Es un afano, suspéndanlo

It's a theft, stop it

First things first and I must clarify the meaning of the term "afano", it comes from lunfardo, a slang used in Buenos Aires in the last years of the 19th century and a good part of the 20th century, its meaning is theft and there are many tangos whose lyrics include terms of this pseudo language.

This refrain was sung on the soccer fields in my country when one team was clearly superior to another and obtained an indisputable advantage on the scoreboard before the end of the match. Of course, they sang it to the opposing fans who could only watch how their team was beaten by the rival's superiority and put up with the rivals' jokes.

This same thing could be used today to represent what Max Verstappen is doing in F1, destroying his rivals without leaving them more than crumbs to fight among themselves while he triumphantly walks through each circuit that is put in his way.

Also, in the Pan American Games that ended yesterday, North American Olympic sports fans could sing the same thing, in light of the results of this and all the Pan American Games that are remembered. The superiority of the United States is overwhelming and all that remains is to fight for the next positions in the medal table.

It is clear that the organization, the promotion plans, and the support for athletes make an enormous difference compared to the rest of the countries, some, very few, have copied that same organization, although with a smaller population and experience, they cannot provide the same results. The rest of us wander in the following positions, with little promotion and financing, without development plans where only those who stand out on their own merit obtain results.

My country operates in this latter context; it is shocking that despite the poor conditions at the amateur level, medals can still be won. Of course, if there is organization, some money, and talent in the main team sports where Argentina excels, we had already anticipated it in an exchange of comments with some readers of my blog, when the definition of the medals for the main group sports arrived. , Argentina would achieve good results and they did, they won a gold medal in men's and women's field hockey, men's handball, rugby and basketball, volleyball finished with a silver medal, being surpassed by the great Brazilian team, one of the main world powers in that sport. In soccer, we didn't make it to these games, somewhat surprisingly.

Therefore, friends, there is no other alternative in these cases of such manifest superiority, but to bow your head and continue fighting with what you have, without shame, but also without resignation, always giving everything, is the essence of sport.