Ladies, get in the mood for football

The Euro 2012 is not even halfway through, and several of my Beijing girl friends are complaining that they're not scoring. It would seem that the Euro cup is messing with their love and sex lives.

With the games being broadcast on CCTV5 throughout this month, I bet many gals in town are temporarily losing their men or potential lovers, to local squads of fans. These guys will happily give up 90 minutes of late-night passion, in order to drool over 22 burly guys stalking a ball, occasionally interrupted by advertisements featuring cars and boobs.

It's safe to say that most local women won't enjoy the collective transformation of men into football crusaders, aka ball-inspired goons. Few women can repeatedly enjoy the 90 minute taste of high levels of testosterone at one of the sports bars in Beijing several times a week for two weeks. There'll be sweat and trash talk, men shall drink and grunt; they'll curse and hug; they'll swear and laugh, and they'll be more into meeting football buddies than into snuggling.

Men want action, they want to win, they want to suffer in a group, and they all secretly wish they were a coach. You might win your man back after the Euro 2012, but there will always be a Champions league or a Super Bowl, there's football on the Wii and on the Xbox, there are local competitions and friendly matches with mates. The topic is up for endless discussion.

What is it about football that puts most guys in a trance?

Sport-obsessed guys are nothing new and there is no indication the ball-bug will disappear anytime soon. But don't fret yet! There are a myriad of lists online pointing out 500 reasons to love football. Vicious, albeit inspired, comments say that the human urge that makes guys go gaga for football is basically the same as what makes women go crazy about shopping. More scientifically supported research shows that the reasons are explained by primitive human behavior: competition, rituals and bonding.

We just need to look at the bigger picture: it's a strategy game where a series of unpredictable variables - expertise and luck; rules and feelings; referees and fans, and even meteorology, make for an exciting mix. Ultimately, football is a mirror of societies and people; you can choose to look at the dark or the brighter side of its force. Sure, there are millions of dollars making the ball roll, and there'll always be riots and discrimination marking big football events, but football inspires rare 90-minute symbolic moments when countries and people come together to understand themselves in the effort and energy of a few of their own people, and crowds of fans are empowered by their success and sympathetic to their defeats. Football can bring to the battlefield strength and vulnerability; calculus and risk and solitude and jubilation. Football is creative teamwork; it is an attempt to perfect the combination of singular talent and group mechanics, discipline, cooperation and improvisation. Try putting your eyes on the ball and you too might just share the thrill.