Dec 2007
Pele was my first love. He was the first Black character I saw on TV that was at the center of the screen, always smiling, and seemed to be loved by all. He was so good that he went to play at the world’s biggest event, the World Cup, at the tender age of 17 and helped Brazil to win three out of four World Cup tournaments. I believe that he is still the only player in the world that has officially scored over 1000 career goals in soccer. He was so great that there was a time he was given a red card and sent out of the game, the game officials had to change the referee and put Pele back in the game in order to appease the dissatisfaction of the spectators. The day he scored his 1000th goal, his opponent’s supporters turned against their home team during the game for almost preventing them from seeing the historic moment. Many have criticized him for not speaking up against Brazil’s White government of the time, marrying White women, not going to Europe to play professional soccer, and making bad business deals. In all this, he became the sports minister, has a mega-marketing business for soccer, has remain true to Brazil, and he is still the number figure for the most popular game, which is greater than the followers of the three major world religions.