Off-side: To be a fan, or not to be, that is the question
Sports fandom is never defined by logic. Our unhealthy obsession with clubs or players stems from myriad reasons — we often follow in the footsteps of our parents or peers, or we rebel and opt for the other extreme. Should we linger with Barcelona, where Lionel Messi kept us hooked for close to two decades, or do we move with him to the Parisian shores and then to the desert heat of Miami as he embraces the life of an exceptionally well-paid nomad? Not for us Ronaldo and the Saudi sands with their dubious human-rights record, or Jordan Henderson, who will no longer wear the rainbow armband with which he once championed the LGBTQIA+ community. Messi and the allure of Major League Soccer, too, might be discarded as the timings clash rudely with our circadian rhythms, and the Reds — post their folly of joining the rich-only European Super League bandwagon — must learn to forge on without my endorsement.
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