What An Impressive Loss

I already noted that the Brazilians have surprised me with their lack of enthusiasm for the billions spent on the World Cup.  Now they've impressed me with their ability to take a loss.  It can't be easy to take an embarrassing loss, in the sport that means the most to them, at home, while the world is watching.  Here in Canada, we've lost at hockey, but at least we know no one else cares. 

As the game was going on, I saw numerous tweets worrying of violence on the streets in Brazil, as people take out their frustrations.  But that doesn't seem to have materialized.  I saw one TV report that mentioned fear of violence, given the protests against the World Cup.  That seemed like odd reasoning: there's been violence over government spending, so there'll be violence over losing a soccer game. 

So maybe that's why the Brazilians have been able to deal with the loss more maturely: they've been forced to examine their priorities.  There were lots of sad people on the streets, but most were keeping it in perspective.  Again, I don't think we in Canada compare well, considering Vancouver's riots over their Stanley Cup loss a few years ago.

Things the Teenage Me Would Never Have Believed About Life In The Future, #15

Brazilians will take to the streets to protest their country hosting the world cup.

Seriously though, good on Brazil.  It seems like every country has some weakness that they give in to.  But Brazil has overcome it to show some pragmatism, asking for bread before circuses  Sure, they occasionally resort to out-of-control tactics to promote that pragmatic ideal, but it's a start.  Americans quickly abandon their minimalist government principles to build stadiums, and I couldn't imagine Canadians protesting against huge spending on hockey.