Dstandish's Weblog

This discussion was held on Zoom on 8 July 2021 and broadcast on 9 July before the final of the UEFA European football championship, which was postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We reflected on recent matches and made some prediction for the final before it was scheduled for 11 July 2021. You can listen by clicking on this link: https://instituteofideas1.podbean.com/e/speed-surprise-and-suspense-could-it-really-be-coming-home/

This discussion followed my first match after the COVID-19 lockdown when I attended the Euro quarter final between England and Ukraine in Rome on 3 July 2020. I greatly enjoyed watching this 4-0 win for England with my wife and a friend.

Many people have asked me what the match was like in terms of COVID-19 restrictions. Everyone had to produce evidence of a negative test, having had the virus or vaccine certificate and these were checked carefully. Given this, it was welcoming that in an open air stadium, stewards did not enforce UEFA rules about needing to wear masks or maintain social distancing. It felt wonderful to feel almost free and celebrate with masses of people again. This was my first match since I had a foreword titled ‘Sport Locked Down’ to a book published in the USA in January 2021. Unfortunately, many of the predictions I made in this about sport not being completely free as the COVID-19 pandemic winds down were evident in terms of restricted travel and more regulations. In addition, points I made about sport becoming more polarised by culture wars were displayed when England players were booed by many fans for taking the knee while the Ukrainian players stood. Link to the book information: https://dstandish.com/2021/01/02/sport-locked-down-my-foreword-to-the-erosion-of-the-american-sporting-ethos-reconsidered-by-j-n-rosen-published-by-tsi-press-on-1-january-2021/