donated to the cause.  It breaks my heart to think that they might not have a chance to participate in this life changing experience (watch the documentary, you’ll be turning out your pockets in no time, trust me) and I made a small donation to each team and one to HWC. But if we all spread the word, via Twitter, LJ or Facebook, perhaps we could help them get closer to their goal. Anything you can do to help would surely be appreciated whether it is a donation, spreading the word or both.

UPDATED: I have just been wrestling with evil LJ for almost 2 hours trying to post this info on ONTD_Football. LJ hates me. I manage to get the vids embedded and then all the text drops about 50 spaces. Any LJ whizzes out there who could put this up for me? I’d be happy to provide amended text, embed codes, etc I would really appreciate it!

UPDATE 2:  Finally got the dang thing up on LJ!  In the process, I found that you can watch the documentary online here.

Fake smiles are usually attached to fake people. But I suppose there are always circumstances where you have to fake it- like important meetings and hospital visits. I read in the NY Times the other week that faking a smile can be bad for your health, ha! I suggest you read the article, it’s really short and interesting.

But today I feel like I’ve been faking a lot of smiles. Or maybe I haven’t been smiling much. I’m not sure. But something has been taken from me. My “Umf” is missing. It’s been the past couple of days that I’ve felt umfless. After my very umf-ful visit over the weekend, I’ve kind of been slowly (but surely) deflating. My runs this week have been awful, to the say the least. I’ve been making poor food choices (i.e. Taco Bueno the other night). And I’m tired, like really tired.

Umf, where have you gone? It might have been sucked a little bit out of me by some teenage drama that has actually occurred over THIS very blog. It might have been sucked a little bit more by this crazy person who is complicating my life with more meetings and mental patient drama. It could be any number of things that I don’t really want to deal with. When my mom would be stressed out about something she couldn’t control I use to tell her to kick it. Like visually kick it out of her head. When negativity reared it’s ugly head, just kick it. Kick that shit. But I have been kicking, and my legs are tired and the thoughts are still there.

I have a friend coming in town tonight and all I really want to do is sit at home and watch Angel and be mopey. And make (and eat) some sad brownies. But I can’t. I have to put on a smile and pretend like hanging out is the first thing I want to do.

Like this cute little monkey dude, just kick it.

I just feel whiney. And I hate whiney people. Gross.

Snap out of it! It’s PEACE Day after all! I can eat fudgy brownies and watch my favorite Angel show on Saturday after I run 14 miles.

**post update- I got a message from a friend on Facebook this afternoon that made me laugh so hard that it hurt a little bit. Laughter truly is the best medicine, and I think it helped me kick the shit (which I think is a reference to not doing drugs, but I’m uninformed)…thanks friend!**

Yours snapping out of it one shit kick at a time,

25swf

Kicking It movie download

Download Kicking It

Kicking It Studio: SnagFilms: Genres: News and Information |. Kickin' It Old Skool (2007) – Movie Info – Yahoo! Movies In 1985, 12-year old Justin Schumacher was hoping killer moves could help him dance into his dream girl's heart. Kicking It Gotta Kick It Up! – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gotta Kick It Up is a Disney Channel Original Movie. This movie is truly. . Explore More About Kicking It Kicking It (2008) – Movie Info – Yahoo! Movies About the Homeless World Cup that was first established in 2001 to give homeless people the opportunity to better their lives through sports. Also, it has some star power as it is hosted by Colin Farrell. Kickin' It Old Skool – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kickin' It Old Skool is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Harvey Glazer and written by Trace Slobotkin. Five years later, 20,000 homeless. So when Justin and his break dance posse–the Funky Fresh Boyz
Kicking It Movie Download Blogspot
About The Kicking It online
Kicking It Movie Posters
High Quality Kicking It Movie
Kicking It Movie To Download Full
Full Kicking It Movie Downloads

Hudson Hawk

Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacabana is usually known for the beach bums and beauties, but this week, four years before Brazil’s Men’s World Cup hosting gig, it will be ‘home’ to teams from over 50 nations and territories who will compete in the 2010 Homeless World Cup to raise global awareness and “beat homelessness through football”.

Seven-a-side teams compete in 14 minute matches to determine the champion. However, football has long been a vehicle for many international development issues, this entire tournament has been less about the amount of goals scored than it has been to continue to raise awareness for issues of homelessness on the global scale as well as at the grass-roots. It seems a huge task: despite having a home as being a basic, inalienable right in many countries, according to the UNCHR an estimated 100 million people are homeless worldwide. In fact, in its own way, through the eight year run, it has already made an impact—perhaps not in terms of shirts sold and TV revenues, but in turning upside down the usually negative stereotypes of homeless and make a real difference in the lives of the participants, by helping them become leaders and allowing them to give back to their communities.

Independent grass roots organisations that reach out to vulnerable groups in society use football as a way out of homelessness; bringing together individuals struggling with dependencies, marginalisation and exclusion from society of those suffering from HIV/AIDS or other illnesses, former inmates trying to make a living after release, and a myriad other struggles that many of us do not have to face. While virtually no country in the world is left untouched by the issues of homelessness, the causes for it are as varied as the individual athletes. The criteria for eligibility to play in the tournament the individual has to have been homeless or vulnerably housed for the past year, or make a living primarily as a street paper vendor, or is an asylum seeker, people who have been made homeless due to political and social turmoil and instability, or is in dependency rehabilitation and has been homeless for the past two years.

Many see football as a second shot at life and a taste of the success they are capable of achieving, others use these organisations as a support system, where they can finding assistance and fellow individuals that are going through similarly harrowing and difficult situations without judging them, and some find it as a way to escape their problems, if only for a few hours, and give them happiness.

Since its inception in 2001 by Mel Young, co-founder of The Big Issue Scotland, and Harald Schmied, editor of Austria’s Das Megaphon, during an international street newspaper conference, to its very first kickoff in 2003 in Graz, Austria, and now, there has been a lot of support for this cause, such as Nike and UEFA’s “We Care” programme and the United Nations Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) . Kicking It, a documentary on the Homeless World Cup directed by Susan Koch and Jeff Werner, is narrated by Colin Farrell and covers the lives of seven participants during the 2006 tournament. The movement has amassed many supporters, on the streets and personalities in sport and politics like Eric Cantona, Lewis Hamilton, and Margarita Zabala, Mexico’s First Lady.

Even so, it still doesn’t have the type of coverage which allows adequate and consistent funding and support, since most delegations are left to for themselves. Some teams have been fortunate to have great backers.  Tottenham Hotspur has agreed to a long-term partnership with the Indian team which will get them to Rio. Individuals, businesses and community groups, not the government, came together in order to raise all the money for the Canadian delegation to get to Rio. The Homeless World Cup organisation itself helped fundraise to send the Palestinian team to get to its first ever tournament.

Many teams went through some close calls to get to Rio. A day before the official kick off, the South African delegation had no idea whether or not they would get there. The year before, they had received part of their funding from the department of cultural affairs and sports, but this year, they were short of sponsors for the airplane tickets. Fortunately, a last minute sponsor stepped in and the team flew out to Brazil early Saturday morning. Namibia nearly didn’t make it due to funding either, but luckily the government came through for them and they’re now ready to make a splash on the pitch.

Some other teams weren’t so fortunate. Nigeria was a semifinalist of the last Cup and was preparing to fight for the top prize for the fourth consecutive year. Unfortunately, Vodavone, their primary sponsor, did not renew the contract for the following year, and this lead to the inability to raise the five million Nigerian naira required to travel to Brazil, dashing the hopes of eight men and women on the delegation.

And just like FIFA’s, this tournament is not immune from politics. The last time a team from Zimbabwe attended, it was in Melbourne in 2008. Most of the squad defected. The Italian government refused the delegation visas into the country for the Milan tournament the following year. The Zimbabwean coach did not prepare a team for Rio, but hope is on the horizon. The country has plans to qualify for the tournament in France next year.

Part of the difficulty of joining the tournament lies in the entry visa application process. For a lot of individuals from less developed countries, gaining entry to many parts of the world means providing proof of adequate funding from sponsors, and the incentive to return to their country of origin. This includes such things as work or family who can support them. To prepare for 2011, Zimbabwe’s plans include ensuring incentives for the athletes’ return, partnering with other organisations for income generation for the players.

Despite the notable absences, the teams that did make it this year will be sure to put on a spectacle. And who knows which stars will emerge? We’ve already had  Manchester United sign a player who went from the streets to the stadium, maybe this year we’ll have more similarly inspiring stories from the beaches of Brazil. But more than anything, the annual tournament is one part of a long-term endeavour to combat homelessness, one kick at a time.

Related Articles

• Zimbabwe out of Homeless World Cup (AP) (bogartkick.com)
• Homeless World Cup kicks off in Brazil (3news.co.nz)
• Apex Hotels Supports Homeless World Cup to Beat Homelessness (prweb.com)
• Sir Alex Ferguson Joins WinkBall In Support Of The England Homeless World Cup Team 2010 (prweb.com)
• Call To Action: The Homeless World Cup (10and5.com)
• Homeless World Cup: Playing for a second chance at life (thestar.com)
• Team Canada scores big points at Homeless World Cup in Brazil (theprovince.com)
• Homeless World Cup: England team may miss out (channel4.com)

Good morning Ya’ll

I just wanted to let you know that we are still kicking it here by the beach. This week has been slightly busier than usual with swim team, soccer tryouts, school wrapping up and dipping my toes into a new venture this weekend. So please bear with us while we get through this hectic weekend. I promise to fill you all in on our adventures and some new scrumptious recipes very soon.

While you guys wait ever so patiently for us to stop running around like the crazed clowns that we are, I will let you guys look through the family photo album starting later this evening. Some oldies but goodies, some newbies and the ones that TICKLE us the most.

Hugs & Kisses,
Tickled Red

But did you know that over 1 billion people in the world are homeless! And what’s the most popular sport in the world? “Kicking it”, the ball that is.  All over the world, one sees the poor taking a refreshment from their daily trials on the field, and for those minutes or hours they are as a rich in enjoyment as the greatest of professional game players.  Furthermore a championship world cup in the world’s most popular sport and one that draws only from the 1/5 to 1/6 of the world’s most vulnerable population is one of the most incredible ideas I have heard of for a long time.

Last night I had the privilege of watching the film “Kicking it!” about how a ball can change the life of a displaced person in the most dramatic of ways. It chronicles the lives of six homeless or formerly homeless individuals from five countries and how participating in playing in organized street ball can be taken all the way to a very real world championship tournament, in this case in South Africa emceed by  Bishop Desmond Tutu.

The idea was founded in 2001by  Mel Young co-founder of The Big Issue Scotland, and Harald Schmied, editor of Megaphon, a street paper in Austria while attending the International Network of Street Papers conference that was in Cape Town, South Africa. (wikipedia)

Colin Farrell gives the intros and exits to the documentary but the real characters are the six otherwise marginalized people who have the privilege of playing in the tournament:  Najib from war torn Afghanistan; Alex from the slums of Kenya; Damien and Simon from the drug rehab clinics of Dublin, Ireland; Craig from the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina; Jesus from the overflowing public shelters of Madrid, Spain, and Slavan from the shadow culture of the illegal rural immigrants to the big city of St. Petersburg, Russia. (movies.aol.com)

For those who care about the human condition, those in the poverty scene looking for ideas,  fans of any sport will enjoy this movie.  I enjoyed writing this article particularly to learn that other writers in my sector were responsible for making this happen.  I hope you’ll watch it then take some action in your area with a great idea as well.

btw I saw it on hulu.com, but I ‘m sure you can find the movie elsewhere.

Paul Gydos

But did you know that over 1 billion people in the world are homeless! And what’s the most popular sport in the world? “Kicking it”, the ball that is.  All over the world, one sees the poor taking a refreshment from their daily trials on the field, and for those minutes or hours they are as a rich in enjoyment as the greatest of professional game players.  Furthermore a championship world cup in the world’s most popular sport and one that draws only from the 1/5 to 1/6 of the world’s most vulnerable population is one of the most incredible ideas I have heard of for a long time.

Last night I had the privilege of watching the film “Kicking it!” about how a ball can change the life of a displaced person in the most dramatic of ways. It chronicles the lives of six homeless or formerly homeless individuals from five countries and how participating in playing in organized street ball can be taken all the way to a very real world championship tournament, in this case in South Africa emceed by  Bishop Desmond Tutu.

The idea was founded in 2001by  Mel Young co-founder of The Big Issue Scotland, and Harald Schmied, editor of Megaphon, a street paper in Austria while attending the International Network of Street Papers conference that was in Cape Town, South Africa. (wikipedia)

Colin Farrell gives the intros and exits to the documentary but the real characters are the six otherwise marginalized people who have the privilege of playing in the tournament:  Najib from war torn Afghanistan; Alex from the slums of Kenya; Damien and Simon from the drug rehab clinics of Dublin, Ireland; Craig from the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina; Jesus from the overflowing public shelters of Madrid, Spain, and Slavan from the shadow culture of the illegal rural immigrants to the big city of St. Petersburg, Russia. (movies.aol.com)

For those who care about the human condition, those in the poverty scene looking for ideas,  fans of any sport will enjoy this movie.  I enjoyed writing this article particularly to learn that other writers in my sector were responsible for making this happen.  I hope you’ll watch it then take some action in your area with a great idea as well.

btw I saw it on hulu.com, but I ‘m sure you can find the movie elsewhere.

Paul Gydos

Yup yup yup.

I reconnected with an old childhood friend via facebook. He sent a friend request and I was happy to confirm him. He sent me the customary what’s up and how you doing note. We sent notes back and forth for a few weeks catching up and reminiscing. One day while I was online he im’ed me and asked me to dinner. I said sure just let me know when. He inquired what I was doing that evening, but I was busy so we settled on going out the following Tuesday. We met at 6 and didn’t leave til 11:30 when the restaurant kicked us out because they were closing.

Since our dinner, we’ve had lunches, brunch, more dinners, went to the bookstore, went to mood music, to target and hallmark to pick out birthday cards, basically “kicked it”. There have been no discussions about anything serious and I’m totally fine with this. He’s a cool friend, different from a girlfriend because occasionally he puts his arm on my shoulder or I hold his arm. There are no titles. It’s light and free. I don’t even know what title I would give him or that he deserves anything more than buddy.

Last night he came over. We talked, played boggle, watched Toddlers and Tiaras and the Real Housewives of New York. When he left we did our customary hug and kiss. The kiss can be described as a three second peck on the mouth or forehead. We aren’t tongueing each other down, but he doesn’t kiss me on my cheek like his grandma. Last night he kissed me on the mouth.

I like to click on my friends then scroll through the status updates. His caught my attention so I went to his page. I’ve only been on his page maybe two other times. I’m scrolling down the page when I see something very interesting. His relationship status has changed. It says in a relationship. Hmmm? When I initially checked out his page and on my other visits his status was single. Hmmm? Are we together? Not likely.

I dig deeper into the page for clues. Most of his comments are from guys and the one’s from girls we know mutually and aren’t available. His last two status updates have brought a large number of comments, but nothing in relation to what I’m looking for. He’s been tagged in some photos so I decide to peruse. The first set of pics are from a conference he attended. Boring. The second set of pictures are from a house party. Just lots of people posing. Nothing. I look at the page again. Hmmm? I scroll back down to the bottom of the screen and click to see additional comments. The first thing on the page are more tagged photos. I click the set that look like they are from a birthday party. Aah and the plot quickly thickens! He is in what I like to call a couple photo with a girl, no one but them smiling, heads tilted together and looking happy. What’s more is that people have commented on the pic. The first comment says “Awww what a cute couple!!! Invite me to the wedding.” The last comment says “You guys are so cute together, but you make me want to gag.” Hmmm.  

I do long for the good old days! Before you had to wait for the grapevine to get back to you on details of a relationship or a man to be honest, but what do I do with this instaneous information regarding his relationship status?

My first question is when did his status change? Did his status change this morning to in a relationship? The pictures are from this past Saturday, so even if he declared his love this morning, the pictures paint a ‘he was booed up over the weekend’ scenario. Hmmm. That is a bad question because when it occurred doesn’t matter. What was his in a relationship self doing at my house last night. I’m upset, not so much about our situation, but why he would be laid up on my couch with his head on my hip if he has a girl? Our involvement is very innocent, but I do think kissing me on the mouth and lounging on me are inappropriate if he has a lady. My second question is why didn’t he tell me? We have had discussions about the perfect lady and what he wanted, so why didn’t he tell me he met her? And decided to be with her?

I want to leave a comment about our evening, but that seems so childish. I’m grown and whatever is to be said, I should say directly to him. Plus I’m not good at the sly innuendo nor at being coquettish in written short form. However, I feel bad. Am I home wrecker, mistress? I know the answer is No, but this situation is ridiculous. How old are we? Really, Is he serious? I have some words for him, but then I am not sure exactly what words those should be. We aren’t together so those words shouldn’t start with “how could you” or “Harpo, who dis woman?” Do I say something? Hmmm. Should I just let it go and let the silence be my I am not participating in foolishness, now go live happily ever after response? Is whatever explanation he has going to be sufficient or make me feel better? Probably not.

Still I don’t know what to do in this situation. What is the protocol when you discover information via facebook?

Facebook is the devil!

Three new dramatic format releases this week will likely top the shelves at the local rental shops. Baby Mama, written and directed by Michael McCullers is another one of those SNL-skit spin-offs that likely should have remained an SNL skit. The movie stars Tina Fey who must find a surrogate mother after she discovers she is unable to give birth. The rest of the cast is mostly pulled from the SNL regulars (including Amy Poehler), and while there should be nothing groundbreaking here, it may be that one stupid couple movie needed this week to lay off the stress of everyday life. The other popcorn movie being released is The Forbidden Kingdom, the martial-arts fantasy flick starring both Jackie Chan and Jet Lee. Directed by Rob Minkoff, the film has been called “nothing but disposable fun, but it is a great, heaping, overflowing helping of fun.” (source) Lastly, for a more artistic escapist film, and coming from Tarsem Singh, the director of The Cell: The Fall. An adult fairy tale, the film is about an injured stuntman in 1920s LA who recounts the tale of five mythical characters to a young girl – and in true fantasy form, the real world and the world of the man’s story begin to collide. This one should be worth watching even if only for the original visual design.

With its premiere at the Silverdocs Film Festival, 14 Women, is a documentary about the fourteen female American senators currently serving their country, and the issue of whether or not more doors are now open for women in U.S. politics. Surprisingly directed by a veteran of horror films, Mary Lambert, the documentary mixes cinema vérité in following the senators and expository format. Also hitting the documentary section this week is a film about homeless people who become involved in an international soccer competition, and how the sport has effected their outlook on life. Kicking It is directed by Susan Koch & Jeff Werner. Like War Dance, We Are Together (Thina Simunye) is a documentary about how music inspires African children despite dealing with extreme poverty, AIDS and other easily curable diseases. This was a winner at the Tribeca film festival and looks like another in the line of celebratory music documentaries from places of hardship.

Considering the minute amount of new releases this week, some re-releases of note are the first in a spree of Halloween movies between now and mid October. Child’s Play, Event Horizon, Friday the 13th, House of the Dead, Pumpkinhead and Sleepy Hollow are among the many new releases. A warning to purchasers that some of these are the same discs previously released with new covers. Despite having been available for home viewing before, they are all far superior to the two new Halloween-themed releases. Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! Strippers VS Zombies is a clear rip on Stripper Zombies, considered one of the first non-pornographic films featuring and produced by porn stars and distributors. While the much talked about Stripper Zombies won’t be available until October, this rip-off should tide over the many fans of… strippers… and zombies. Unless you are looking for a weekend of pure cheese with plastic-chested women, neither of them is worth a look. Likewise, the notoriously bad Uwe Boll has directed another stinker being released this week: Seed, which apparently makes other torture porn flicks like Saw and Hostel ”have the subtext of Shakespeare and the moral compass of Superman.” (source) Stick with the more classic re-releases this week.

Some classic films get the re-release treatment this week: the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski comes with a bowling-ball shaped package. A three-disk edition of the segmented classic How the West Was Won, also comes out. However, the two releases of note are the classic prison tale, Cool Hand Luke, and Criterion Films’ new affordable editions released individually or in a box set called Essential Art House, Vol. 1. At $18 a pop (or $90 for the set) as opposed to the usual $40-50 each for Criterion releases, the new editions come in plain black boxes with no special features, but for those looking to see the films by themselves, restored by Criterion’s experts, these are a good buy. The first set includes Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast (La belle et la bête), Roman Polanski’s Knife in the Water (Nóz w wodzie), Peter Brook’s Lord of the Flies, Jean Renoir’s The Grand Illusion (La grande illusion), Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället), and Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon.

Cinestrata’s Picks:
The Fall, The Forbidden Kingdom, Essential Art House Vol. 1, Cool Hand Luke 

The circumstances regarding why the players participating in the competition are homeless varies.  But the majority of those that are featured in the film have dealt with demons in their past…usually linked to addiction.  The total acceptance of the consequences of their actions stemming from these addictions and the openness of the players describing their stories strikes me.

No one cries when they talk about their circumstances.  No one cries when they talk about the evil they’ve done or the evil that’s been committed against them.  The captain of the Irish team said he wasn’t ashamed anymore for the things he’d done.  He wasn’t afraid anymore.  But “Please God” let them win.  They aren’t begging for money or free handouts.  They deliver their stories with such a matter-of-fact air that you realize that they must think about their situation all the time.

If you are in the gutter with no obvious chance of improvement in sight, how can you not feel that weight pushing down on you…over and over until you can barely breathe?  But within the declaration of their pasts, you can see their desires for the future.  By competing together in a game that they love, they are going to find a way to make their lives better.

Each team’s goal is different.  To some teams, like the Russian team, winning is the ultimate goal.  It would provide media expsure to the taboo of Russian homelessness which is predicated upon the lack of work opportunities since the fall of the Soviet Union.  Others such as the members of the Kenyan team are hoping that there will be professional scouts present at the games who might give them a tryout to play professionally.  It would boost not just themselves out of their poverty, but also give them “juice” to help their communities.  But it all boils down to pride and a chance to prove that they matter.  For someone who has been down, to take their fate in their own hands and, wiht the help of their teammates, bring themselves back up.

The impact of a belonging to a community cannot be denied as a driving force for support.  Our individual characteristics and circumstances make us part of specific communities whether we embrace or identify ourselves with those communities or not.  And sometimes, finding that link and commonality is all that one needs to start the journey to redemption. 

My college mentor in the Anthropology department at Maryland always used to say, “the lone primate is the dead primate.”  The opportunity to live and succeed cannot be achieved alone.  But what brings people together?  Common goals and common backgrounds.  The three core areas of bonding that these players share are 1) their love of football, 2) their status as homeless, and 3) the need to find the good in themselves and show they are worth something in this world. 

One of the American team players said, “I wanna be somebody.  I want to be good.”  In the end, isn’t that what everyone should want?  But what makes you SOMEBODY?  What makes you GOOD?  Maybe it’s simply just embracing the people you see on a daily basis…understanding there is commonality in all of us that can force that click or spark of kinship.  And through that kinship, we all can succeed. 

This kinship does not have to be limited by physical or cultural boundaries.  The Afghan team goalie was able to keep in touch with all his new friends he met at the cup via the web and hopefully will one day be able to re-unite with the female Uruguayan team member with whom he found love.  We all need to evaluate our roles in the everyday lives in the global village.  I’m hoping this film will inspire others as it has inspired me. 

As I watch this, I realize that I haven’t found my community yet.  There is something out there for me and people that I will be able to help, because God knows there will be times when I will need to lean on them.  I’m going to find my people and give myself to them because that is the debt I owe as a human being.  What does the banner for the Liverpool, the most storied football club in the English Premier League, read? 

You’ll never walk alone…

KICKING IT

In the summer of 2006, while the football world’s attention was focused on
Germany, thousands of players around the globe were training hard and competing
to be part of the World Cup…The Homeless World Cup.
It began in 2001 as a wild idea —to give homeless people a chance to change
their lives through an international street soccer competition.   Five years
later, the annual Homeless World Cup had become an internationally recognized
sports competition.

The film follows seven players in their own tough worlds as they confront the
daily challenges of life on the streets, battle drug and alcohol addiction, and
fight for the right to be recognized as human beings. We witness their
struggles, hopes, and determination.

As the Russian coach observes, “To me, football is the best model for real
life. There is no last game in football and there is no last game in real life.
You always have another chance to win.”

Jedenfalls nicht bei der EM 2008. Das Finale war die meiste Zeit über so einschläfernd wie ein Glas heiße Milch (nur nicht so beruhigend). Am Ende gewannen zum Glück die Spanier – ein Stolpersieg der Deutschen wäre angesichts ihrer Darbietung unerträglich gewesen.

Endlich ist die EM ist vorbei. Und damit auch unser betterplace Tippspiel. Moritz hat allen guten Tippern schon fürs Mitmachen gedankt und in seiner charmanten Art noch mal an den Sinn der Sache erinnert. Nämlich für jeden falschen Tipp 1 Euro zu spenden. Zum Beispiel für KICKFORMORE:

Wir gratulieren Spanien zum EM-Titel und allen, die sich bei unserem EM-Tippspiel registriert haben, zur erfolgreichen Teilnahme - Ihr seid alle sehr, sehr gut!

Besonders wenn Ihr jetzt gleich Euren Betrag an “Kickformore – die Straßenfussballliga” spendet. Oder an ein anderes Projekt auf betterplace.org.

Welchen Betrag? Ganz einfach: 31 (Spiele insgesamt) – X (Eure richtigen Tipps) = Y (Euer Spendenbetrag).

Die andere Dimension des Spiels

Jetzt, wo die EM-Euphorie vorbei ist, kann man sich die andere Dimension des Spiels einmal anschauen. Wie auf dem gut gemachten Straßenfußballportal Streetfootballworld zu lesen ist, nutzen weltweit “lokal agierende Organisationen den Fußball als ein Instrument, um sozialen Herausforderungen in den Bereichen Kinderrechte & Bildung, Anti-Diskriminierung & Soziale Integration, Umweltschutz, Gesundheitsförderung und Friedensarbeit zu begegnen.”

Dass Fußball viel mehr ist als FIFA, Masseneuphorie und Marketingschlacht, beweist auch die Tatsache, dass sich Anthropologen bzw. Ethnologen schon lange mit dem Phänomen Fußball auseinander setzen. Joana hat mich in diesem Zusammenhang auf das Ethno-Blog @mundo aufmerksam gemacht, wo die “Fußball-Ungläubige” Caro Kim sich Gedanken macht über Fußball als Ausdruck einer globalisierten Kultur auf der einen Seite – und der “Integration von Fußball [...] in bereits bestehende Mythologie, Riten und Sozialbeziehungen” auf der anderen Seite. Ich als “Fußball-Gläubige” finde den Post besonders lesenswert.

Kickt es!

Warum ich glaube? Das ist wieder eine andere Geschichte. Kurz gesagt, glaube ich an eine positive Massenbewegung (sonst würde ich auch nicht den Großteil meiner Zeit in einem gemeinnützigen Internet Start-Up verbringen), die der Fußball auslösen kann. Als sozialer Fußballfan wäre mein absoluter Herzenswunsch ein Besuch des Homeless World Cup, der dieses Jahr Anfang Dezember in Melbourne, Australien, ausgetragen wird. Über die großartige Veranstaltung gibt es auch einen Film: Kicking It – gesehen bei Global Giving.

Auch auf betterplace.org gibt es Organisationen und Projekte, bei denen Fußball eine wichtige Rolle spielt. Annika z. B. ist Fan von diesem sehr guten Straßenkinder-Projekt in Uganda. Davon würde ich gerne mehr auf unserer Plattform sehen.