Follow Bilal Zaidi on Twitter
Good afternoon to you all (or good morning to some) on this fine New Year’s Day. I hope you are not too trolley’d, wasted, gazebo’d or panini’d (what ever word for DRUNK you prefer) that you do not understand what I am writing. It is the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 and at times like this, like many of you I assume, I see it as a time of reflection for myself personally and a chance to set goals for the coming year.
I would like to thank every reader of this blog for their comments and support in 2008 as well as wishing you all a very happy new year. It is only though the magnificence of modern technology that such a website could exist and bring together so many people from around the globe who share a common passion. There are 195 countries in the world and this website has been lucky enough to have been accessed by visitors from 184 different countries worldwide. However, it is only though your input that such a website remains dynamic and full of vigour. For this specifically, I am very grateful.
What this site and similar websites represent on a small scale is collective contribution and a common interest. Metaphorically, it would be beneficial if the mentality of mankind could be likewise in looking past our differences while sharing and embracing our similarities.
We finish 2008 at a time where the world is in a state of economic crisis, innocent people are being killed on a daily basis and as football fans; our Arsenal team has not met our expectations of a top European club. However to put Arsenal’s problems in the same context as those other problems is obviously highly offensive.
It is disrespectful to those civilians including young children and woman being massacred and starved in Gaza as I write this. To those even in the West (where I live) being affected negatively by the worldwide recession, those who have been made redundant, those who may have struggled to purchase their children the presents they wanted this Christmas and those elderly people who have to sacrifice heating because their pensions are not covering their costs adequately. We are all going through turbulent times but it is at these times where our character is tested.
This is the time to give to others, a time to be selfless and try our best to collectively progress as humankind. I am blessed to be living in London with a family and people that love me dearly. I hope that if 2008 has taught us anything at all, it is to cherish and truly appreciate what is positive in our lives.
It is also crucial to note the importance of football here. Yes it is “just a game” like my mum always says but football is universally beautiful in that it brings happiness to billions across the globe. It builds a sense of community at a grass roots level and keeps many children away from trouble.
I said in the second paragraph that this website is metaphorically bounded by “collective contribution” and a “common interest”. I hope that we can all have a common interest in 2009 to do as much as we can and “collectively contribute” to promote peace in the middle east, the root of many problems in the world today.
To end on a positive note, 2008 has also been a historic year. To offset the negativity of the “Credit Crunch” and other hardships; Barack Obama became the first African American to become the president (president-elect for the moment) of the most powerful country in the world. We are all very lucky to be present at a time of such historical importance.
It gives us all hope of change for the better in the coming 12 months where things can only get better in all sense of the word. Just as January could be the month Arsenal and Arsene Wenger finally sort out the problems of the past and take a step in the right direction, I hope Barack Obama can do the same.
I also want to say congratulations to a very humble young man in Gavin Hoyte who went to school with me for winning a chance to go on loan to Watford, as well as Jay Simpson who is off to West Brom and Nacer Barazite who has extended his loan at Derby. Good luck to them all.
Happy new year to all. Make 2009 your year and achieve whatever it is you want to achieve.
Please share your new year’s resolutions if you wish in the comments section.
Viva Le Arsenal.
Loading ...