So, this is the first blog I’ve written in ages, and whilst I’d like to say that I’ve just been too busy to write, the truth is I’d lost a bit of focus and passion for it and I haven’t really found the need to vent quite as much. My football team disappointed all last season, but were so bad that I didn’t even feel angry about it, just sad. Life has been good though, and all is well… Just need to get on with finding what I want to do workwise. But all that tranquility has been shattered by a little plastic horn that is single-handedly ruining the World Cup which I’d looked forward to for the past 4 years…. It’s venting time.
The vuvuzela is the most annoying thing to happen to major televised football competitions since Mick Mcarthy was deemed adequate to use as a co-commentator. The constant droning that emanates from every single stadium is drowning out the atmosphere and stifling the passion of fans, and it is making a very difficult watch.
I fell in love with World Cup football whilst watching USA ’94. I had only recently gotten into football, and watching the best teams come together for 4 weeks to compete at the top level was a genuinely exciting concept to me. I watched pretty much every game that I could in that first World Cup, and as I became more and more obsessed with football, I have seen the sights and spectacles of World Cups past, and really enjoyed every single one since… Up til now.
Don’t get me wrong, I am still enjoying it. Granted the games have been a little slow to get going, and with the exception of the ever proficient Germans, no one has really impressed. However the constant humming, like a swarm of distant mosquitos, whilst first just annoying, is now detracting from the entertainment for me. It’s impossible to follow the game in the same way I am used to. No crowd reaction; no singing; no atmosphere. Just a constant drone…. Maybe I’ll get over it and get used to watching games in this manner… I can only hope, as there’s three weeks left yet!
Other than the vuvu’s, I am enjoying it. The BBC’s coverage, as usual is excellent, with informed pundits and great commentators (Mick aside). ITV is still not quite there. Whether it’s the patronising cut scenes that proceed and follow the ads and analysis which feature poor South African kids scrawling words on a chalk board, or the decision to give Edgar Davids (the world’s most boring pundit) a job in the studio, there’s just something that’s not quite right about the Brighter Side’s coverage. Perhaps they can get Christine Bleakley in to sit next to Adrian for the remainder of the games? Either that or just stop asking Gareth Southgate to give his views on the game!
Moan over, Japan v Cameroon is about to start!
