The Greatest Game Ever Played

I had the great fortune to stumble on a wonderful event which took place in Cape Town this afternoon. It was, in fact, the World Cup Final.
But Mike, you moron, you'll say, the World Cup Final was played in Berlin, a few months ago, and though South Africa will have the World Cup, it won't happen until 2010.
Well, I don't appreciate the "moron" comment, thank you very much, but you didn't let me finish. I, along with Caitlin from my house, some of the Highstead House girls, and the birthday boy (Yankee fan), saw Russia take on Kazakhstan in the Homeless World Cup final in Grand Parade this afternoon. The Homeless World Cup, for those who may never have heard of it, is an annual event, held to raise awareness about global poverty and homelessness in an attempt to curtail the growing number of people in the world who go without shelter on a daily basis. The Homeless World Cup is a much different even from the recently-passed World Cup in Germany. This event is much more informal, but with the same competitive atmosphere. For these players, who, to a man, are homeless, this game was not simply an exhibition for a great cause, it was for them, perhaps, their greatest achievement, something they could take pride in, amidst lives of hopelessness and despair. When Russia finally triumphed 1-0 in the tense, fifteen-minute battle (The Homeless World Cup, I should mention, is played with Street Soccer rules: 4-a-side, much faster pace, smaller concrete pitch, boards instead of out of bounds plays, no tackling), the goalkeeper sank to his knees and openly wept - he had allowed only 9 goals in the 13 games Russia had played, and won, over the course of the last week. Players from both teams embraced. There was a palpable sense of joy amongst all in attendance; Russian, Kazakh, South African and every other nationality alike, we all stood, cheered and danced in the celebration. It was truly a great day all around.
But I have no doubt, that each player on that field, every person in the stands, the organizers of the tournament, each of us who witnessed the joy and the pride of the sport today would trade it all to end poverty, and end homelessness. Events like the Homeless World Cup highlight these problems in a world which all to often forgets about the least of its brethren, and help us envision a world better for all of us.