Good morning all, I have taken two booster shots (one for COVID and one for the flu) and both of my arms hurt! That’s the bad news. The good news is that this is my 6th COVID booster and I am now fully boosted. I can start shedding virus on women who sit next to me which will prevent them from getting pregnant or even ovulating. I am also able to turn frogs gay just by urinating. And you should see what I can do with a 5G network. Bill Gates is able to send me antifa orders almost instantaneously now that my brain is fully jacked in to the Matrix*.
Speaking of how woke* I am now: I was reading the Ultra-Leftist BBC News* and they have a huge exposee about how UEFA adding 177 matches to the calendar year this season will result in an additional 120k tonnes of CO2e being put into the atmosphere and thus quickening our impending climate apocalypse.
If I drop the glib attitude and joking tone of the piece for a minute, I would just say once again that FIFA, UEFA and the clubs do not care about the planet or the players. Adding hundreds of extra matches that no one asked for is literally only being done because of greed. And I would also say that the evidence points to the fact that the wealthy are no longer looking at how to solve the climate crisis but instead are looking at how they can insulate themselves (by amassing enough money) from the effects. That, I believe, is where we are.
UEFA have stated that they want to make football “sustainable” but they then go on to remind people that they mean sustainable in terms of balancing environmental sustainability AND financial sustainability. And it’s clear as day that the thumb is on the scale of financial “sustainability”.
The huge “problem” here is the travelling fans. The clubs themselves do burn a disproportionate amount of CO2e per individual because they fly on chartered flights. But the travelling fans, who come in the thousands, are putting far more CO2e into the atmosphere. One insane proposal in the article above suggests that UEFA could eliminate the away fan allocation. UEFA have said that they aren’t considering that but it is indicative of the thought processes and structures of power that it will ultimately be the fans who, of course, will shoulder all of the burden and blame because FIFA and UEFA don’t want to reduce the number of games. The answer isn’t to get rid of the away fans (though I won’t be surprised if this happens eventually because of the security, etc.) it’s to fucking reduce the number of fucking games.
The other thing not at all mentioned in the article above is player welfare. I support the Arsenal and the manager of my club has said that he believes players can play 70 games a season. I consider myself a super fan – I have been almost daily blogging about the Arsenal as if I have some sort of addictive personality or something – and I can say definitively: I DON’T WANT TO SEE MY CLUB PLAY 70 GAMES A SEASON. No, thanks, not interested.
But the only thing that I see which is going to end this ever spiraling out of control greed cyclone is if the players and the fans join together and say enough is enough. Well, that and the coming climate apocalypse and the financial collapse which will happen pretty much along side it. Gonna be hard to put on 70 games a season when everything is on fire and no one has money to buy food!
But if the players and the fans could join together and say “no more” we might just be able to stop FIFA, UEFA and the clubs, before they scorch the entire planet for their own greed.
*So, of course none of this is true BUT these are all things that right wing conspiracy nuts believe.
Good post, only thing I disagree with is that the wealthy were never looking at how to solve the climate crisis.
Which ones would you say were most prominently trying to solve the climate crisis by – specifically – demanding that fossil fuels be left in the ground?
That is literally the only solution.
Partey out AGAIN. Need to get rid of him in January and find someone that is actually reasonably available.
Remember when someone tried to tell me he wasn’t always injured?
I just ignore that he plays for us. It’s easier that way for a variety of reasons.
The game inflation is out of control across sports. My personal solution is to ignore games I used to watch but have decided I don’t really care about, like the League Cup, Europa League, and the preseason tour.
Honestly, UEFA’s “sustainability” solution is probably a net win for fans, as ridiculous as it is. Sometimes you have to thank the powers that be for saving your money and time and let them get on with their brilliant growth strategy without you. If they really stop issuing CL tickets to away fans, that’s one less subscription for me to figure out next year.
My daughter, the Tree Hugger, a recent Master’s of Environmental Science grad works for Environment and Climate Change Canada, which is now an important ministry of the federal government.
She also likes Taylor Swift a lot, though I would stop short at calling her a Swiftie. But when she heard that one of big pop cultural event of 2023, the current Tailor Swift Eras tour, involves 90 semi tractor trailer trucks and a whole lotta private flying (including side trips to watch Travis Kelce make fools of opposing defenses) she was disgusted.
I believe that Taylor Swift has the largest carbon footprint of any celebrity in the world. Just FYI.
It’s late October, it’s pitch dark by 7 pm and the clocks haven’t changed yet. Yet here, in Toronto, Canada, we’re still getting cucumbers and cherry tomatoes from our garden. And it’s 19 C/67 F outside.
WTF?