Respected British football manager Bill Shankly once famously said, "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death...it is much, much more important than that." While growing up in Taiwan during my childhood, I learned firsthand what Shankly meant. Football, also known as soccer in some countries, is not exactly a national sport in Taiwan. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time the national team even came close to qualifying for the World Cup.