What's The Real Thrill In a Ninety Minute Football Match?

So what exactly spurs on a football fan while he is watching every minute or nanosecond of those 90 minutes, sometimes even unconsciously forgetting to blink his eyes? 

Oh yes, a dribble here; a dribble there...a difficult overhead pass tackled very slyly; threading the ball slickly around all those human warriors positioned just waiting for an error of judgement and finally...finally after all these monumental work: the beauty of the ball jangling inside that chained web recording the ultimate reward for a team effort!

Yes...all this is exciting enough but not just enough! There are several more things that are more eloquent than the actual goal itself!

The pent up zeal that the goalscorer displays and shares with his teammates after scalping the bounty; I as a fan perceive it as erasing and negating all the previous elusiveness to the same deed.

Thus, if the goal is just one half of the story behind the excitement and the palpable frenzy, what is the mysterious other half?

Before I explain this; let us imagine a visual in our mind about us watching a soccer match: What do we see....we see the the crowd on its feet, chanting and cheering for their favourites as if they have nothing except than today to cheer for.

We see all those "Oohs" and "Aahs" and the agonised frustration when the ball is taken away by a rival player...but...but the acute moment of action is when the striker takes the ball until the very end, leaving all those defenders behind his wake; determined to put his team on the lead or perhaps score a much wanted equaliser!

He is there...he is there...the tension in the team side of the stadium is building; as fans sitting propped in front of the television...we leap out of our chairs...wringing our hands, forgetting to breathe: it is due any second now...the sorely needed goal and the guy who has managed it so gracefully so far...

He is our hero; The ultimate hero!

But then...it's a miscue, the ball hits the bar or the goalie is too nimble on his feet not choosing this day to be butter-fingers or...or...worst of all: There is no one to cover for him for a last minute pass!

We erupt in our houses; the stadium erupts...not in glee but in misery and cries of what could have been the highlight of the day and which will forever remain as "What if?" and probably a dollop of a factor, if our team has a bad day!

This scenario is what I am talking about! The frustration that escapes us, not only for those moments but which sometimes even may haunt us if a valuable match has been costed; is the additional zing behind watching a football match.

Shouting and jumping, not only when favourites win but also sharing the tears and ruing over lost goal chances is what makes a football match come alive with live crackling energy, instead of the entire process looking like human zombies kicking a leather zombie.

And this is what I love doing and experiencing when I watch a football match; the passionate drive, the maniac flagging, the "Bloody Hell Ref"; All of this, every inch of this, is something that I cherish and feel proud of.

After all, what's the point of being a fan if you don't really "Fan" your team to the very extreme?