July 05, 2018
Is it the end of the Wall Chart?
Myself Being born in the eighties and from the generation spoon fed on wall charts and Panini stickers I fully appreciate the joy they add to a tournament. That said our wall chart has not been filled in this year.
Summers filled with swap swap need in the playground as a child and shiny stickers held in a bundle by an elastic band.
I once spent a school holiday creating jobs at my grandads, knowing he paid handsomely only to blow the lot on stickers on the bike ride home, with these tucked in my waistband I would pedal as fast as I could, itching to open them and see if I had Valderama or Berasi, whilst wondering what job I would create for the next day at grandads.
Now though you are just one app away from a fixtures list, live updates and pop up notifications. Even FIFA on a games console requires in game purchases, unimaginable back in my day. Although it is awesome that every game is available on terrestrial and online. The World Cup has never been so accessible. Which could be what adds the extra excitement being able to follow every single team, all with a simple swipe.
However this comes with its own problems, it is almost impossible to avoid a result if you record it to watch it later, even gifs and memes are spoilers just minutes after the final whistle.
But as the game and the way we enjoy it evolves so does everything around it, the highs and lows seem amplified somewhat, that is partly down to VAR but also the nature of the game, especially the knockout stage.
Tuesday night was edge of your seat stuff with moments of not being able to watch and running in out of rooms to miss penalties. To all England fans it was a forgone conclusion that was inevitable but we also know our history in such situations of years gone by have concluded with such disappointment.
So many emotions evoked just from sport! It is not just a game but the highlight of the year for many, the start of an economical boom, a possible change of English football fate.
So Saturday we play Sweden, the home of gorgeous women and Ikea. My wife thinks that her getting to the airport is more important than the 3pm KO. So how easy is it to avoid the score and watch this later in the evening when the kids are in bed, you've got more chance of finding an S&B product numbered 101.
Is this the golden generation part deux, we believe it is.