Cup? What Cup? The Coffee Cup?
Okay, I respect soccer fans out there. Just as I go nuts over finding some historical detail in a place I know well, so you go nuts over a soccer match. But, can you keep it down? The upcoming World Cup, somewhere in Russia, is entering my eyeballs and my ear drums wherever I turn.
I don't even know what day it begins, but already they're acting with the publicity as if it's the best thing since radiation was discovered. Supermarkets have tables set up with all kinds of snacks; appliance stores have discounts to be able to see the games on a new television (and sales seem to have gone up); on the corner of the television screen, whatever it is we're seeing, a countdown is ticking; and my young students have gone beserk over the teams, the dates, and the players.
The problem? That most of the matches will be televised on open television at the hour usually reserved for the evening news. The evening news is one thing we don't like to miss. We can't just switch to another channel, because, aside from the state-run, propaganda-filled Televisión Española, the only other channels we get that broadcast the news, are the ones that are going to show the games. So, during the week or two the Cup lasts, we'll have to check online newspapers, instead.
Luckily, I shan't be a soccer widow. My husband, while appreciating a good match, could care less about the outcome of the Cup, and won't go out of his way to see any of the matches. When I mention that I, too, don't care if Spain is left out in the first games, I am almost called a traitor to my country. Unpatriotic is the least offensive term some will come up with.
What bother me the most is all the attention given to the Cup, as if it's the most important moment of the year. For some, winning the Cup means that Spain is the bestest, strongest, mostest wonderful country in the world. It's the brainwashing that gets to me. Two weeks ago, we were the pits, for different reasons, yet if we win, we're suddenly on top of the world? If those who go nuts over soccer, went nuts over things that really affect society, what a different world this would be.
So, if you watch the matches, fine. Just don't assume everyone is as enthusiastic as you are, and understand that there are people who don't really care who wins. The only sport that has ever caught my eye as an onlooker is baseball. I sometimes watched games in Boston on television before we moved here. Other sports have never interested me, much less soccer and it's super-hero players that earn millions and millions and then mostly try to hide it all from the tax office. Soccer is not the only sport where that happens, of course. Rafa Nadal, tennis player, had to recently change his fiscal domicile because it was at odds with reality and his tax code.
I just don't like all the hype. It's inflated hype, made to buy official products, and associated products, such as snacks and television sets. Besides, I'm a contrary person. The more you try to make me do or like something, the less I want to do or like it. It begins to seem fishy to be prompted so much. What do you want? My wallet? You can't have it. Go away. I don't want to watch the matches, I don't care about the Cup, I don't want to know about soccer. You can keep it.
I don't even know what day it begins, but already they're acting with the publicity as if it's the best thing since radiation was discovered. Supermarkets have tables set up with all kinds of snacks; appliance stores have discounts to be able to see the games on a new television (and sales seem to have gone up); on the corner of the television screen, whatever it is we're seeing, a countdown is ticking; and my young students have gone beserk over the teams, the dates, and the players.
The problem? That most of the matches will be televised on open television at the hour usually reserved for the evening news. The evening news is one thing we don't like to miss. We can't just switch to another channel, because, aside from the state-run, propaganda-filled Televisión Española, the only other channels we get that broadcast the news, are the ones that are going to show the games. So, during the week or two the Cup lasts, we'll have to check online newspapers, instead.
Luckily, I shan't be a soccer widow. My husband, while appreciating a good match, could care less about the outcome of the Cup, and won't go out of his way to see any of the matches. When I mention that I, too, don't care if Spain is left out in the first games, I am almost called a traitor to my country. Unpatriotic is the least offensive term some will come up with.
What bother me the most is all the attention given to the Cup, as if it's the most important moment of the year. For some, winning the Cup means that Spain is the bestest, strongest, mostest wonderful country in the world. It's the brainwashing that gets to me. Two weeks ago, we were the pits, for different reasons, yet if we win, we're suddenly on top of the world? If those who go nuts over soccer, went nuts over things that really affect society, what a different world this would be.
So, if you watch the matches, fine. Just don't assume everyone is as enthusiastic as you are, and understand that there are people who don't really care who wins. The only sport that has ever caught my eye as an onlooker is baseball. I sometimes watched games in Boston on television before we moved here. Other sports have never interested me, much less soccer and it's super-hero players that earn millions and millions and then mostly try to hide it all from the tax office. Soccer is not the only sport where that happens, of course. Rafa Nadal, tennis player, had to recently change his fiscal domicile because it was at odds with reality and his tax code.
I just don't like all the hype. It's inflated hype, made to buy official products, and associated products, such as snacks and television sets. Besides, I'm a contrary person. The more you try to make me do or like something, the less I want to do or like it. It begins to seem fishy to be prompted so much. What do you want? My wallet? You can't have it. Go away. I don't want to watch the matches, I don't care about the Cup, I don't want to know about soccer. You can keep it.
Ha...yes! I live in a country dedicated to soccer as well. Luckily for me, the Dutch are not in the WC this time or we would be suffering the same. Wishing you strength in your endurance!
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