64 games. 31 days. Plenty of late nights and sleep-deprived days. It‘s finally over. Football has been a huge part of my life and will continue to do so, but the constant late nights and early morning routine has taken a toll on my body and mind.
Glad that I don‘t have to wake up groggily in the middle of the night, most times searching frantically and frustratingly for a source to watch the games. That‘s the price for opting out to pay a ridiculous pricing of $113, resulted from a telecommunication company wrestling for the sole right to broadcast the biggest footballing event in the planet. Though it‘s once-in-a-four year extravaganza, football fans like me had to deal with some trade-offs. With most matches being screen at midnight, 3am and 6am, I had to forgo much of the sleep. It has disrupted my routine and left me half awake for most of the day. Stumbling my way to work gingerly and getting through the day without dozing off became a daily tussle in the first couple of weeks.
There were plenty of controversies. Lots of talking points. Plenty of upsets – the minnows performing beyond expectations. Plenty of eyeball popping score lines. The champions had fallen from grace in a shocking manner. Strange that no one’s talking about Spain once they got knocked out of the group stage. There were plenty of bites in this tournament (Suarez‘s involvement aside), it equals the record for the most goals since France 98. Fans around the world voted this as the best World Cup ever. Kudos to Brazil and their people for hosting such a wonderful event.
I heaved a sigh of relief when the games reached the knockout stages. That means break in between games, and it means I can finally recuperate and catch up on some much needed sleep. To be honest, I‘m glad that the World Cup is over. There were some spectucular games but equally, there were some dull games when teams were just playing not to lose. There were many memorable goals that was equally marred by ugly incidents and injuries.
But what‘s an eventful sporting event without all these flash points?
Comes the next world cup to be held in Russia in 2018, the timing will be a lot more favourable. No need to wake up in the wee hours of the morning, no need to fight to stay awake in the office. By then, I‘ll have a new home and friends and family will be invited over. Chips and beers will be aplenty, so will the goals flow freely.