The Most Controversial Sporting Event In World History Is About To Start

I do not, at present, know if I will be covering the World Cup again this time.

And it's for the same reason I didn't do Russia, and many, many more.  The people I usually consult with on this matter (other blog readers) have some real-life considerations which are on the table right now, so this, obviously, takes a back burner.

But, all of a sudden, we are now less than a week to the kickoff in Qatar, where the hosts will take on Ecuador next Sunday.

The reasons to boycott are legion:  The radical Muslim homophobia/transphobia/misogyny, the working conditions which have killed hundreds in preparation for this World Cup, the burgeoning political mess this has created (from a FIFA corruption which gave the Middle Eastern postage-stamp the tournament (which Sepp Blatter is even now trying to disavow) to the very reality that the future of sports may be Middle Eastern blood money, to the extent possible!), the weather situation (which has turned the World Cup from a summer event to a winter interruption of most of the domestic leagues and continental competitions -- so much so that the teams will have nary a week to fully assemble before play begins!), and many other considerations.

If there was ever a sporting event in the history of the world which would be so ripe for...  not just rigging, but that the entire thing is a farce on it's face and no one is going to care if FIFA and it's officials actually show it open-faced on a level at which the Japan-Korea tournament would blush in comparison...  I don't know where that would be at this point.

I mean, certainly many lower-level events are even held as open-faced farces for rigging outfits and underground betting schemes and the like, many in the sport of soccer.  But for this situation to be on parade in The World's Largest Sporting Event, I don't know what to tell people...

And so I lay verklempt as we are less than a week from the tournament's start.  I could even see myself starting to cover the event and then asked to stop, for any of about 100 valid reasons!

Stay tuned, if so inclined...