For the Hand of God. For Simeone's cheating. For Gazza's miss. For 2002. For Ronaldo's wink. For the goal that never was. For Iceland. For "he should have squared it". For Chiellini on Saka. For Croatia, Italy, France, Spain
Group stage is the best stage. The tournament is young, summer is young. You’re inundated with an endless marathon of games. All the teams, including yours, are in so anything can happen. Once you get to the quarters you’re reminded that it will all be over soon and you’ll die
Lot of people making a big deal of staying up for the football last night.
Most of you haven't experienced the pain and misery of waking up or staying up during the winter to watch Ashes humiliation after humiliation. Tuning in bleary eyed at 3am to see England are 34-4. Horror.
I’ve read Plato’s Republic several times, and some commentaries on it (yes Bloom too). I’ve also read Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina several times - and truth be told I got more out of that.
It could be a temperament thing. But a novelist who shows human beings goes further for me than someone who talks about them in some theory.