I don’t particularly enjoy watching sports - except for tuning in with friends. This time around, even that little affirmation of solidarity has had the joy stripped out of it - mostly because the USA is making the sport a uniquely horrid “spectacle”. Capitalism is taking the opportunity to normalise all the oversized tickets, environmental damage, racist policing, and God knows what else. So, what is our community’s view on watching this horrorshow play out? Is it something we should be boycotting this time? I can only see this tournament being a way for the US elite to yet again brag about their privilege, to put it mildly. And I can’t imagine that would be good for football as a sport.
Quick edit: I think the question now is not whether we are boycotting it but how we will resist this sportswashing as spectators
Edit: I changed the post title due to the need to convey the message.
I’m not too into football as a whole, but my family and I watch a few games of the World Up every time it comes around. Obviously not buying tickets, they’re absurdly expensive, but we’ll probably tune in for Iran’s games, as well as the games for a few other countries we have relatives in. I’m not into sports so I don’t care much for that aspect of the World Cup, it’s definitely more an exercise in cultural pride for me.
Also, the blatant hypocrisy of liberals who were up in arms saying to boycott Qatar last time but have nothing to say about games in the fucking US is not lost on me. I’d bet that the stadium was constructed using undocumented people since they’re such a massive part of California’s construction industry (as well as other states). I’ve only seen a few protests from local groups here on SoCal that are protesting the World Cup, specifically due to ICE, but nothing from the wider mainstream liberal outlets.