My girlfriend asked me to write a piece titled Jabulani, so here we are. And I have to publish it in 30 minutes. Vamos.
World cup season is upon us and what a wonderful time of the year it is. The fact that it’s hosted in North America this year is also really cool because it means that for the first time in a LONG time I get to relax on the couch in the evenings and watch some footy. Usually, I have to scramble around noon to catch a glimpse of the first half before returning back to work. Prime time soccer hits different.
Jabulani. What a wonderful word. For those of you unfamiliar with world cup history, and specifically, world cup soccer ball history, the Jabulani was used in the 2010 world cup in South Africa. This ball got the whole world to pay attention because it did some wicked things in the air.
The ball was so damn round that it maximized the “knuckleball” effect, causing a very unpredictable flight path and often swerving at the last minute. A lot of players complained about it, some even comparing it to a beach ball. Goalkeepers let in goals that they shouldn’t have, and the ball’s flight path got so erratic that they even made modifications to in the 2010 final (adding some layers of texture to minimize its movement).
The word jabulani made my girlfriend and me laugh. For such a dangerous ball, it sounds more like a paella variant of some sort rather than a high velocity weapon. The word has soft corners to it, it’s squishy, and it’s the sort of word that I can see being on a lunchtime menu somewhere in Spain that after consuming I’d take a long siesta.
Despite the rather comical nature of this word, I believe there are a few important lessons we can learn from the history of the jabulani:
- One player in the tournament played really well with the jabulani, scoring some amazing long shots. His name was Diego Forlan. He scored more goals than Messi and Ronaldo combined in that world cup. You know what he did? He called up Adidas two months before the world cup started and asked to practice with the ball. I bet he loved the erratic nature of the jabulani, because he had the time to get used to it and understand how to take advantage of it.
- Life defaults to jabulani: unpredictability is baked into our everyday existence. Cars swerve, people confuse, plans don’t last, and ingredients disappear. To be able to succeed, one must adapt, and the jabulani must be respected. Don’t try to fight the jabulani.
Now that I think of it, the jabulani reminds me of a concept I learned reading Nassim Tabel’s book Antifragile. Essentially, to be antifragile is the ability to improve capability in the face of adversity or shock. Think of the hydra, the creature in Greek mythology – for each head that it gets cut off, it regrows two in place.
Diego Forlan gained from the disorder. He was antifragile. He was able to wield the jabulani to do whatever he wanted, just like a magic wand. Pretty wicked if you ask me.
You are guaranteed to get your own jabulani. How will you respond?
-Shikhar