Soccer's soul being challenged by spectacles

Reports suggest FIFA and Coldplay are collaborating on the first ever World Cup Final halftime show.

Maybe I’m old-fashioned (even though I try to see these things through the eyes of my three teenage kid), but I just don’t think this is a good idea for global soccer long-term. Sports evolve, but history proves that no sport’s dominance is guaranteed. Boxing and horse racing were once kings. College football overshadowed the NFL. Baseball was America’s pastime before the NBA surged past it.

I remember when MLS thought cracking the American market meant shootouts, flashy team names, and countdown clocks. It didn’t take long to realize that fans craved the authenticity of global soccer - that hipsters mattered just as much as soccer moms.

Soccer's global passion comes from its working-class roots, ultras culture, fierce derbies, and pure simplicity. Save the halftime shows for the NFL and NBA. Short-term gimmicks might boost engagement, but long-term they chip away at the soul of the game - building its funeral pyre one spectacle at a time.