Passion + Desperation: Tales of Futbol in Brazil
Passion connects us to others and sets us on a path toward better things, but desperation sets us apart and on a destiny for greatness.
This week I returned from an almost two-week trip to Brazil. Kia and I traveled with our youngest son Beale and his best friend Steven for a soccer tournament in the city of Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon). We were part of a team of Americans from all over the country (Rhode Island, Boston, South Carolina, California, Nevada, KC).
You may be wondering, how would a team made up of really good players from America fare against some of the top players in Brazil. As it turns out…Brazilians are really good at soccer.
Let me give you a little more context about the teams we played. We were playing in the 16th edition of the BH Cup hosted by a local professional team, Cruzeiro. The other 5 teams were from the local professional teams in either Rio de Janeiro or Belo Horizonte. This tournament is vital to the professional pathway of each of the Brazilian boys playing.
Each game was attended by professional scouts from around the world. After one game, a sponsor who was with our team told me that the head scout from Real Madrid (one of the top teams in the world) was at the game.
This tournament is a big deal.
A week removed from watching these games, two words have been rolling around in my head - passion and desperation. If I had to boil it down to one thought, it’s this:
Passion is a powerful motivator, but desperation changes destiny.
Passion
Passion connects us to others and points us toward better things.
Passion Connects
It amazed me how soccer/futbol connected teenage boys separated by over 5000 miles, a language barrier, and in most cases completely different economic backgrounds.
My son has stories of making friends with boys from the different teams through broken English and Spanish (Brazil’s native language is Portuguese but some do speak a little English or Spanish). They talked about soccer, they shared Instagram handles, they danced together, and they laughed at one another. Their passion for soccer brought them together, and it drove them to a way to communicate with each other.
Passion Directs
Passion also gave direction to each of the boys playing in this tournament. Every player had more than the average amount of talent and ability for soccer, but it was a passion that drove them to improve as players both through formal and individual training. My son worked out almost daily this summer - multiple times a day. He worked out with his high school team and then went on by himself to improve his conditioning. He worked to improve his skills with his friends and on his own.
As a result, he became the best version of himself as a soccer player.
Passion fades.
Passion connects us to others with a similar love, and it drives us to greater levels of skill and ability. Passion also has its limits.
Passion is an emotion, a feeling. There are times we don’t feel the passion or love. There are moments when we question if all the work we put into our love is actually improving us or making us better. Sometimes there isn’t anyone else with us to push us forward.
Passion fades.
If all I have is passion, I may never make it to the place my talent suggests or even where my dreams lie.
Desperation
While passion connects me to others and puts me on a path to better things, desperation changes my destiny.
The first game my son played was against a team named Atletico Mineiro. This turned out to be the champion of the tournament, and it wasn’t really even close. Every player was bigger, faster, and stronger than our players. Their skills were more advanced and better honed. Three of their team members were a part of the Brazilian national team. The game ended in a 0-5 loss, which could have been much worse. After the game, the teams got together for a joint picture. The boys shared Instagram information and took pictures with one another.
The second game was a completely different story.
We played against America MG, and they were pretty much the same size and speed as our team (though a bit more skilled). It was a much more competitive game with both teams having opportunities to score, and at half-time, it was 0-0. We were told later by one of our coaches who spoke Portuguese, that the other coach was screaming at his boys,
“Are you going to lose to these Americans? Do you want to be construction workers?”
The game ended in a 0-3 loss.
Desperation changed the game. This tournament is THE moment for them to be seen by scouts. For many of the boys playing, this was their springboard to a professional contract in either Brazil or abroad. A few of these players will go on to earn tens of millions of dollars.
Interestingly, desperation also separates us. After that second game, there were no pictures or friendly banter. They wanted nothing to do with these American boys who were working to keep them from their dream.
This was their chance to pull themselves out of poverty into a new life - for themselves and their families. Many of the players have grown up in the slums of their hometowns or in the rural villages surrounding the cities they now represent. If they don’t make it with soccer, they will be forced into low-skill jobs perpetuating the life their family has always known.
This week defined their destiny, so they were desperate to play and show well.
Desperation is hard to quantify, but it drives us when passion runs out.
The group of American boys who were playing in this tournament didn’t play with the same desperation to succeed. They honestly didn’t need to. Soccer isn’t the only visible path to their success. Each American boy was able to afford $3000 to get to and stay in Brazil for a week. Most of them were accompanied by at least one parent (another $3000+). For them, this was a great experience, not a career-defining moment.
College is an option with or without soccer. Success is within reach no matter what happened in that tournament.
Passion -vs- Desperation
Now let’s put this into perspective within our own lives - spiritually.
Processing all these thoughts, I began to put passion and desperation in a context outside of just soccer or Brazil. I began to think larger. I searched my memory within scripture - particularly the Gospels - for examples of passion and desperation. Here is my conclusion:
Desperation was honored, but passion was questioned.
Desperation in the Gospels
Jesus honored the desperation of those he interacted with. There was the woman with the issue of blood who out of desperation to be healed reached out to touch Jesus’ robe. A blind man screamed at the top of his lungs for mercy as Jesus passed by. A father brought his son to the disciples and then Jesus for a demon to be cast out from his son. A foreign woman begs for Jesus to heal her child.
In each case, Jesus took time to interact with these men and women. He healed them of their infirmities. He cared for their souls.
Maybe the best example of Jesus honoring desperation is of the two criminals hanging on crosses on either side of Jesus. One cursed Jesus, but the other pleaded to be remembered in the next life. Jesus honored the man’s desperation.
“Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
Time after time, Jesus honored the desperation of those in need.
Passion in the Gospels
What about passion? How does that play out in the Gospels?
Of all the disciples, Peter was the fireball - the definition of passion. He thought it wise to rebuke Jesus about his foretelling of his abuse and death in Jerusalem. Jesus response?
“Get behind me Satan!”
Passion connect Peter to Jesus, but it also served to get him in trouble. And then when Peter most needed his passion, it abandoned him. It was the night Jesus most needed Peter that Peter abandoned Jesus.
Maybe the best example of the deception of passion comes in the story of the rich young ruler.
This young man approached Jesus to become a follower. I assume this young man had heard Jesus teach, and he had seen Jesus heal. What he saw legitimately fired him up. Jesus was quick to give his consent but with one caveat.
“Sell all your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor.”
With a snap of the fingers, the passion dissipated from this young man. Scripture said he was very rich and had many possessions. The young man walked away dejected. His passion connected him with Jesus, and it drove him to ask to be closer to Jesus. But the man wasn’t desperate.
Trust + Work
Most of us (in America) aren’t desperate. Our financial needs are taken care of. Our physical needs can be met by doctors. So we rely on passion, but like Peter, our passion is fickle. And very possibly it fades when we need it the most.
What are you desperate for?
If I’m being honest with you, I was convicted as I pondered this question. I’m pretty good at being passionate about something (writing for instance). But when it comes to desperation, that is a much more difficult question. My life isn’t dependent on the success of my writing, pastoring, or parenting.
So how do we become desperate, and when we are desperate what do we do with our desperation?
I can’t be sure, but I believe this small nugget of advice may help you not just with what to do with your desperation, but also to grow in your desperation for what God has put into your heart.
Pastor Mark Batterson wrote in his book, The Circle Maker, that I should pray like it’s up to God and work like it’s up to me. In each of those stories of desperation from the Gospels, the people are clear it is only Jesus who can help them. At the same time, they work desperately to get to Jesus.
Since traveling to Brazil and watching a few of the teams play, I’ve begun following some of the top players (who knows if they one day will be famous?). The thing I’ve noticed about so many of them is how they give glory and honor to God. They work desperately on the field, but there seems to be a part of their world that recognizes the need for God to come through for them.
Pray like it’s up to God. Work like it’s up to you.
Desperation drives us to pray like it is only God who can come through for us, but also work like we have no other option. But I also wonder if we pray like it’s up to God and work like it’s up to me if that won’t make me a little more desperate for what I am praying and working for.
Trust God. Work hard. Be desperate.
Writing Playlist
I don’t know if we have the same taste in music, but here are some songs to explore. All the links go to Spotify. While writing this post, this is some of what I was listening to:
L O W B L O W - indie tribe
Unexpected Roads - Mosaic MSC
Fall Like Rain - Passion + Rachel Halbach