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The World Cup kicks off (ha ha) later this week… as if you hadn’t noticed!
Unless you have been hiding in your room cut off from everything; got lost in the deep, dark labyrinth that is our library, apparently revising, or simply fallen down a rather large hole, it seems unthinkable – or even unforgivable – not realise that the World Cup 2010 is almost upon us. Can’t you feel the excitement burning in the air?
Or would you rather not?
First off I do actually quite like football.
I have been able to header a ball, explain the offside rule correctly and name the England manager, for as long as I can remember.
Occasionally, while my friends would be out shopping, I instead would be found sitting wrapped up munching chips and watching 22 fit men running around in a stadium with thousands of other people on a cold Saturday afternoon. The atmosphere of what’s going to happen next and listening to the often hilarious (and rude) chants that the fans are singing to the opposing team is fun. It’s the same going to other sport matches such as tennis and rugby in that if it’s an intense game played with the top of the profession players, it’s likely to be a great source of entertainment.
Of course there are the massive fans of any sport. They’re just into it on a level I’ll never understand. I’ve learnt that it’s completely pointless to ask any footy fan something if their team is playing on the television; and that some guys can talk about nothing else but the sport for hours. With the World Cup starting, it must be nice for the fans to enjoy their sport and experience the extreme highs and lows while watching their team – and knowing that thousands of others are tuning in as well. I get that some people are in a frenzy of football fever with the World Cup.
However not all of us are.
The fact is, what I can’t stand about the World Cup is that it is everywhere. Despite it taking place thousands of miles away it simply feels like there is no escape from it. Everywhere I go there’s a reminder that it’s on.
It’s like Christmas, but without people asking you what you want as a present and without the good food.
When I go to the supermarket, all I want to know is if they have any good wine or beer on sale. Instead, I’m bombarded with tacky white and red decorations to decorate my car and face with. Err no thanks.
After a day of reading Marx and his economic theory and writing an essay, all I want to do is to relax and watch something really light and fun on the TV. Yet when I turn it on there’s all these adverts advertising products with ‘unbelievable deals’ because it’s the World Cup. Even some of my favourite programmes are having ‘exciting specials’ based on the World Cup such as “Come Dine With Me” WAG special and James Corden hosting a chat show for after the games.
Now, I love James Corden, but I don’t want to spend an hour of my time listening to some people analysing where it all went wrong on a game that is over.
So, frankly, the World Cup is just a little bit too much for me. I like football as a sport, but with the World Cup everything is advertised in a way that suggests I should buy the product to be patriotic. By being unable to escape World Cup fever I, a relative football fan, am already sick of it and it’s not even started. The constant advertisement of buy this and that, and the way it’s always in the news despite there being other sports, has cheapened the game into just another advertising ploy. It’s just all a bit hyped up and overdone. All this fake corny advertising seems to detract away from the fact that the World Cup is a one-month tournament of football that, after all, is just a game.
Sorry fans but it is. Yes a little patriotism is nice (a completely different topic) but not everyone likes football. There are some who cannot stand it.
So, no thanks, I will not be rushing out in my patriotic duty to buy a new television to watch it on; or rush out to buy beer along with my fellow countryman (partly because as students we’re poor).
Saying all this though, there is one definite benefit: I will be taking advantage of the pizza deals – because, well, a girl has got to eat! Can’t really complain about cheap food!
I hardly think a few adverts on the TV are reason to brand the World Cup unbearably ubiquitous. If you "quite like" football, then watch "quite a few of the games." If you don't want to do even that, then it isn't difficult to avoid James Corden's football show and the occasional novelty show......do you usually find adverts entertaining?
There aren't exactly 'a few adverts' though are there? That is sort of the point of this article...
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