IN A world of User Generated Content, curated by algorithms just for YOU that can be scrolled through to balm or rile the soul, why do football fanatics watch, let alone care about, opinions?
Why do football pundits put on a suit and espouse the passing options of a playmaker instead of keeping to philanthropic work or going into coaching? Why do TV and radio producers use them as on-air talent when any viewer can see ‘the defender can do better there’ and ‘the rule says if it hits a hand it’s a penalty’?
Is Adam Hurrey, guru of the football cliché, right when he says pundits do a lot of talking ‘without actually saying anything’? I can think of five reasons why the pundit as a species still thrives in the wild:
To Feel Angry
The columns of Jeremy Clarkson, the tweets of Piers Morgan, the media careers of Nigel Farage and Katie Hopkins: these all serve, or served, to monetise the air and suck in the oxygen of debate.
Pundits and soothsayers have always made people act on their words, all the way back to Ancient Greece. Football punditry is not life or death; (altogether now) it’s much more important than that.
In fact, you and I both know it isn’t. What an ex-pro believes has no bearing on the tilting of the earth or the ebbing of the tides. It does serve to enhance the speaker’s brand, especially if their predictions come true or if they make a cogent argument about a player or topic.
Confirmation Bias
この記事は Late Tackle Football Magazine の March - April 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Late Tackle Football Magazine の March - April 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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