"Wahnsinn! Unglaublich! Unfassbar!", or "Madness! Unbelievable! Unbelievable!"

... Is how one German media headlined the news of their national team beating the host. You can only imagine the heartbreak of the other side. I thought Brazil would show courage and strength in adversity. Next time, maybe. As aptly quoted by Malcolm X:

There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.

I had hoped, sentimentally, for Brazil to best Germany, and make it to the finals of the World Cup at home. Even better if they can meet their bitter rival and neighbour Argnetina. It would be a fitting finale to a great tournament which had been dogged by construction delays and public protests before it started, and then went on to break nearly every meaningful record, including 3 this morning: more goals scored in the finals since 2002, a new individual record holder in Klose scoring more World Cup final goals, and the scoreline itself, 7-1, is unprecedented in a semifinal, not to mention a semifinal involving Brazil who has won the cup more times than any other nation. 

Maybe Neymar was indeed more talismanic than everyone thought. Surely, Thiago's leadership on the pitch more missed than they can imagine. In the end, while many are saying this is not that as good a team of players (bar two: the injured and the suspended), I think they were undone by mental rather than physical weakness. The players were taken aback by the easy first goal in the 11th minute, but when the second went in 10 minutes later, they reeled from it and in 6 minutes thereafter let in 3 more goals as players seem to not know what to do. To Germany's credit, they never let up and kept at it, looking for the 3rd, the 4th and eventually, the 7th!

I do feel for the Brazilian fans, especially this boy who must now be the emblem of how brutal this defeat is.

But this pain shall pass. In the meantime more significant events are taking place in the world. Indonesia is electing it's next President. India just did. Thailand's military have firmly taken control of the country for the umpteenth time. Malaysia's transformation program has yet to take effect. Singaporeans are no longer politically apathetic and are asking for support (which incidentally if unmitigated could erode Singapore's competitiveness). 

This once in 4 year sporting extravaganza takes the mind of the nation of these events for awhile but at the end of the day, it's about living well AND happily. The latter is of course much improved (albeit momentarily) when your team wins :)