I remember Rushkoff from a documentary on marketing and advertising I watched almost 15 years ago. And also from something he had written that made a big impression, but I still have forgotten what it was. Interesting guy.
As for the football. I've been trying for two years now not to watch it anymore. I feel football has changed too much, with the end justifying the means for every country now, not just Italy and Portugal, etc. All I see is a focus on defense, thwarting any attempt at football by the opponent, trying to score an ugly goal and then defend even more. And then there's all the diving, cheating and trying to influence the referee.
Football is supposed to elevate us, like religion and art can do. But all I see, is a perfect copy of the society we live in, where anything goes and the thieves are celebrated.
I must say that the Scandinavian countries are a big deception to me (being a huge Sweden and Denmark fan in the past), but not as big as the Netherlands has been (my motherland). The Dutch used to be a prime example of what can be achieved when you have the guts and honour of wanting to have the ball, have a great technique and simply score one more goal than your opponent to show that you're the best. They've sacrificed all that on the altar of 'result'. I haven't watched an Oranje game in over 10 years, not even when they made it to the World Cup finals and semis in 2010 and 2014. It's a total disgrace, and now they can't even qualify for tournaments anymore because of their Faustian bargain.
It's nice if the underdog can win every once in a while, but only because it has a great day and is actually better than the opponent. But football has become so physical and tactical that anyone can beat anyone, especially if one team is trying to play football. And nationalism makes sure that 98% of people don't care. It's Eurovision on steroids.
So, maybe football has changed, or maybe I have changed. Either way, I'm happy for Croatia, but I try not to get involved emotionally, because I can't handle the deception. And I wouldn't watch if they didn't at least try to play some football. Hopefully they can show what they're made of against England, but I'm not too sure.
I promised my dad we would go to Zagreb if they make it to the final. A nice CO2 cherry on top of the cake. Oh well, at least my girls are enjoying it.