Amlan/Minerva: World Soccer

A goddess descends to Earth to see which one of two rival Internet-bloggers and social critics is willing to face the challenges of new age activism humility.

Minerva shouldn't be left out of my soccer tales, so this last one includes Minerva and was inspired by the film The Muse.

Thanks for reading,

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The goddess of wisdom and war-strategy, Minerva, descended to Earth to manipulate the activities of human civilization and bring forth more appreciation for the delights of capitalism-theory and social networking. She despised the real developments in anti-capitalism terrorism that surfaced since 9/11, when terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in NYC. Minerva wanted to see if there were idealistic Internet-bloggers writing about the value of sports as a pro-globalization activity!

Soccer wasn't really popular in America, and America led the world! True, soccer was popular in many youth-leagues and colleges/universities in America, but besides the cheered successes of the US women's national soccer team at the women's World Cup tournaments, soccer didn't appeal to many male sports-fans watching professional sports on TV. In fact, the MLS (Major League Soccer) was not performing nearly as well as the NHL or MLB. Minerva saw this and wondered what kind of idealistic Internet-bloggers writing about social critique would cheer on soccer in America when so few men in America followed the sport on TV?

Well, as it stood, two people were idealistic enough to blog about soccer, and they were both foreign-Americans living as eccentrics and nouveau-intellectuals! These two individuals were an eyepatch-wearing modern pirate named Van and an Algerian-American radial social critic and blogger named Amlan. Van and Amlan both agreed about the power of media/Internet as a way to spread news and social activity chatter fast and globally. They both blogged on the Internet about the power of world-soccer to promote pro-globalization marketing and anti-terrorism rhetoric. Van and Amlan were therefore equal and symbolic, though conflicting, modern thinkers, so whom would Minerva elect?

VAN: You're too sentimental, Amlan!

AMLAN: I like using flowery language to address terrorism, Van.

VAN: Social activism today requires cold calculation.

AMLAN: Why, it wasn't a roach in the days of Che Guevara!

VAN: True, Che had to be precise in his epoch, but today is more designed.
AMLAN: You find ornate designs in the complex machinery of the modern global net?
VAN: The Internet is like a giant spider-web, full of sparks and pitfalls.
AMLAN: We exploit these 'waves' to become social critics of progress!
VAN: I worry that you'll never calm down enough to find a decent woman to marry.

AMLAN: I worry that your graphic image compels people to label you a modern rascal.
VAN: Are you a fan of Ancient Mythology?
AMLAN: I read about Athena/Athens, Shiva/India, and Aneas/Rome.
VAN: What if you and I were visited by an ancient goddess?
AMLAN: Are you implying she'd choose the 'better' between us?

VAN: It's universal nature to categorize revolutionary work (such as ours!) as 'human.'
AMLAN: An ancient mythological goddess would consider us both 'net-maniacs.'

VAN: Well, we'd both try to impress her with our differing methods, Amlan!

AMLAN: Yes, you'd woo her with your perfumes, and I'd entreat her mind with my neo-journalism.

VAN: Maybe we'll both win...

AMLAN: ...Or both lose!
VAN: Would a showdown between gods and men in the era of net create paranoia?
AMLAN: The Bible suggests that any dragon is subdued by the force of teamwork.

VAN: How can world-soccer heal the wounds of past betrayals in politics?
AMLAN: We can reference world-soccer in ideas regarding the unifying feel of marketing!

VAN: In other words, merchandising seems more 'peaceful' than absolute capitalism.
AMLAN: Right; when we ornament our business plans, we seem more 'angelic.'

VAN: That's because economics is cold and regular!
AMLAN: Yes, and it's because mob psychology tends to be sometimes (if not always!) speculative.
VAN: People like to invent the causes of history.

AMLAN: The temptation for historians involves becoming 'folk-musicians.'
VAN: Maybe Bob Dylan would consider the Internet a glittering walkie-talkie.
AMLAN: Perhaps the Who would consider Facebook an online welcome-mat!
VAN: A great showdown will take place between forces of profiteers and those of tradition.

AMLAN: It will be a great 'stand' between economics and comedy!
VAN: We'll see what the gods make of all this modern anarchy.

Van transformed himself into a hellraising 'road warrior' in the deserts of southwest America, with a band of happy-riders called 'berserks' who made automobile-tweaking a thing of pure thrill. These 'road warriors' were set on making the modern net feel like a wasteland of obsessive shopping. Meanwhile, Amlan transformed himself into a born-again Christian talking about the splendor of watercolors as symbolic of the nodes of communication in the Internet-highway! He called himself Watercolor-Man and even boasted his own online-alias avatar. Even Van was jealous.

Minerva decided to visit Van and Amlan and challenge them to see who would be willing to transform himself into a simply and clumsy old Caucasian man in Europe who's trying to get invited to play a little soccer on a field of semi-serious young men who get together on weekends (in uniforms!) to play competitive games. Minerva knew that Van as a road warrior and Amlan as an online avatar would be humbled from their grand elevations if they were sincere about using and promoting world-soccer as a unifying peace-sport. So who'd be willing to forego vanity to help people with some cute and funny photographs found on Facebook illustrating how soccer humorously sometimes brings us all together?

Amlan won the contest and became the old man on the field! Minerva rewarded him with a shiny silver jet-plane keychain toy. It was made of solid silver, but Amlan was supposed to keep that a darn secret! Amlan was thrilled that his perseverance had seen him through his special contest with his rival and society-counterpart Van. The silver-plane keychain-toy was something Amlan would cherish forever, and it would help him ornament his social praise of soccer as a peace-sport!

Minerva returned to heaven and made stained-glass art signifying her philosophical love of mankind. She was so overjoyed with Van and Amlan that she made them both Nigerian Soccer wool-caps for winter, specially knitted by the hands of a watery goddess. Van and Amlan were further humbled and vowed to use the creative gift as inspiration to continue their good social work in promoting soccer as a sport representing new age anti-terrorism IQ.

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