Reflection on the World Cup in Qatar

This World Cup was hard to get excited about: the entire precedence of greed for a host country that had no football tradition and the complaints about human rights (something that has nevertheless never been and never will be of FIFA´s concern) were just part of the tale. Having a World Cup in November and December was also strange, difficult to get excited about amid the usual end of year concerns that permeate our lives. 

Finally my feeling was that this World Cup has been worse than any other in terms of fans: most appear focused on their petty idiotic nationalisms and xenophobia. For most people the World Cup is nothing but an excuse to be petty and hateful, rather than enjoy a friendly contest. 

At least there was beer; as in every World Cup, plenty of beer (except of course if you happened to be in Qatar....).

On the footballing side it was also more positive: it was an exciting tournament, with good matches, surprises (which are nevertheless nothing new in a World Cup) and the excitement of a dramatic final. I am personally happy for Argentina, having reached something that I had hoped for many years.

That said, as I have learnt over the years of passionate fandom, my life is the same shit whether my teams win or lose.

Nothing new there.

But as always, it remains strange to have finished this World Cup. The next one will be in USA and Mexico. Maybe I will not be around, but if I am I could travel there depending on what the world looks like at that time... 

But let us see: four years are a long time!

In my office I had put up a poster from World Football Magazine:

I quite like it, and since it will remind me of this World Cup, I will have it framed.