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Jun. 27th, 2014 10:20 am
Bitter Cup
John Oliver, on why even hardcore soccer fans feel conflicted about the World Cup:
I'm very take-it-or-leave-it about the game in general, so deciding not to watch the matches was easy for me (although I did have to fight off the temptation to stop into my favourite pub for the last half hour of USA vs Germany yesterday). FIFA is not one iota less odious than the IOC and it's been something like a decade since I decided I was done with the Olympics for good. Several commentators have made the observation that enough people have finally wised up to the utter venality of these organisations and the vast exaggeration of the benefits to the host countries that, in future, the only willing hosts will be authoritarian regimes looking to shore up their international image (though for Qatar, this seems to be backfiring badly).
But I know so many people in the same boat as Oliver (given the overwhelming draw of these events, it's inevitable if your circle of friends is the least bit cosmopolitan) that it's impossible for me not to get at little swept up in the fervour. So I make ridiculous compromises like checking the outcomes of the games, but avoiding official sites. As if my clicks mattered in the grand scheme of things. And in the even that our national team survives the knockout stage, it will become even harder to keep my attention averted.
I'm very take-it-or-leave-it about the game in general, so deciding not to watch the matches was easy for me (although I did have to fight off the temptation to stop into my favourite pub for the last half hour of USA vs Germany yesterday). FIFA is not one iota less odious than the IOC and it's been something like a decade since I decided I was done with the Olympics for good. Several commentators have made the observation that enough people have finally wised up to the utter venality of these organisations and the vast exaggeration of the benefits to the host countries that, in future, the only willing hosts will be authoritarian regimes looking to shore up their international image (though for Qatar, this seems to be backfiring badly).
But I know so many people in the same boat as Oliver (given the overwhelming draw of these events, it's inevitable if your circle of friends is the least bit cosmopolitan) that it's impossible for me not to get at little swept up in the fervour. So I make ridiculous compromises like checking the outcomes of the games, but avoiding official sites. As if my clicks mattered in the grand scheme of things. And in the even that our national team survives the knockout stage, it will become even harder to keep my attention averted.