A Hero's Welcome
So often it happens, when a team loses on an international scale yet they perform so well and give their best that they are given a hero's welcome upon their return. This recently happened to the Black Stars of Ghana and also the Chilean national football team when they returned home. It seems people love their national teams even though they lose.
Both the Ghana team and the Chilean team were cruelly exited from the current World Cup tournament in South Africa. The Black Stars of Ghana fell in very sad fashion to Uruguay, after trying their hardest, to a controversial handball on the goal line that resulted in a penalty. They almost became the first African team to reach the semi finals of the World Cup. The Chileans also put in an amazing performance throughout the World Cup but their run was ended by Spain in the quarter finals. Again an amazing match was played and the Chileans held out and tried their hardest but barely lost to the Spanish side by only a goal to nil.
When the Black Stars arrived home from South Africa, thousands of fans lined up at the airport to give them a hero's welcome. They waited there for four hours in order to cheer their team on their amazing performance. The fans felt that the team performed very well despite their loss to Uruguay. The fact that they tried their best efforts and fought to the end made it worth it for the fans. Even the president of the country got involved telling people that the team had done an amazing job and they should be congratulated for it.
Similar scenes were witnessed on the arrival home of the Chile football team. Thousands of supporters lined the airport to greet and cheer on their heroes. Fans skipped school and work to come to the airport to give their team a great welcome. The team gave their best performance in recent memory and they went from being one of the worst teams in South America to one of the best. They managed to play better than Brazil, Argentina and many other non South American teams in their World Cup run.
This type of welcome is not reserved for football only but extends to many different types of sports. The Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal was given a hero's welcome as well when she returned from winning three titles in a row. Her Indian fans saw her as a hero that had made their country proud and she had performed her best for her country and her fans. They felt they could connect with her and she did not disappoint them with her performance.
There are a few reasons why people would cheer for a team that has lost and is returning home. Firstly there is the fact that if a team has tried their hardest but has still lost then the fans see that as just plain bad luck and it is not the team's fault. If a team has not tried their best and have gone down 6-0 or they looked like they were not working well as a team, they will not be so graciously received on their return. Sometimes fans have a certain expectation level with their national team and if they somehow manage to surpass that expectation then the fans are treated to a wonderful performance that no one thought was possible. Also the team carries the hopes and dreams of the nation on its shoulders and the fans feel proud when those dreams are held high in the air even despite a defeat. This just shows us that even with a loss, a team can come home to the love and admiration of their fans.
Even in defeat, a team can be heroes. By playing valiantly and losing to bad luck as opposed to lack of trying is something that proves to the fans that a team is worthy of their support and the next time they might even perform better. The fans that stick by their teams see those teams reach even greater heights and conquer even greater goals than anyone thought possible.
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