The column argues that football is marketed as a grand, harmless celebration, but actually consumes time, attention, and energy. The writer says he distrusts anything labeled a “celebration,” from supermarket sales to the global football spectacle that arrives every four years and is broadcast for free, asking whether it is really a gift to the masses or a subtle way of taking something from them.
He describes football fans as divided into lovers and non-lovers, but says there is a neglected third group, people who do like football yet choose not to watch. In his view, sitting through 90 minutes of a “good” match is an emotionally manipulative ritual created by “smart human beings” who have drawn the world into it for generations. He says he does not despise fans, but is astonished that people embrace something that costs so much time and thought and still call it simple enjoyment.
The writer says the problem becomes sharper with age, when every hour spent on football means missing something more valuable. He argues that the time and mental resources men devote to sports can affect family life and relationships, and questions whether football’s positive qualities, excitement, bonding, and escape, really outweigh what could be gained from healthier, more natural forms of pleasure and renewal.
He adds that professional football feels less like rest and more like a regulated cult with colors, rules, broadcast schedules, ego, and money. Real “refreshment,” he says, is a walk on a lonely beach without a phone, a hike, or playing football yourself. He concludes that giving up watching years ago was a victory, because it preserved his freedom to choose how to spend his life. The piece is signed by the author as a filmmaker, actor, journalist, and editor of “Gedalia Mail,” who also notes that his recent films are available to watch free of charge.
