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How over-exaggeration is killing the outlook on football
We’ve all seen exaggerated statements and most of us are guilty of using them ourselves. Watching a good game of football - “That was the best game I’ve ever seen” - only to repeat that phrase seven days later. Player makes a mistake - “They are the worst player I’ve ever seen play football” - said about a player who is playing top flight football because they made one error.
On the surface it’s harmless, but this urge for everything to be the best and the worst really de-sanitises those moments which truly are great, or bad. It also is killing the debate on football in the mainstream. The constant comparing of players and teams and time periods just gets exhausting especially when everything is exaggerated. “This kid is the best player since X” with no thought to back up that statement. Or a team is the “worst champion” of all time when they win a trophy - sure but how can we even calculate that?
The issue is these outrageous statements aren’t said to invite debate, they are said for reactions. And the reactions will come and they will conversely shut down the idea with another extreme. Now everything has to be compared and scaled in order for it to fit. What’s wrong with something being just fine, good, bad, mediocre? Nothing. Except it doesn’t grab the attention.
This isn’t just a fan thing, the media encourage it. They are leaning into this debate sphere hard. Now TV channels showcase people just debating players and teams on who is the best. The best signing, the best player this season, the best team ever. Maybe fewer people would be interested if the topic was “remember this kind of good Fulham team in 2010 that reached a Europa League final”, but it would break the mould and actually allow us to explore something that isn’t the same old garbage we read online. I’m not sure why Fulham were my go to example but that’s kind of my point, there’s no need for an exaggeration there to make that topic interesting. It’s Fulham, in a Europa League final, managed by Roy Hodgson with Bobby Zamora up front.
It’s better than “Rank these Premier League wingers” for the tenth time this season where no doubt one of the choices won’t even be a winger. Or compare these teams from two different time periods or compare their honours. The post below is a Sky Sports News article from the 23rd April, the first one you see when you open Sky Sports Football.
Why does everything have to be a comparison? It’s part of standard football conversation, it can be fun but it just becomes the base for everything. Especially as this is subjective opinion not news. I’d expect it from some outlets but not Sky. There is a time and place for all of these things - Planet Football do some good lists and rankings daily.
We have been surrounded by the Messi versus Ronaldo debate for years and now they are in the twilight of the careers people need something else to latch onto. But it’s just everything, everywhere. Some kid has a good highlight reel - “The next Messi is here”. Spoiler - he isn’t.
I don’t want to sound like I’m being the fun police here, of course there should always be something to enjoy in the conversation around football. But these topics always seem so serious and overdone. There’s nothing wrong with a small angled debate but it’s just so exaggerated when it comes to importance. I just opened my feed to “Does Stockport v Wrexham have the potential to be the best rivalry in the EFL?” There’s a good question in there, a good debate topic. What are some of the good EFL rivalries? What makes Stockport v Wrexham a great rivalry? But of course this topic has to open up with an exaggeration. It has to be focussed around the best.
The biggest culprit buzzword is G.O.A.T. Greatest Of All Time. A phrase that has no reason to be used as much as it is seeing as it is referring to a singular person, team, moment depending on the context. And yes it can be used as a light-hearted reference but it is not something that needs discussing every few weeks as it is a rating that really should not be changing for a number of years.
It’s tiring as it feels the only way we can talk about something is if it is an extreme. There’s so much more to football than worrying about what is the best and the worst. Because when something truly great happens it feels like the superlative has been diminished and we need to reach for something even more extreme.
It’s a shame as there are so many amazing things in football to discuss but the mainstream view is always drawn to the polar ends. Not everything needs a ranking, it can just be enjoyed.