Roasting

We are currently enduring a mini heatwave.  This is the third consecutive day where we are under a heat advisory.  I've had to drag my portable AC units out of hibernation for their first use of the year.  But they are not helping me sleep well.  But I think that is as much to do with my mattress as it is with the hot temperatures.  I've just ordered a mattress topper to see if that helps - otherwise I fear I will need a new mattress.  The heatwave was also unfortunate timing for the first World Cup match being held in Seattle (Belgium vs Egypt) today.  Perhaps one of the few games where the hydration breaks were actually necessary.  Apparently the match was well attended but there were still some empty seats.  And the ticket prices were still outrageous.  They are going to be even worse for the next game in Seattle, featuring the US.   

Irrational

I'm still getting my head around how I feel about this World Cup.  It's not hatred I think, more just distaste.  The actual games haven't been too bad so far.  However, it feels more like a "soccer" world cup than a "football" world cup.  If that makes sense.  Perhaps it's all the little tweaks and rule changes being implemented in this tournament (the worst of which is the hydration/advert break dividing the game into quarters).  Ian Wright said that the US has no idea about the spirit of the game.  I am in total agreement.  I would go further.  FIFA also has no idea about the spirit of the game - they are driven solely by corporate greed and corruption.  Yet I still end up watching way too many games.  And the more I watch the more I find to get on my nerves.  From the really annoying shadow of a drone flying about above a game, to the clearly artificially enhanced crowd noises on the broadcasts, to the absolutely unwatchable studio segments, to the fake attendance figures (I bet if I show up at Seattle stadium tomorrow for the Belgium vs Egypt game, I could probably get a free ticket just so that there is one less empty seat), to the ridiculousness that Scottish fans had to stay up past 4 am to see their team win (with so many games, how they couldn't find a more accommodating time slot is outrageous).  Did you know that Fox are doing a daily post-game talk show with James Corden.  James Corden!  I thought he was canceled - everybody found out that he was a total prick, and so nobody likes him.  I can't imagine this show gets any viewers whatsoever.  But the broadcaster is Fox, so this shouldn't really come as a surprise (hence why also one of the game analysts is MAGA-loving Alexi Lalas - an excruciatingly horrible presence in the studio even without the politics).  As I write this, we still haven't had a 0-0 game.  I am utterly convinced that England's first game will be the first 0-0 of the tournament and the most dour game of the tournament so far.      

Con Job

My cable and internet bill keeps on going up every month, and I'm sick and tired of it.  And it's time to do something about it.  Rather than go through some AI customer service on the internet or on the phone, I made an appointment at the local store yesterday so that I could speak to someone face-to-face.  Mainly what I wanted was some estimates for how much I was going to pay if I reduced my internet speed and/or if I reduced my channel selection, or even if I cut the cord totally.  For the time being, I have reduced my monthly bill - but at the cost of eliminating a couple of my premium channels.  I feel a bit like I got fleeced - and whatever option I go with, it still feels like a rip off.  What is more aggravating is that I found out that all my surrounding neighbors, including my landlord, have access to fiber internet - but I do not.  I would switch to that in a heartbeat, but instead I'm stuck with getting my internet through my cable company.         

USA 4-1 Paraguay

I suspect there are going to be a lot of posts about the World Cup over the next 3 months, or however long this darn tournament is going to take place.  Apologies for those of you who don't really care for football.  Of course, the US winning their first game in convincing fashion was probably the worst possible result.  It's going to make Americans even more insufferable than they already are.  I do not care for the American fair weather "soccer" fan to start with, and now there are going to be even more of them thinking they are good enough to win the World Cup.  Nope.  Let's see how they actually do against a half-decent side. 

I had to snap a photo of this when it popped up on the screen during the US game:

WTF is "match momentum"?  Jeez.  It looks like another attempt to Americanize our sport.

Commercialization

I now know why the World Cup games are having forced hydration breaks.  It's absolutely nothing to do with making sure players are hydrated enough.  It is all so that Fox can have an extra few advert breaks during the game.  And I'm sure the length of the hydration breaks is being dictated by the sponsors.  Absolutely disgusting.  I think it's the first advert break I've ever seen whilst a game is still being played.  Not even a picture-in-picture advert break - nope, we fully cut away from the game.  It feels very American to try to turn the game into 4 quarters rather than 2 halves - and this is the first step in that direction.

World Cup Preview

We're finally at the eve of the World Cup starting.  Some thoughts on the tournament:

- I hope the US has a really bad World Cup.  Like not even getting out of the group stage.  It's not the team's fault, but thanks to their president they are the pantomime villains and everyone hates them and wants them to lose.

- I don't think England are going to have a good World Cup.  They won't get past the quarter finals.  And their games are going to be painfully frustrating to watch.

- In fact, I think generally the quality of football is going to be very low during this World Cup.  This is courtesy of searing temperatures and a bloated tournament full of too many countries who shouldn't really have qualified.

- Trump has and will ruin this World Cup in much the same way that he is ruining America's 250th birthday.

- This World Cup will be looked on as a disaster, and the US as a terrible host.  The football will be overshadowed by all the off-the-field issues.

- Attendance will be poor at many of the early games, and I fear a Superbowl-like artificiality to the atmosphere of most of the later games.

- I don't have any predictions on who the actual winner will be.  One of the usual suspects.

- It's going to be interesting to see whether the pitches hold up.  Most of the stadiums normally have artificial turf, so they've had to replace this with specially engineered grass - which has the potential to be awful.

- Some of the new rules being implemented for this World Cup will be ridiculous, and I expect at least one major VAR controversy.

- The US "soccer" coverage is going to be interesting.  I've already seen that the first US game will have a 3 hour pre-game show.  Good grief.  But at least the studio host is Rebecca Lowe, who has been the Premier League host here for ages and does a great job at that.  And I notice that Zlatan is going to be one of the pundits - which should be entertaining at least, even if he doesn't exactly provide any interesting insights.  I don't hold high hopes for the quality of commentating - but thankfully they are mostly British.  

   

Team Meeting

I've got a dilemma.  There is a team meet up taking place next Wednesday in Seattle (well, strictly speaking, in Bellevue - but that's the same distance away from me as Seattle is).  I don't really want to go.  It's at some Chinese restaurant where I don't think I'm going to like the food.  But some key people in my department are going to be there - including my manager's manager's manager's manager, my manager's manager's manager and my manager - so I feel some obligation to attend.  I don't really know why some of these people are flying up from California to be here.  This feels like nothing more than a brown nosing event, rather than them actually having some news (good or bad) to impart.  But there is an extra factor to consider.  England are playing their first World Cup game on the same day.  And I would miss it if I was to go to this meeting.  So I honestly don't know what to do.  I can almost guarantee that someone will spoil the score if I record the game and go.  But do I really care that much about watching the game live?  And how important is it for me to go to this meeting?  At no time has anyone said attendance is mandatory, but I feel like it is.  Or at the very least, my absence would be noted.  But do I really care?  As stated previously, I wouldn't mind getting laid off.  I've got until tomorrow to decide whether to go or not.  Let me sleep on it.