17 June 2026
17 June 2026
Hello, dear reader ! If sports do not interest you, do not fear, I will not take up the entirety of this blog with discussion of the World Cup, and I have a few things of a more personal nature I wish to discuss. That being said, it is remarkable to me how fervently and powerfully my love of football (soccer, for any who prefer to call it by its American name) returns every four years. I do hope that this time my love of the sport is retained beyond the bounds of the world cup, and I have a number of teams I intend on turning my support to once it concludes.
At time of writing, most of the teams have played their initial group match, with only two more groups to play. For any unfamiliar with the World Cup, there are two main sections to it. The first, which we currently are in, sees the teams split up into groups of four, who all play each other ; when all the teams have played one another, the best two (and, in some cases, three) teams all move to a more traditional tournament bracket, with elimination matches until the final match.
From what has so far transpired, the biggest surprise to me so far has been the United States’ 4-1 victory against Paraguay. While I still am fully confident the American team has no chance of winning, perhaps their poor ability is somewhat overemphasized, a holdover from when American football was both setup and punchline. Their biggest hurdle in this stage will be Australia, but I expect them to at least make it to the elimination stage. Beyond them, I have been pleased at the performance of a number of non-European and North American countries. Of these, perhaps the best example was Cape Verde, who found themselves tying to Spain. Senegal also performed incredibly well, despite their 3-1 loss to France.
It should be said that I am going to be supporting the French national team. This should be, I expect, no great surprise, especially to any reading this who know me well. Failing that, I hope a non-European team will win (although things look bleak for my preferred of those teams, Algeria and Tunisia), with the possible exception of Argentina, who I still hold a bit of a grudge against for their defeat of France in the final match of the last World Cup. I am adamant that France has the best chance, if not one of the best chances, to win the entire cup, though of course it remains to be seen.
Turning away from the World Cup, dear readers I am delighted to tell you that I feel at this present moment an inexplicable wellspring of happiness within me. Perhaps I am excited for a planned meeting with an actual world friend, or am feeling invigorated more broadly from my network of friends, partners, and acquaintances online, or maybe it is something else entirely. Regardless of the exact cause, I am currently able to see the beauty of the world in a way not always available to me, and I am more than glad to partake in enjoying even simple things, such as the breeze rushing past my open window even as I type this. Would that all my days could feel like this ; I will not get into specifics, but yesterday in particular was quite bad, worse by far than the worst of most usual bad days. Thanks to the efforts of those quite close to me, and in part the wonderful France-Senegal match, I was able to get through it. I have little doubt that, were it not for them, I would not be standing at the height I presently find myself at. Thank you.
And with that, I think it is time for me to take my leave. I intended on speaking on a few more things, including a project I am currently working on in my spare time, but I will only tease it for now. As always, dear reader, thank your for your time, and farewell until next we meet.