I remember that football was always part of my routine as a child. On weekends we went to my grandma’s house and nobody left before the game was over. I watched the adults watching and tried to understand the emotion that made them argue with the TV, alert the players of possible plays and spend the break arguing among themselves about the match. It was very difficult not to be attracted by the idea of supporting a team.
When I got pregnant I really wanted my son to also like football, and root for the same team as me. Still, I had heard too many stories of frustrated parents of children who preferred the opposing team, at home, it was an example of this (my father cheers for São Paulo and I do for Palmeiras).
So I never bought anything from my team for my son, I took him to the stadium only once and we left before the end because he got bored. He went other times to watch São Paulo as well. I sat down to watch some games and he couldn’t stay more than 15 minutes.
I had already accepted that my son likes basketball and I decided it was better to learn more about the game. I heard him explaining the moves he made, and we tried to play NBA2k23, but even though he played more calmly, I lost with a 30-point difference.
Maybe because I agreed to understand his passion, he started to listen to mine. I confess that my team has helped with the number of championships lately. So when he woke up I would narrate the best moments of the game that I had woken up at dawn to watch (I was still in China). He always left Fifa downloaded in the video game for the days I sat down to play.
Yesterday, in the Super Cup Brasil final, Flamengo x Palmeiras, my cell phone rang to remind me of the game while we were still playing NBA2K23, but I wanted to finish that game. I do not deny that little by little I am enjoying it. I started listening to the game online, I screamed at the first penalty (against Palmeiras) and scared the whole house.
I wanted to see the game at the same time as ours was very disputed, I don’t know how I tied at the last second and we went to overtime. We were waiting to load our game to restart when it all went silent and the crowd exploded in joy. I waited until I had confirmation that Palmeiras had tied. Relief.
We keep playing. The video game for me today is not just a hobby, but an opportunity to be with my son, to participate in something he likes. I won the game, I win every three months, it’s never fair because he could have made a lot of three-pointers and won by a wide margin, but he didn’t. He wasn’t upset about having lost and I had the feeling that maybe one day I can win.
He went to take a shower and I started watching the game on television. He missed the second goal and I celebrated discreetly, after scaring the whole house I thought it was better to contain myself a little.
The second half started and he sat next to me. I expected him to be out of there in 15 minutes, but he didn’t. The game was exciting, in less than five minutes Flamengo tied. He wasn’t just watching the game, he was shouting at the TV as well. “Our ball”, “It was nothing, referee”, “What do they have in mind?” It was like seeing a dream come true right in front of my eyes, it wasn’t just my team that won the match, I had the chance to share that moment with my son, without ever having to force him into it.
We took the lead again, six minutes of added time. He counted every minute and asked Everton to take it easy to restart the game. Three more. I couldn’t even sit still anymore. Final whistle. Few fireworks, some fans screaming from the balcony, and the feeling that I came out more victorious than the greatest champion of the Americas.
When I say that patience won, I don’t mean that from the beginning I had in mind the pretense that one day this would happen, that I planned a long game so that the pieces would fit all together, and manipulatively everything happened as planned. My intention was always to give him the freedom to choose and that if that day never came I would find others to share memorable moments with him.
Meu grão de areia 