Appointment Viewing
When I was a kid, my parents instituted a rather draconian rule: No television during dinner. So my sisters and I ate faster, getting our family dinner times down to an average of about seven minutes. Back then, the concern was that the TV screen would distract us from our together time. Well, times have changed. These days, my wife and I practically beg our kids to join us around the big screen for some communal viewing. Compared to everyone scrolling on their own devices, TV time is together time. So it was cause for celebration when our kids, a couple of their friends, and both of our beagles spent multiple hours in the same room at the same time watching the same thing. It was a small victory, made larger by the fact that we were joined by way more than a billion other people doing the same thing. OK, it was still screen time. But at least it was together screen time. Mark O’Connell in the NYT (Gift Article): A Billion Eyes. One Shared Experience. “In these images, TV screens are not an oppressive, degrading or insinuating presence; they are a means not of erasing or escaping the world but of reaching and being reached by it. In a world where everyone experiences his own hyper-individualized flow of images and video and text, minutely optimized for maximum commercial extraction, the World Cup is a rare moment of shared attention.” My family even shared a screenless meal after the game. (And it lasted at least eight minutes.)
+ “Argentina probably held a 4-1 edge in terms of raw numbers, with at least 90 percent of those sporting Messi jerseys. But Spain matched the nervous, distressed Argentine fans in sheer volume, and when Torres drilled his shot — and Argentina missed two last-minute heart-stoppers — well, that was enough to start a celebration that will last for years to come.” From Spain with love: A World Cup final 50 million dreams in the making.
+ Even as hosts, America couldn’t change the beautiful game. But we did add one twist. A halftime show. As soon as I saw the Muppets covering the White Stripes, I realized that I definitely picked the wrong World Cup to stop sniffing glue.
+ The Ringer: 29 Reasons We Loved the 2026 World Cup.
+ The Guardian: From half a million World Cup photos, why I love these the most.
+ Forest Trump: With that many people from around the world locked in on one event, you knew that you know who would want to be at the center of all that attention. Even if that included being booed by the crowd and suffering the humiliation of inserting himself into the winners’ photo op. The Athletic (Gift Article): Trump booed by World Cup final crowd, takes part in trophy presentation. What can I say, Needy Amin strikes again.
