The Black Stars of Ghana
“Uruguay is a good team. But we are good too. We are capable of beating Uruguay. We are ready to live the ultimate dream." - Samuel Inkoom That is the spirit, Sam Inkoom. The victory over the US has come and gone. Now, our eyes must be on Uruguay. Uruguay is not exactly second-class material. They beat South Korea 2-1, Mexico 1-0, and South Africa 3-0, and drew 0-0 with France. I sighed after viewing those stats. The only comforting thing to find in them was the victory of Uruguay over South Africa. Comforting? Yes, in an ironic sense. That victory (I thought) would guarantee Ghana a superior vuvuzela-decibel level when we played Uruguay. That is: if anyone could actually distinguish between whom the vuvuzelas were cheering on, and whom they were trying to jinx! It didn’t really matter, though, did it? The South Africans would know whom they were supporting. They would be supporting Ghana, even if the Uruguayans had not whupped them 3-0. Oh, the omens for Ghana were good. We had no idea what an Uruguayan called Soares had in mind for us, did we? Let Ghana beat Uruguay and our name would be written all over South African hearts. Forever! In fact, the process of Ghana becoming an icon in the World Cup tournament in South Africa had already begun before we had that fateful encounter with Uruguay. The Washington Post reported, for instance, that a cartoonist of the Johannesburg Times newspaper, Jerm, had, in tribute to Ghana as the only African country left to try and ensure that Africa stayed in the tournament, redrawn Ghana's flag, replacing the black star in the center with a black map of The African Continent! Dig that? What a brilliant idea we were being told, through football, that indeed, we can be the United States of Africa! It was beautiful: you can view the ‘new flag’ here, on the Internet: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/ Indeed, I fancied, before our match with Uruguay, that it wouldn’t matter too much, if Uruguay were to be able to drive Africa out of the 2010 World Cup tournament, by beating Africa’s sole survivor, Ghana. Uruguay's name would become associated with what the South Africans call muti (malignant juju or African magic) forever. Little did I know what was coming”. I wondered: Could home-grown 'African electronics', operating on a combined cyber wavelength, radiating from west to south on the African continent, outwit a Latin American counterpart or rather rival? That was the question! Pity Okomfo Anokye’s relatives weren’t able to exercise self-restraint and thus prevented him from resurrecting himself, as he had promised. Imagine what a feat that would have been, in the years before cyberspace, with its wonders, was invented! Okomfo Anokye’s fame went viral even though it was proclaimed to the world only with horns and drums. Imagine if he had had Twitter and Facebook at his command! He would have taught Elon Musk a thing or two, no?” But not to worry. We had something in 2010 which wasn't given to us by metaphysics in any shape or form the organic, communal euphoria, that our victory over the United States transmitted into the soul of every Ghanaian alive. Especially the Black Star players. And their supporters scattered across The Black World! Actually, the 'viral' nature that this euphoria had assumed on the Internet was phenomenal. Yet it was not as if Ghana hadn't beaten the US before remember we gave them an identical walloping in the 2006 World Cup? But 2010’s match had as much drama in it as if it were a contest between an unknown 'Asteroids Eleven' and a cosmic opponent extruded by an Icelandic Volcano known as Eyjafjallajokull! One pre-match report, no doubt calculated to strike fear into every Ghanaian, reminded the world that “the Americans have come back twice in the 2010 tournament, to draw against England and Slovenia, and scored deep into injury time against Algeria, to win their group, ahead of England.” Whereas Ghana had actually been beaten (1-0 by Germany) and had drawn 1-1 with Australia, with a 1-0 victory over Serbia as Ghana's only notable achievement in the tournament so far. And yet come the day and what did we see? The stats are shown to be irrelevant. Ghana's forwards who, in earlier games, had appeared hesitant, when it was time to shoot, had suddenly found their feet: first, Kevin-Prince Boateng worked his solo magic past several Americans, and instead of passing the ball, released a shot through the legs of the Americans opposing him. In it goes sroh! Yieeeeeeeeh! We yelled loudly enough to burst our lungs. But then, the Americans equalised with a penalty (which, as usual, attracted controversy amongst us, the arm-chair players.) Anyway, they scored. It was now one-one. And they feared words come into use again what we call “extra time” and what the Americans call “overtime”. Oh no! Not penalties? The fearsome word hung over the proceedings like early-morning smog over a modern industrial city. Play resumed. This was the stage at which, according to the football cliché-creators, ‘the men are separated from the boys’. For us, our notion was this: 'aduru mmarima wuo so!' it’s time for real men to die!” We go forward as the match resumes, and keep going But nothing happens. Every Ghanaian fear the match will end in the dreaded penalty shootout because the Americans are matching us in every department of the game, and with our poor shooting record, we aren't exactly expecting anything by way of a remarkable strike from one of our forwards. (Boateng, our sole cannon-ball-footed genius, has gone off injured!) Hmmmm”! But then, penalty specialist, Asamoah Gyan, gets the ball. He is tackled. He nearly falls over but manages to right himself and stay half-erect. Crouching, he nevertheless goes forward, though there’s no doubt that he lost his balance. However, instead of succumbing to all these obstacles, and not waiting to straighten himself up properly, he shoots from his half-dangling position. Not only does he shoot the shot that comes from his left foot is a sputnik shot powered by the thrust of a multi-headed rocket. And in it goes in worth! The vuvuzelas beep out. Ghanaians yell, shout and jump. We've done it, it seems. YIEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Johannesburg goes wild. Accra goes mad. Africa the whole of the Black world cheers and cheers and cheers from Cape to Cairo; from Bissau to Mombasa; from Harlem to Watts! But there is one small detail we've all overlooked we have the clock to worry about. Five full minutes to go to the end of the match! Ohhhh! Go faster, won't you, you damned clock? We count the seconds. We count the minutes. The Americans are playing their hearts out. And we know they are “come-back” specialists. But for once, it is us that Lady Luck favours. We hold them off till the referee's whistle blows full-time. YIEEEEEEEE! An amazing calm descends upon our spirits. We have really done it. We realize the enormity of this event. It is not just a victory. It is a victory that was not expected. And that is why it is so much sweeter. In its report of the match, The New York Times suggested that it was the youthfulness of our players that did it for us. Asamoah Gyan's shot, the paper said, “was the shot of a younger, stronger, faster man. The shot that finished America and liberated the hope all Africans can share.” The paper further reported that “In a television studio, the former Liberian striker (now President) George Weah, the only African player ever to win FIFA's 'World Player of the Year honor, was possibly a shade too excited when he suggested that 'Ghana is a team that can win this World Cup.' But, the paper admitted, Weah always did think the improbable. He once scored a goal for A.C. Milan, by dribbling the ball past seven men of Verona, in one mazy run. Africans of a free spirit may not know their limitations” (The New York Times acknowledged). Well now, suppose an African like me had written that? It would have been called a brag”! That’s why our elders say that “a good thing sells itself!” If you do it and it is good, even the most unwilling observer will be forced to give credit where credit is due. I like this bit from the NYT and so I shall repeat it: “Africans of a free spirit may not know their limitations!” An absolutely profound observation. Didn't our own Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey say something about “nothing but the best” being good enough for Africa? Asamoah Gyan's winning goal was not only improbable; it was impossible, given the grotesque contortion that was affecting his physique at the time he shot the ball into the American net. The shot came from his imagination; his mind took him back to his boyhood when he used to play on hard, gravelly ground, trying all manner of tricks to make him the envy of all his playmates, and the darling of the watching damsels. It was a “gutter-to-gutter” creation you can't shoot a football in that position if you have never played shabo-shabo or taken part in Saturday morning practice in the dust on the outskirts of Maamobi or Mallam or its equivalent somewhere in rural Ghana. It will be discussed and discussed and imitated and – probably bettered -- in an Africa where wonders never end! That is what a foreign coach may not always appreciate. Yes, our boys should be tight in defense and technically proficient in ensuring that we do not allow goals to go in. But they play best when they enjoy themselves. Look at their rascally victory dances! Look at their uncombed hairstyles” They are rebellious artists, and they should be encouraged to produce spectacular, imaginative goals. Let the Europeans call it show-boating. We call it the African touch! I am sure that if Gyan's beautiful goal had not liberated George Weah's mind, Weah would not have remarked that 'Ghana can win the World Cup.' And if George Weah had not liberated the mind of The New York Times reporter two or so decades ago, he wouldn't have taken any notice of what George Weah had said, but dismissed it as the hyperbolic rhetoric of an unrealistic political wannabe. But the guy had seen Weah do the seemingly impossible once. Dribble everyone in his path, from his own side of the pitch, straight on and on and on and on and on past seven men, till he shot straight into the net and scored. Yes, it can be done. So do it Black Stars. Do it all the time. Go there and get rid of Uruguay. To begin with. And then we shall see. Remember Ghana did beat the soccer wizards, Brazil in the Under-20 World Cup. It is the youth who grow up to achieve the goals of MEN. YOU can do it! So go out there and do it!
“Uruguay is a good team. But we are good too. We are capable of beating Uruguay. We are ready to live the ultimate dream." - Samuel Inkoom That is the spirit, Sam Inkoom. The victory over the US has come and gone. Now, our eyes must be on Uruguay. Uruguay is not exactly second-class material. They beat South Korea 2-1, Mexico 1-0, and South Africa 3-0, and drew 0-0 with France. I sighed after viewing those stats. The only comforting thing to find in them was the victory of Uruguay over South Africa. Comforting? Yes, in an ironic sense. That victory (I thought) would guarantee Ghana a superior vuvuzela-decibel level when we played Uruguay. That is: if anyone could actually distinguish between whom the vuvuzelas were cheering on, and whom they were trying to jinx! It didn’t really matter, though, did it? The South Africans would know whom they were supporting. They would be supporting Ghana, even if the Uruguayans had not whupped them 3-0. Oh, the omens for Ghana were good. We had no idea what an Uruguayan called Soares had in mind for us, did we? Let Ghana beat Uruguay and our name would be written all over South African hearts. Forever! In fact, the process of Ghana becoming an icon in the World Cup tournament in South Africa had already begun before we had that fateful encounter with Uruguay. The Washington Post reported, for instance, that a cartoonist of the Johannesburg Times newspaper, Jerm, had, in tribute to Ghana as the only African country left to try and ensure that Africa stayed in the tournament, redrawn Ghana's flag, replacing the black star in the center with a black map of The African Continent! Dig that? What a brilliant idea we were being told, through football, that indeed, we can be the United States of Africa! It was beautiful: you can view the ‘new flag’ here, on the Internet: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/ Indeed, I fancied, before our match with Uruguay, that it wouldn’t matter too much, if Uruguay were to be able to drive Africa out of the 2010 World Cup tournament, by beating Africa’s sole survivor, Ghana. Uruguay's name would become associated with what the South Africans call muti (malignant juju or African magic) forever. Little did I know what was coming”. I wondered: Could home-grown 'African electronics', operating on a combined cyber wavelength, radiating from west to south on the African continent, outwit a Latin American counterpart or rather rival? That was the question! Pity Okomfo Anokye’s relatives weren’t able to exercise self-restraint and thus prevented him from resurrecting himself, as he had promised. Imagine what a feat that would have been, in the years before cyberspace, with its wonders, was invented! Okomfo Anokye’s fame went viral even though it was proclaimed to the world only with horns and drums. Imagine if he had had Twitter and Facebook at his command! He would have taught Elon Musk a thing or two, no?” But not to worry. We had something in 2010 which wasn't given to us by metaphysics in any shape or form the organic, communal euphoria, that our victory over the United States transmitted into the soul of every Ghanaian alive. Especially the Black Star players. And their supporters scattered across The Black World! Actually, the 'viral' nature that this euphoria had assumed on the Internet was phenomenal. Yet it was not as if Ghana hadn't beaten the US before remember we gave them an identical walloping in the 2006 World Cup? But 2010’s match had as much drama in it as if it were a contest between an unknown 'Asteroids Eleven' and a cosmic opponent extruded by an Icelandic Volcano known as Eyjafjallajokull! One pre-match report, no doubt calculated to strike fear into every Ghanaian, reminded the world that “the Americans have come back twice in the 2010 tournament, to draw against England and Slovenia, and scored deep into injury time against Algeria, to win their group, ahead of England.” Whereas Ghana had actually been beaten (1-0 by Germany) and had drawn 1-1 with Australia, with a 1-0 victory over Serbia as Ghana's only notable achievement in the tournament so far. And yet come the day and what did we see? The stats are shown to be irrelevant. Ghana's forwards who, in earlier games, had appeared hesitant, when it was time to shoot, had suddenly found their feet: first, Kevin-Prince Boateng worked his solo magic past several Americans, and instead of passing the ball, released a shot through the legs of the Americans opposing him. In it goes sroh! Yieeeeeeeeh! We yelled loudly enough to burst our lungs. But then, the Americans equalised with a penalty (which, as usual, attracted controversy amongst us, the arm-chair players.) Anyway, they scored. It was now one-one. And they feared words come into use again what we call “extra time” and what the Americans call “overtime”. Oh no! Not penalties? The fearsome word hung over the proceedings like early-morning smog over a modern industrial city. Play resumed. This was the stage at which, according to the football cliché-creators, ‘the men are separated from the boys’. For us, our notion was this: 'aduru mmarima wuo so!' it’s time for real men to die!” We go forward as the match resumes, and keep going But nothing happens. Every Ghanaian fear the match will end in the dreaded penalty shootout because the Americans are matching us in every department of the game, and with our poor shooting record, we aren't exactly expecting anything by way of a remarkable strike from one of our forwards. (Boateng, our sole cannon-ball-footed genius, has gone off injured!) Hmmmm”! But then, penalty specialist, Asamoah Gyan, gets the ball. He is tackled. He nearly falls over but manages to right himself and stay half-erect. Crouching, he nevertheless goes forward, though there’s no doubt that he lost his balance. However, instead of succumbing to all these obstacles, and not waiting to straighten himself up properly, he shoots from his half-dangling position. Not only does he shoot the shot that comes from his left foot is a sputnik shot powered by the thrust of a multi-headed rocket. And in it goes in worth! The vuvuzelas beep out. Ghanaians yell, shout and jump. We've done it, it seems. YIEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Johannesburg goes wild. Accra goes mad. Africa the whole of the Black world cheers and cheers and cheers from Cape to Cairo; from Bissau to Mombasa; from Harlem to Watts! But there is one small detail we've all overlooked we have the clock to worry about. Five full minutes to go to the end of the match! Ohhhh! Go faster, won't you, you damned clock? We count the seconds. We count the minutes. The Americans are playing their hearts out. And we know they are “come-back” specialists. But for once, it is us that Lady Luck favours. We hold them off till the referee's whistle blows full-time. YIEEEEEEEE! An amazing calm descends upon our spirits. We have really done it. We realize the enormity of this event. It is not just a victory. It is a victory that was not expected. And that is why it is so much sweeter. In its report of the match, The New York Times suggested that it was the youthfulness of our players that did it for us. Asamoah Gyan's shot, the paper said, “was the shot of a younger, stronger, faster man. The shot that finished America and liberated the hope all Africans can share.” The paper further reported that “In a television studio, the former Liberian striker (now President) George Weah, the only African player ever to win FIFA's 'World Player of the Year honor, was possibly a shade too excited when he suggested that 'Ghana is a team that can win this World Cup.' But, the paper admitted, Weah always did think the improbable. He once scored a goal for A.C. Milan, by dribbling the ball past seven men of Verona, in one mazy run. Africans of a free spirit may not know their limitations” (The New York Times acknowledged). Well now, suppose an African like me had written that? It would have been called a brag”! That’s why our elders say that “a good thing sells itself!” If you do it and it is good, even the most unwilling observer will be forced to give credit where credit is due. I like this bit from the NYT and so I shall repeat it: “Africans of a free spirit may not know their limitations!” An absolutely profound observation. Didn't our own Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey say something about “nothing but the best” being good enough for Africa? Asamoah Gyan's winning goal was not only improbable; it was impossible, given the grotesque contortion that was affecting his physique at the time he shot the ball into the American net. The shot came from his imagination; his mind took him back to his boyhood when he used to play on hard, gravelly ground, trying all manner of tricks to make him the envy of all his playmates, and the darling of the watching damsels. It was a “gutter-to-gutter” creation you can't shoot a football in that position if you have never played shabo-shabo or taken part in Saturday morning practice in the dust on the outskirts of Maamobi or Mallam or its equivalent somewhere in rural Ghana. It will be discussed and discussed and imitated and – probably bettered -- in an Africa where wonders never end! That is what a foreign coach may not always appreciate. Yes, our boys should be tight in defense and technically proficient in ensuring that we do not allow goals to go in. But they play best when they enjoy themselves. Look at their rascally victory dances! Look at their uncombed hairstyles” They are rebellious artists, and they should be encouraged to produce spectacular, imaginative goals. Let the Europeans call it show-boating. We call it the African touch! I am sure that if Gyan's beautiful goal had not liberated George Weah's mind, Weah would not have remarked that 'Ghana can win the World Cup.' And if George Weah had not liberated the mind of The New York Times reporter two or so decades ago, he wouldn't have taken any notice of what George Weah had said, but dismissed it as the hyperbolic rhetoric of an unrealistic political wannabe. But the guy had seen Weah do the seemingly impossible once. Dribble everyone in his path, from his own side of the pitch, straight on and on and on and on and on past seven men, till he shot straight into the net and scored. Yes, it can be done. So do it Black Stars. Do it all the time. Go there and get rid of Uruguay. To begin with. And then we shall see. Remember Ghana did beat the soccer wizards, Brazil in the Under-20 World Cup. It is the youth who grow up to achieve the goals of MEN. YOU can do it! So go out there and do it!
