There was a time when my uncle Ricardo could be considered a technological advance of the first order because, especially on match days, my grandfather persuaded him to stand next to the TV and hold the antenna with his hand: this way he avoided the inappropriate Signal cuts at home and at the same time guarantees more sharpness in the picture.
A custom made wooden stool later arrived and was gifted as a favour, another notable leap in quality as the poor devil was able to sit for the duration of the show to not on earth let go of those horns, not even as Míchel against Brazil dropped his historic right hand off the bar cracked. “It bounced in, it was very clear from here!” he exclaimed indignantly, body tilted and one arm stretched across his back almost like a dragonfly, benefiting remarkably from this new arrangement that combined unknown angles and minimal comfort.
A lot has changed since then, replacing the great offers on new televisions linked to the arrival of the World Cup with advertising for digital platforms where you can enjoy football wherever you want: everything you need, is a mobile phone and some kind of internet connection. Over time, the game has also been infested with all sorts of modern gizmos and knick-knacks.
First there were the boots, recalibrated with the promise of correcting every misfire, and then it was the turn of the jerseys, light, confident and absorbent: it was a matter of time before the balls themselves became the subject of the joke designed , to make life difficult for goalkeepers However, none of these innovations have been as crucial to the distortion of football as the ability to re-arrange games, something the current World Cup in Qatar is – fortunately or unfortunately – taking the cake while she waits for the next one.
We all remember the glaring error of semi-automatic offside in the first period of the opening game, with half the world watching except for the Qatari, who were already leaving the stadium. And how its new generation graphics are able to dissect footballers to almost a millimeter, going against the basic spirit of the standard and turning them into something resembling a ham leg.
Imagine the seriousness of things if Cristiano Ronaldo himself, almost a cyborg in himself, gets away with scoring – self-proclaimed, of course – chip on the ball: Skynet tells about Terminator to watch live. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that the only one content with so much technological advancement is my uncle, who is finally freed from risking his life in exchange for a permit every four years.
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