If, amidst the overwhelming global media blanket labelled 'World Cup' you've got the stomach for a few more observations, here's my World Cup Diary!
more compassionate.
5) How, in a year, Eriksson has had a marked effect on English culture
1/ The World Cup opening ceremony was often quite beautiful, imho. Sure, it tailed off into a lacklustre anti-climax, but the first third was breathtakingly lovely, particularly the slower, simply choreographed movements, dancers dressed in costumes somewhere between ancient Korean and Attack of the Clones.
It seems lost on most of the British media, who simply expressed John Bull bemusement (fr'instance The Guardian on the opening ceremony)
2/ Jonathan Glancey was rather better when writing about the wonderful new stadiums. The facilities and organisation have been generally fantastic.
3) Elsewhere in the media, you can hear the struggles with other cultural differences - the "reverential" crowds have bemused the commentators, used to the unthinking noise of the western hordes ;) S'funny that the commentators sound disappointed in the hosts polite response, particularly compared to their utterly joyous exuberance after S.Korea's and Japan's first games - as if supporting their own country was less important than one of the European superpowers (oh and how they've been humbled now).
4) Reaction to football taking over media varies: from
spleen-venting (though near-genius in its insanely focused assault), to rather
"In every other respect Eriksson's presence since January last year has already brought considerable benefits to England and to English football. Nothing spoke more eloquently of his contribution than the mood in and around the camp since they left for Dubai, Korea and Japan seven weeks ago. (He) has reintroduced standards of modesty and dignity to an influential sector of public life. Even the Ulrika Jonsson business, which could have capsized a less stable ship, instead became a useful exercise in establishing the limits of the public's right to know the details of a public figure's private life. On the playing side he has continued the reforming work begun by Sir Alex Ferguson, Arséne Wenger and Gérard Houllier. He has reminded the English, the supporters as well as the players, the value of preparing quietly and thoroughly, of setting achievable goals and of celebrating with restraint - of behaving like professionals, in fact."
Preparing quietly and thoroughly; Setting achievable goals; Behaving like professionals - sounds like good solid design craft. Only the celebrating with restraint doesn't seem to match (but then we don't get paid £100k a week, I guess, so false modesty doesn't enter into it).
6) Much of ITV's presentation is woefully inadequate - utterly insulting. Their on-screen graphics take far too much of the screen too - another manifestation of their bullish ignorant heavy-handedness. When in 'inactive mode', the score takes up too much of the top-left ... when in active mode, the score is superimposed on the bottom half of the screen, which is a problem when the right-hand team is attacking down its left-wing - put simply, you can't see them. In fairness, in France recently, I realised that these graphics may be the official FIFA graphics kit - TF1 had the same presentation (and problems). Yet ITV could override this, as the BBC have done.
The BBC's light and discrete info-strip - mirroring the BBCi toolbar? - is far more suitable, subtly indicating the score, teams, time and branding, gracefully and clearly. The difference between Paul Gasgoine and Alan Hansen, essentially.
However, other aspects of the BBC's presentation have highlighted some of the dangerous components of the complex BBC brand - that sometimes it can stand for being aloof, out-of-touch, elitist and pompous. Barry Davies' commentary certainly brings all of these to the fore, and much of the BBC's presentation has been overly safe and dry, involving much resting on laurels and waiting for the opposition to make the first mistake.
In this respect, ITV did it, fielding the woeful Gasgoigne, Townsend and McCoist. And yet El Tel and Sir Robby Bobson (see The Fiver for that spelling) - former national managers both - bought a tactical acumen to ITV, to which the BBC had no answer (Hansen too laid back to engage, too sure of his own success, akin to the French national team, perhaps). And ITV's late-night anchor, Matt Smith, has been a revelation - sparky, witty, likeable; clearly in-touch. Likewise Robbie Earle has been a real find - one of the few former players who can actually communicate.
