Super Eagles players extend condolences to fans who tragically passed away during yesterday’s game

[iworo]

[Odas]

I say I have a clue of what they [our people] went through before they departed. My heart was beating fast and heavy during the game as well. Just when the regulation time for the game was ending, I bailed, turned off the TV and left the Cybereagles' forum.

The only time I was able to return and indeed breathed relief was when I saw the picture of Ekong's fingers pointing to the sky. Immediately, I assumed we won and my heart began to slowdown. When I checked, truly we've won the game. Thus, I am NOT surprised we lost some of our citizens. RIP to all of them.

[deanotito]

I say I have a clue of what they [our people] went through before they departed. My heart was beating fast and heavy during the game as well. Just when the regulation time for the game was ending, I bailed, turned off the TV and let the Cybereagles' forum.

The only time I was able to return and indeed breathed relief was when I saw the picture of Ekong's fingers pointing to the sky. Immediately, I assumed we won and my heart began to slowdown. When I checked, truly we've won the game. Thus, I am NOT surprised we lost some of our citizens. RIP to all of them.

We’re all not as young as we used to be. I watched the game alone and found myself digging my nails into my skin and pacing the floor. I had to force myself to lie down under a blanket, as if I was watching a movie, and texted my friend that I can’t come and kill myself. That calmed me down. Had to purposefully de-escalate the whole thing.

My Father, who is visiting, had an appointment and so couldn’t watch the game with me. And I am somewhat thankful that he wasn’t home

[Odas]

Yes, for us the elderly and those with some health issues, it doesn't take much for one to depart if the game stress, or stresses in general are not well managed.

Only those who doesn't know what it is, are the ones who think we are crazy, or not being men enough

[Damunk]

I struggle to watch a SE match live.
I don’t know why I decided to watch this one though. All 130 mins plus penalties.
I wobbled in those crazy moments when 2-0 changed to 1-1.
That was hard and I felt my composure slipping away. But I managed. I think I had a quiet confidence that we would beat SA. But I know I wouldn't have been able to watch Ngr vs Cape Verde.
Strange.

My madam was something else. After running away and finally coming back to face her life, she simply burst into tears when it was all over. Then she picked her phone to call her mother.
Her mother was initially shocked to see her ‘tough’ daughter crying on the phone. When she finally figured out what was going on, she simply said “I thought somebody died”.


Sadly, some truly did.
May they RIP.

[kash n' karry]

Did they die due to the game or they died all by themselves ??
If they died all by themselves during a 3hr game period, then that is just about the average amount of souls
a country of 230 million will lose every 3 hours...
NOW,
if they died due to the game ... this is more of the reason why our players need to play hard for those souls we
lost and win that title all for their sake !!
Nonetheless.. . with that analysis, may the souls of our fellow Nigerians who died during the game rest in peace.
==========================================================
“A man who has no imagination has no wings.”
“Don’t count the days; make the days count.” - Muhammad Ali

[Damunk]

Did they die due to the game or they died all by themselves ??
If they died all by themselves during a 3hr game period, then that is just about the average amount of souls
a country of 230 million will lose every 3 hours...
NOW,
if they died due to the game ... this is more of the reason why our players need to play hard for those souls we
lost and win that title all for their sake !!
Nonetheless.. . with that analysis, may the souls of our fellow Nigerians who died during the game rest in peace.
==========================================================
“A man who has no imagination has no wings.”
“Don’t count the days; make the days count.” - Muhammad Ali

Seems they died due to football-related reasons.
Heart attacks and strokes.

[kalani JR]

This was the first game in years that had me under pressure.

[packerland]

I say I have a clue of what they [our people] went through before they departed. My heart was beating fast and heavy during the game as well. Just when the regulation time for the game was ending, I bailed, turned off the TV and let the Cybereagles' forum.

The only time I was able to return and indeed breathed relief was when I saw the picture of Ekong's fingers pointing to the sky. Immediately, I assumed we won and my heart began to slowdown. When I checked, truly we've won the game. Thus, I am NOT surprised we lost some of our citizens. RIP to all of them.

We’re all not as young as we used to be. I watched the game alone and found myself digging my nails into my skin and pacing the floor. I had to force myself to lie down under a blanket, as if I was watching a movie, and texted my friend that I can’t come and kill myself. That calmed me down. Had to purposefully de-escalate the whole thing.

My Father, who is visiting, had an appointment and so couldn’t watch the game with me. And I am somewhat thankful that he wasn’t home

You guys are scaring me. My parents just came back from naija yesterday. I was planning to bring my boys to their house on Sunday to watch the game and then the superbowl after. Now I don’t even know. I have Bein with my Sling TV subscription and my parents have a smart tv. Should I watch it with him or record the game and watch it with him on another day?

[Enugu II]

I struggle to watch a SE match live.
I don’t know why I decided to watch this one though. All 130 mins plus penalties.
I wobbled in those crazy moments when 2-0 changed to 1-1.
That was hard and I felt my composure slipping away. But I managed. I think I had a quiet confidence that we would beat SA. But I know I wouldn't have been able to watch Ngr vs Cape Verde.
Strange.

My madam was something else. After running away and finally coming back to face her life, she simply burst into tears when it was all over. Then she picked her phone to call her mother.
Her mother was initially shocked to see her ‘tough’ daughter crying on the phone. When she finally figured out what was going on, she simply said “I thought somebody died”.


Sadly, some truly did.
May they RIP.

Damunk

Naa waaooo. Dis futoball na problem ooo! If na like dis, why even bother to watch the game?

May be for me, while I support the SE, I mostly view the game as an academic exercise.

[Damunk]

I struggle to watch a SE match live.
I don’t know why I decided to watch this one though. All 130 mins plus penalties.
I wobbled in those crazy moments when 2-0 changed to 1-1.
That was hard and I felt my composure slipping away. But I managed. I think I had a quiet confidence that we would beat SA. But I know I wouldn't have been able to watch Ngr vs Cape Verde.
Strange.

My madam was something else. After running away and finally coming back to face her life, she simply burst into tears when it was all over. Then she picked her phone to call her mother.
Her mother was initially shocked to see her ‘tough’ daughter crying on the phone. When she finally figured out what was going on, she simply said “I thought somebody died”.


Sadly, some truly did.
May they RIP.

Damunk

Naa waaooo. Dis futoball na problem ooo! If na like dis, why even bother to watch the game?

May be for me, while I support the SE, I mostly view the game as an academic exercise.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t divorce my emotions from a live SE or SF game.
I either ignore the live match completely (almost impossible) or ‘chest it’ and face my fate.

But many years ago, a Nigerian Arsenal fan I had warned barely about a year before died of a heart attack watching Arsenal at home on TV. I had witnessed him once when visiting him and his wife one Sunday when Arsenal were playing. It was scary to see how he got himself so worked up.

Every single time, I am baffled by the raw emotions that football releases in millions of Nigerians, especially when the SE are playing.
It has always fascinated me from both a social and a psychological point of view.

Even my cousin-in-law who has NO interest in football could not watch the Ngr-SA match live. She said the tension was “too much for her chest”. She stayed in her room until the end when she came down to join us drinking wine in celebration.

I don’t know how you do it.

[Lolly]

Sad for the departed and their families.

Watching Nigeria football matches has always been an emotional rollercoaster ride for me but I have learnt how to control it a bit. Hence why I prefer watching alone in my house or at the stadium. I don’t like watching with awon boys who mostly just scream and add to the tension.

I remember as a kid, my dad used to take me to the National Stadium Surulere to watch the Green Eagles. He was a super fan. But he suddenly stopped watching live Eagles matches either at the stadium or even on TV. On match days, he will dress up and go visiting his friend who doesn’t like football one hour’s drive away. Meanwhile, my uncles would turn up at our house to watch the match. Both sides of my parents siblings were sports fanatics and some sportsmen and women. My dad’s words were I don’t want anyone to give me hypertension. As a kid, I didn’t know how deadly hypertension was. Sadly the man died of a massive stroke triggered by hypertension in his early 60s, though not from watching football.

I pray none of us die before our time, especially not from watching a football match. Sunday night would be tough. The tension would be unbearable for most. I have programmed myself to understand that there can only be one winner. And there is life after losing a football match.

[Dammy]

The emotions tied to the SE is huge and I’m seriously thinking about not watching live football after the AFCON final tomorrow.
I was shaking all throughout the match that I had to put my hands on the radiator to keep warm. I have never felt like that before.

[Lolly]

The emotions tied to the SE is huge and I’m seriously thinking about not watching live football after the AFCON final tomorrow.
I was shaking all throughout the match that I had to put my hands on the radiator to keep warm. I have never felt like that before.

Bros, take am easy o.

The solution is to be pessimistic and not expect much.

[Damunk]

The BIG question for me is WHY does it evoke such extreme emotion?
I remember as a school boy and university student, I would be shaking before a SE game, whether at home or in the National Stadium Surulere.
I also remember several times when I would just grab a complete stranger beside me when the Eagles scored a goal. Complete, mindless, uncontrollable, primitive emotion. When I was smaller, I was probably lucky to escape a few broken ribs from someone grabbing me in the heat of the moment.

Do other sports evoke the same kind of reaction?

[mcal]

...the biggest effect football loss has ever happen to me was when my darling Rangers International lost an international club match away...I did not eat for a whole day. well not any more, i get tensed but not to total collapse.

[Lolly]

...the biggest effect football loss has ever happen to me was when my darling Rangers International lost an international club match away...I did not eat for a whole day.

USA 94, Nigeria losing to Italy had a serious effect on Nigerians all over the world. I remember seeing a guy in tears in his car the morning after on a London street while being consoled by his woman that it was only a football match. They further spoilt my day.

For the older folks, the 1977 Odiye own goal that saw us miss the World Cup had a similar effect.

[packerland]

...the biggest effect football loss has ever happen to me was when my darling Rangers International lost an international club match away...I did not eat for a whole day.

USA 94, Nigeria losing to Italy had a serious effect on Nigerians all over the world. I remember seeing a guy in tears in his car the morning after on a London street while being consoled by his woman that it was only a football match. They further spoilt my day.

For the older folks, the 1977 Odiye own goal that saw us miss the World Cup had a similar effect.

I’ve not watched the game or the highlight of Nigeria vs Italy since that day.

[deanotito]

I say I have a clue of what they [our people] went through before they departed. My heart was beating fast and heavy during the game as well. Just when the regulation time for the game was ending, I bailed, turned off the TV and let the Cybereagles' forum.

The only time I was able to return and indeed breathed relief was when I saw the picture of Ekong's fingers pointing to the sky. Immediately, I assumed we won and my heart began to slowdown. When I checked, truly we've won the game. Thus, I am NOT surprised we lost some of our citizens. RIP to all of them.

We’re all not as young as we used to be. I watched the game alone and found myself digging my nails into my skin and pacing the floor. I had to force myself to lie down under a blanket, as if I was watching a movie, and texted my friend that I can’t come and kill myself. That calmed me down. Had to purposefully de-escalate the whole thing.

My Father, who is visiting, had an appointment and so couldn’t watch the game with me. And I am somewhat thankful that he wasn’t home

You guys are scaring me. My parents just came back from naija yesterday. I was planning to bring my boys to their house on Sunday to watch the game and then the superbowl after. Now I don’t even know. I have Bein with my Sling TV subscription and my parents have a smart tv. Should I watch it with him or record the game and watch it with him on another day?

Just be wise about it. I would go watch it with your parents but I would probably try to de-escalate the atmosphere. Even saying things like “winning silver is good enough” before the game starts helps to calm people down.

And if the match is becoming too crazy, consider asking your folks to do something else. I think there was something about that South Africa game that was a little different. We weren’t in control of the first half and then the way the 2nd half and the final minutes played out wasn’t cool at all.

When I was younger, I didn’t give this a second thought as the emotions were part of the enjoyment. But I did feel myself getting overly tensed up during the SA game

[deanotito]

The BIG question for me is WHY does it evoke such extreme emotion?
I remember as a school boy and university student, I would be shaking before a SE game, whether at home or in the National Stadium Surulere.
I also remember several times when I would just grab a complete stranger beside me when the Eagles scored a goal. Complete, mindless, uncontrollable, primitive emotion. When I was smaller, I was probably lucky to escape a few broken ribs from someone grabbing me in the heat of the moment.

Do other sports evoke the same kind of reaction?

Oh I think this is why:

-We love football
-At heart, we are intensely patriotic and proud people
-We believe we should win at everything

[Robbynice]

Omo after the game went from 2-0 to 1-1 that was it for me until after the PKs shootouts. Even at that my mind was in the game wondering what was going in. I kept asking my friend what was going on. Pacing up and down in the house and praying too. Omo tension no good for body mehn

[Damunk]

Omo after the game went from 2-0 to 1-1 that was it for me until after the PKs shootouts. Even at that my mind was in the game wondering what was going in. I kept asking my friend what was going on. Pacing up and down in the house and praying too. Omo tension no good for body mehn

In those few moments I actually felt dizzy for a few seconds.
The only thing that distracted me was my wife and my niece seeking reassurance from me as if I was the one playing the ball.
It was crazy!

[Damunk]

When I was younger, I didn’t give this a second thought as the emotions were part of the enjoyment. But I did feel myself getting overly tensed up during the SA game

Exactly.
That was the fun.
As a kid and adolescent, football tension would kickoff a running stomach and I would need to visit the loo.
As an older teenager and early 20s, both elation and disappointment from football triggered a sudden strong urge for sex.
If I didn’t have a girlfriend at the time (which was often the case), problem.