Day 19.190: Exile #2’s Sunday Column #560

Exile #2 writes...

We have grown accustomed to sporting events being so much more than a sporting event. During our time in the country we have witnessed t-shirt cannons, and people dressed as hotdogs racing around a baseball diamond, we have seen fireworks rivaling any Guy Fawkes night, and people scrambling for a diamond engagement ring in front of home plate. We are now used to the commercials and spectacle of the Super Bowl, so it was a thing of delight to watch some BBC coverage of the World Cup Final half-time show and hear the gamut of responses - all the way from "I kind of liked it" to Wayne Rooney’s total and utter dismay.

The game itself could have been a little more entertaining, but at the end of the match, at least justice had prevailed. We had felt very ambivalent about the tournament when it began because, well, FIFA but once the football started it was hard not to be swept along because, well, football.