On my own wavelength

In Grade 10 my soccer team were the North West coastal champions. This entitled us to go to Launceston to play Brooks High School (to be Northern champions, I guess?) Before the game we all lined up for some reason; I don't think it was a national anthem but maybe someone said a few words. I went along the opposing line and shook hands with each of them; as I had seen players do on TV in this sort of setup.

No-one else on my team followed my lead. I wasn’t captain or anything, I just felt like I should do it. Every guy I shook hands with, transmitted through his handshake and expression that they thought I was a real specimen. Check out this guy willya.

Anyway how I felt then is how I feel every day in my new spot in the large office at work. I am in a team of one and on some sort of emergency wavelength not shared by anyone else.

World Cup Boycott 2026 version

“If you don't stick to your values when they're being tested, they're not values: they're hobbies.”
― Jon Stewart

It’s World Cup time again. It’s been on for about a week. I am looking forward to the 2030 World Cup which will be hosted in an array of countries; at this stage none of them are actively evil. And I hope against hope that FIFA is broken up and rebuilt from the rubble, between now and then.

I boycotted the 2022 World Cup, which was really hard. I struggled with it. The hardest part is friends and family that want to talk about it. I do not want to say “oh, I am better than you; I am boycotting it”. I cobble together some lame explanation but I don’t like having to do it. I caved in and watched just Australia’s games with Marcus last time.

This time there is FIFA – which gets worse by the day under Gianni Infantino; and there is Donald Trump’s USA which is a perfomatively evil place. Canada and Mexico are also hosting and I apologise to those nations for boycotting their big moment. But come on; this is the 3rd time Mexico has had it. 

The US immigration regime has relished the opportunity to abuse and discriminate against brown people, on a larger than usual scale. They turned away a FIFA-appointed Somali referee on the eve of the tournament. They knew he was Somali. They could have made their bigoted objections earlier and he could have officiated in Mexico and Canada. They wanted a highly-visible controversy, it’s how they like to operate.

Again I am permitting myself to watch Australia's games only.

But I bloody hate my boycott. I loathe myself. Why can’t I just enjoy it? Why can’t I be normal? It’s just soccer, it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s a wonderful treat just once every four years. 

This time it is 50% bigger, so there is a ton of group games and they are being played in daylight work hours in Australian Eastern Standard Time. My team has recently been moved into the big room at work; so I am surrounded by people. And we have a TV set up with the sound up broadcasting every game. People are chatting about it, it's part of the social currency of the office.

Why can’t I just enjoy it? Why can’t I be normal? Why do I have noise cancelling headphones on most of the day? 

The reason why comes down to the Jon Stewart quote at the top. Not cheating is important to me. Not being racist is important to me. And in 2022 and 2026 I have had big opportunities to prove it to myself.