I’m a guy who likes to plan things.<\/p>\n
For example, I can tell you what I’m giving as gifts for the next 10 Christmases.<\/p>\n
I can tell you what I’m eating for lunch on a Tuesday three weeks from now.<\/p>\n
I can tell you what I’m wearing to my son’s high school graduation, college graduation, and wedding.<\/p>\n
He’s 11, by the way.<\/p>\n
So when I heard that UEFA, organizing body of the competition known simply as “Champions League” was moving the time of its final match from local time 9 p.m. to local time 6 p.m. (that’s time in Budapest) I was intrigued.<\/p>\n
This is a soccer match nine months from now, by the way.<\/p>\n
UEFA said the new time is “better for families and children to attend and watch on television, use public transport after the game, and for fans to party post-match in host cities.”<\/p>\n
Bwahahaha!<\/p>\n
Football Supporters Europe executive director Ronan Evain says, “An earlier kickoff makes day trips more feasible, reduces travel stress and allows fans to enjoy the occasion without worrying about late-night logistics.”<\/p>\n
This is the used car salesman telling you what a great deal you’re getting. He’s not worried about himself, just about your happiness.<\/p>\n
And soccer fans in Asia, because this is the real reason the game is starting earlier.<\/p>\n
Funny thing about the people who decide when to play these games… they want people watching them so they can sell advertising. Believe it or not it’s a business; they are not doing this for fun or to satisfy some moral obligation.<\/p>\n
You may have done the math and thought, hmm, that’s weird, 6:00 in the evening in Budapest is like 9:00 in the morning in Hollywood. Why the heck would you start a game\u00a0then<\/em>?<\/p>\n Because while Hollywood types are enjoying their avocado toast and not watching soccer, people in India are tuning in. It’s 8:00 at night there, and it happens to be the newly-crowned most populous nation on Earth.<\/p>\n Keep expecting those times to roll backwards, or rather move eastward with the fanbase.<\/p>\n Following the money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’m a guy who likes to plan things. For example, I can tell you what I’m giving as gifts for the next 10 Christmases. I can tell you what I’m eating for lunch on a Tuesday three weeks from now. … Continue reading