AND THE STARS CAME SHINNING

AFTER a moment of pessimism, following the Black Stars’ narrow 1-0 win over Namibia, Ghanaians, in their millions, yesterday roared to another feeling in football. It was the feeling of emphatic victory over Morocco, one of the established forces in African football.
The 2-0 victory over Morocco came after some bitter criticisms against the Black Stars, with Asamoah Gyan, one of the key players in the team, as the main target. With the heat too much on him, Asamoah Gyan was reported to have packed bag and baggage and threatened to leave the Black Stars camp.
In the heat of all the animosity generated against them after their first two matches, the Stars, their handlers, Asamoah Gyan and his brother, Baffour Gyan, all saw the need to remain calm and focus on their mission.
That need to remain calm was reinforced during the visit of President J. A. Kufuor to the Stars’ camp on Sunday where he used his own experience at the receiving end of mass criticisms to deepen the tolerance level of the players, especially Asamoah Gyan.
Having taken the presidential advice seriously and having raised their game to a higher level yesterday, the Stars must have learnt the additional lesson that the same fans who stirred anger in certain quarters by taking the criticism to extreme levels, were the same fans who danced with them at the stadium and in the streets to celebrate the great and well-deserved victory over Morocco.
It is our hope that the fans were also aware that the players they had vilified with extreme bitterness a few days earlier were the same players they hailed as heroes in the all-night parties that hit most streets in the country yesterday.
Such are the contradictions inherent in this ‘crazy’ game of football, which call for cool heads, whether among the playing body or among the fans. The three-dimensional result of a win, a draw or a defeat is so unpredictable that the only way to maintain the required cool nerves is to make room for any of those three possibilities.
Without making room for the absence of logic in football, how could anyone explain the scenario where Morocco beat Namibia 5-1, Namibia draw 1-1 with Guinea and Guinea beat Morocco 3-2?
The need for calmness, mutual respect and positive support is even more crucial now as the competition cruises into the knock-out stage. The DAILY GRAPHIC appeals to the fans to keep their criticisms within positive and acceptable bounds, while appealing to the players to keep the President’s earlier advice in mind.
That way, any sense of complacency would be held in check and the Stars will shine and shine and make our dream of “Host and Win” a realty.