Monday, February 12, 2007
2018: Do Not Go There
Ah, so I see we are bidding to 'host' the 2018 World Cup. There are two obvious objections: a) we are already showing signs of screwing up the 2012 Olympics and b) our national football team, being the worst in the world, would embarrass us on home turf. The further, non-specific objection is that I am not sure democracies are going to be able to stage such events in the future. Nobody knows what undemocratic China is spending on the 2008 Olympics, but it will certainly be even more - and much much more in relation to the wealth of its population - than we are planning to spend. Democratic populations will learn the cost and will wonder, reasonably enough, whether it is worth paying such monstrous sums for a few weeks of running and jumping or, in the case of football, cheating. Only totalitarian states will be able to get away with it. Oh and, speaking of totalitarians, I see the wiley Sir Alex Ferguson has defended the delicate petals of the football England team against press criticism of their performance. This followed the whining of one Rio Neville about the crowd boos that followed their dismal showing against Spain. Of course, it's all our fault. Why didn't I see that before? 2018? Forget it. Please.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
But Bryan, what of 1966? Inspired win on home turf - we need all the help we can get here.
ReplyDeleteAn irony, surely, if Olympics can only be held in totalitarian states in future?
ReplyDeleteOr you could increase the role of commercial sponsorship, but Atlanta got a load of stick for doing that in 1996.
ReplyDelete"But he has the experience of being Sven-Goran Eriksson's assistant", said Sir Alex Chewing Gum.
ReplyDeleteThe possible implications of this are interesting. What is he supposed to have learnt from the Swede, I wonder?
I remember a short film a long, long time ago called 'The Running,Jumping, and Standing Still Film' (I'm uncertain about the punctuation). Maybe we could win some medals for standing still.
ReplyDeleteI still remember the glorious day in Greece some way back watching them win an Olympic medal for wrestling,their first since 1912, I think, since they won gold for throwing the stone. Small nations need encouragement, not wet blankets...
Ohmygod, it's all a Brown stunt. Even worse. The cost will be beyond imagining.
ReplyDeleteOnly for those of limited imaginations...
ReplyDelete(and I take it all back about your 3 hour day).