Goal Line
This week was supposed to be about B2B media, events, and marketing services, and why their journey up the Outsell Value Pyramid is real and important. Then soccer finals came along, and it just felt right to focus on the grit and glory of it all. Our world became a smaller, better place. Tech played a back-seat role.
Oh sure satellites beamed games around the world. Controversial VAR replays stirred debate. Polymarket predictions and soccer balls with sensors called it like they saw it. But none of it compared to the raw emotion, the talent, and the play we saw.
The World Cup competition brought the globe together. Amazing games: England winning in Mexico. The Netherlands match with Morocco; Argentina playing Switzerland in Kansas City. The perfect matchups between the four final teams.
Now we are at the ultimate goal line: Argentina and Spain. The two best teams. Messi the goatiest of goats. Spain with its brash band of brothers.
Over the course of the competition, we were able to witness Americans becoming fans of soccer while soccer buffs became fans of America. How fun to watch so many global citizens experiencing the US through their own eyes instead of those of their local media.
Our news and social feeds spread good news for a change – about American hospitality, the friendliness of strangers, the yumminess of ranch dressing, BBQ, and free refills. Even yellow school buses got into the act.
We heard so many national anthems, saw so many flags, and enjoyed the spontaneity of Wonderwall. We saw the Beckhams and Mick and the faces of fans from so many cultures and countries around the world.
We were able to tune out Iran and interest rates and the constant drumbeat of all things AI. From IPOs to ill-conceived datacenters, to a new model Inkling launched by Thinking Machines Labs – go Mira! No drama about auto workers in So. Korea striking because of humanoid robots. No very real privacy controversy over Meta’s big investment in AI-enabled glasses. No worries about IBM’s stock tumbling.
We got to let it all go and let it in a little less.
It was all soccer all the time. We were able to watch these glorious games in the middle of our workday, on a Sunday morning, during the dinner hour, or the middle of the night. For once, we took a break from the bad news and united with fans around the world for some good news – the kind that spreads fast and unites us. And finally, American football was set aside and joined the rest of the world at its soccer party. And oh what a party.