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After-the-Afterparty 🍾
AKA Post-Comp Blues.
It’s real.
Have had this feeling after attending my own and my kid’s competitions, returning from a big vacation (or little), or finishing a big, long consulting gig that was challenging and satisfying. That same feeling came flooding in early this week after 8 weeks of the WC came to an end. All I did was pay attention, write & talk about it, have games on in the background - yet here we are - the dopamine crash, reentry stress, loss of direction, contrast effect is real.
I’m sure I’m not the only one.
So, thought I would throw some great quotes from the poets of the sit-coms that represent the situation.
“I’m not losing it. I’m just…recalibrating” ~ Modern Family (Claire)
It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear” ~ Cheers (Norm)
“I’m fine. This is fine. Everything is fine.” ~ Schitt’s Creek (Alexis)
“Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice - pull down your pants and slide on the ice.” ~ M*A*S*H (Sydney Freedman)
“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything…including drink” ~ Cheers (Coach)
“I’m speechless. I’m without speech. ~ Seinfeld (George)
“When life gives you lemonade, make lemons. Life will be like, What?” ~ Modern Family (Phil)
“Sometimes I do my best thinking when I’m not thinking at all.” ~ Magnum
“We do the job, then we go home” ~ Blue Bloods (Frank)
“If we weren’t all crazy, we would go insane. ~ Jimmy Buffett
Changes In Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
Clean Up 🧹
Just a couple more items on the World Cup
It is being reported the WC watch numbers equate to 2X an NFL regular season.
The numbers are in - THEY ARE HUGE
1.6B - Worldwide viewing estimates of the WC Final, beating 2022 of 1.42B
1.2B - WC HT show.
128.4M - Number of Americans who watched any part of the WC in the USA.
32.2M - Number of Americans who watched on FOX/FS1 AND Telemundo.
18.4M - Number of Americans who just watched on Telemundo.
Over 150M - Adding Peacock viewing that is not reported to the 128.4 number.
66.4M - Number of people who watched the Final in the USA.
20.8M - Number of people who watched Bronze Medal match (more than the USA/Canada Gold Medal Hockey Match). 🦅
9 matches broke the record for the broadcast of a soccer match in the USA (5 USA matches, 4 not)
30% - roughly the number of viewers added for out-of-home viewing.
6.810M Match Attendance across the tournament.
For comparison, the Super Bowl in 2026 had
125M in the USA
190M total, USA & global numbers
FIFA will earn $13B from the 2026 WC, 2022 was at $7.5B.
@mulvihill79 (X) made some interesting observations on the deep dive into the numbers - check him out on X.
The average number of in-home viewers to watch the World Cup - 1.955.
The NFL is the gold standard for this metric, they average 1.685.
FOX had the number 1 network in primetime, cable sports, cable news - a rare trifecta unlikely to ever be duplicated by another company.
12 Billion - Verifiable digital and social media views, the most socially viewed sports event in history.
It is believed the social media viewing drove TV viewership.
It did not cannibalize it, the celebratory tone was a net positive.
By numbers, there were 2 players the b asic USA fan knew - Messi and Ronaldo.
Having to have a known name to drive views was not needed and did not drive views.
No fan watched because they thought the USA would win, making the numbers even more impressive. When people watch the Olympics, they watch to see the USA win.
The Athletic headlines for 2030, probably.
"FIFA’s Decision to Expand to 64 Teams for 2030 Was Sold as ‘More Inclusive.’ It’s Mostly Just Going to Make the Tournament Feel Like a Participation Trophy Factory."
“Argentina’s National Team Keeps Winning Major Tournaments While Completely Failing to Reflect Modern Diversity Standards.”
“Spain’s 2030 World Cup Hosting Bid Continues to Ignore Catalonia’s Push for Recognition in Favor of Centralized Spanish Nationalism.”
“USMNT’s Current Manager Still Feels Like an Outsider Who Doesn’t Understand American Fans or the Country’s Changing Cultural Landscape.”
“Between the Bloated 64-Team Format, Dubious Hosts, and FIFA’s Relentless Commercialization, the 2030 World Cup Already Looks Like It Could Be the Worst Edition in the Tournament’s History.”
Just kidding….these feel like articles from this pre-WC.
Looking Ahead ⚽
We are 4 WEEKS from the kick of the English Premier League season.
What to Expect from the CS
EPL season preview.
20 team-by-team overviews.
New to the EPL - How to Pick a Team Primer from CS.
Once the season starts, we will be back to our usual schedule, and for those new to CS that typically means 2x per week (generally Tuesday’s and Friday’s) give or take.
Appreciate the feedback on the WC.
Looking forward to engaging this EPL season.
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