Keeping hope alive

Hope deferred made my heart sick on Tuesday when that early Muhammed Salah goal dethroned us from the summit of Group E. However being the bustling optimist that I am, I didn't stay little boy blue longer. I shook myself like a leaf and believed anew that all things are still possible.

You see I've cherished the day I'll watch live or through a telecast the Uganda Cranes playing in the Fifa World Cup. The Russia 2018 dream is so close to materializing if you are the optimist, yet so far from being fulfilled if you are the pessimist. But I pray you join me to live by the Yogi Berra mantra that it is never over until it is over. We may have lost in Egypt but we have the potential of winning our two remaining fixtures, but this will only be delightful when Egypt slip up in theirs. Well, let's keep believing for hope never disappoints.

 Qualifying for the 2018 World Cup would be the best thing to happen to a country where everything else is shambolic. For once we would forget about the lackadaisical affairs of this nation. Seeing our boys donning the national jerseys would ignite a fire in us all. We would begin to dream again; really big dreams, and to walk with our chests held out. We would for once unite with pride and watch with joyful hearts as our boys step out on the field to compete with the big boys. 

 We would cease to envy Kenya whose own Victor Wanyama is the engine of the Tottenham Hotspur midfield. Playing at the World Cup would open doors for some of our boys, and oh that would only be the beginning! How wonderful it would be to see Denis Onyango manning the Arsenal goal posts instead of Petr Cech! 

Uganda is a great nation that has been messed up by those with Ph.Ds in the art of mismanaging society -- the politicians. Believe me the turning point for our nation is not going to be orchestrated by a politician but will come from something with the sheer force of unification such as soccer, and featuring in the Fifa World Cup, to be precise. 

Proverbs 13:12 says hope deferred  makes the heart sick but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. I remain optimistic that the Uganda Cranes will qualify for Russia 2018 and we shall devour the fruits that will accrue from that qualification.