For such a simple question, there are a ton of different interpretations, and any number of ways of answering it. Samsung have asked football fans what matters most to them. For many it will be England winning an International tournament, for some it will be seeing their rivals trip up, for others, it will be seeing their club side go on to greater glory.
Either way, Samsung has put that question out there into the ether and offered a treasure trove full of prizes to those who provide creative answers. Sounds intriguing right? Well head here…
In football, what matters most to me is the passion. It’s the roar of anticipation when the whistle goes to kick off the 90 minutes, every roar from the crowd when there’s a shot on goal, a great save from your goalkeeper or a cynical foul.
It’s about that sound of thousands of people all taking a long, deep breath before a freekick or corner or penalty is taken, followed by the roar of delight when they result in a goal or a brilliant clearance by a goalkeeper or a defender.
Football is a tribal experience, with large groups of people all wearing the same colours, singing the same songs, all there for one thing; to see their team win. They win together, they lose together, and they tell the referee that he really needs to book an appointment with his optician together. When you’re in the stands surrounded by other people who all want exactly the same thing as you do, you get caught up in the emotion and drama of what is unfolding in front of you, and you know that you’ll roar your team on until the final whistle blows, no matter what the score is.
Nothing beats the elation of a win, nothing is worse than the heartbreak of a loss, and there’s nothing better than seeing the captain of your team stepping forward to lift up (if you’re lucky) another trophy to add to the collection. If you’re even luckier, you’ll never have to know the pain of relegation, that knowledge that the players you love (or hate) will leave, and that your team won’t be playing at the level you want them to. But you’ll never turn your back on your team, you’ll always come back for more, just to see that one goal, witness that one moment that turns things around and gets your team back where you want them to be.
But you always know that you’re not alone when it comes to football. There will always be someone with you to share the joy or drown the sorrows, someone to stand alongside you and proclaim that your support of the team will never die. Because football matters to him just as much as it does to you, and through the highs and throw the lows, you’ll be there again and again, to buy your ticket and cheer on your team, because football matters.
So that’s my piece done. Why don’t you have your say?