Like the rest of the world,  Nepal is also caught in the grip of football. As World Cup soccer progressed,  football has officially taken the center-stage of the talks among the children, youngsters, businessmen and even housewives.

So captivating have been the games that even load-shedding has not dampened the spirit of the lovers of the game.

They either go to their friend’s house or to a restaurant to watch the match live.

And if they can’t get to do these they get  updated by their friends through facebook on mobile or texts.

Interestingly, when I was unable to watch the goal-raining match between Portugal and North Korea in the first round, I didn’t even need mobile or face book to find out that Portugal was on goal-scoring spree.

I could sense the result by the deafening cheers of the Portugal fans in the neighbourhood. Many neighbourhood in Kathmandu have also been humming the rhythmic wakka wakka World Cup songs.

That the World Cup soccer flags don many shops in the city is also reflective of the rising soccer temperature in Kathmandu and the outside.

I have heard only a few complaints.The night life of many football fans has changed with most of them losing sleep to watch the game. Some even indulge in betting which starts just out of fun but sometimes gets out of hand.

Occasionally I have heard the housewives complaining when they don’t get to see their daily soap. Sometime they complain of the sleep being disrupted by the late night matches and the noise created by the match-watching family members and friends.

But such complaints do not match the joy and the cheers the world’s top game has brought to the bedroom.