World Cup Ennui

What I am about to write is more shocking to me than anything else I have ever shared.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup begins on Thursday, and I have never felt less interested. Normally, as the date rapidly approaches, I begin to experience and extreme level of excitement. After all, it determines which national team, and therefore, which nation, is the best. It showcases the greatest talent, the most exciting players, and the global passion for a sport enjoyed (almost) everywhere.

I normally begin to find myself in the throes of "World Cup Fever", a 6 week long malaise characterized by screaming, heavy drinking, getting up at odd hours, a shirking of life's duties, and night terrors. I will go much of the summer with a sore throat, hoarse from games played on the other side of the globe. I compulsively post the TV schedule for upcoming matches, and meticulously fill out my WC chart, and plan my days around games.

I now find myself in a strange place, completely unexcited, disinterested in the one event I am sure to see plenty of coverage about. I cannot seem to figure out why, though a few reasons do come to mind.

I watch a lot of Soccer. All year long, I watch it. I follow the Premier League, I watch all of West Hams matches, I read all the news, I talk to people with the same obsession. Is it possible I have burned myself out? As time has passed, I have only become more interested in the sport, and have found more ways to think about it. Am I possibly in need of a break? I do like having "summers off" from the game. It allows me to watch baseball or rugby, gives me an opportunity to sleep late on weekends (something I normally do not allow myself during the season,) and, perhaps most importantly, gives my fiancee a much needed break from one true vice.

Is it the rather uninteresting nature of the last few World Cups? As excited as I have been every time, the reality is that some people have considered a number of recent competitions to be a little lackluster. Certainly there have been some less than thrilling finals, save for some theatrics. I can't help but wonder if I have just been hyping this competition to myself for as long as I can recall.

Another consideration might be adulthood. During past cups, I have been a student, or have been in the midst of periods of unemployment or underemployment. This has allowed me to watch every game. Every single match. The entire competition. I am faced now with the reality of having a job, of having responsibilities, of having obligations to which I have committed myself months in advance. Some part of me can't help but wonder if what I am feeling is a sense of "sour grapes" - this is going to be a boring World Cup because I can't dedicate a third of my summer to it.

Certainly there is much to hate about these kinds of events, this World Cup in particular. Brazil is experiencing even more unrest, following many months of protest and aggravation, which, while about many issues, are inextricably linked to the World Cup. John Oliver's take on this has been circulating the social media world in recent days, and he does a wonderful job of summarizing the many things to hate about 2014:

And yet, with only 3 days to go, I can't help but feel I will start to become very eager for the cup. One of my earliest sports-related memories is watching the 1990 world cup final with my dad. In fact, I have watched every world cup since 1990, including a number of finals with my dad. I have watched the US National Team get steadily better with friends. I have gathered with complete strangers to share joy at games that were completely inconsequential. It is the very nature of these shared moments that play such a big part in why my level of enthusiasm is normally so great. Will I, come the end of this week, finally feel like my normal self?