football is not a matter of life or death...

I witnessed a scene in the streets of Funchal last sunday that resembled the euphoria of a world cup win. Traffic jams, incessant chanting, a sea of red swept the streets! And all because Benfica had won the championship!!! More than half of the madeiran population supports Benfica. It is estimated that nearly 6 million portuguese support Benfica. According to The Guinness Book Of Records, Benfica has the highest amount of paid up members in the world. Over 200,000 at the last count. Incredible, for a team that has had little or no success for 20 years, but there you go.A local paper has published a list of benefits associated with this win, here are some;

1- The morale of the country will reach unseen heights
2- Productivity will soar and interest rates will fall
3- Domestic violence will stop completely
4- Priests will stop chasing children

As Brian Clough once said, "football is not a matter of life or death...it´s much more important than that"