Thread by @yoginho

There seems to be a surprising amount of confusion regarding the question “which side are you on?” in the extended evolutionary synthesis #EES debate.

Maybe I can clarify using a ballgame analogy?

Thread... 👇🏻

Consider the #EES debate in our field to be something like the last UEFA Champions League final, played between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. Unless you are a big fan of either team, it was a terrible game to watch. And I really couldn’t care less who was going to win it. /1

Now, generally, I am a big fan of football/soccer. But despite (or maybe because of) all the money and prestige involved, this particular game did not represent the sport at its best. The game was so dull at times I started to want *both* teams to loose… /2

The problem is: I think that the excessive amount of attention paid to this particular game is a bad thing for the sport in general. It is too much about the commercial package, too little about the soul of the game, about what makes it exciting. /3

I like soccer/football when it’s not tainted by too much attention and money. And when it’s not focused on a small number of very rich and prominent teams. Most people following the sport are *not* fans of either Liverpool or Spurs. What’s in it for them? /4

It is exactly in this way that the Champions League is tainting the pleasure of watching football/soccer. It sucks all the attention and the money away from the local underdog you support. It prevents all the rest of us to ever get a chance to our five minutes of fame. /5

This impoverishes the experience as a whole. Even though those finalist teams may be capable of playing a beautiful game (they are… much more beautiful that my local team), it takes away the unpredictability, the diversity, in short, all the excitement I ever get out of it. /6

And in the end, aren’t we all taking these high-profile finals a bit too serious? What about all that hooliganism? For all these reasons, I much prefer the kind of local tournament, where you play against your friends. /7

In these tournaments, there are teams, but you can switch sides after each game. There is diversity, since everybody is accepted as a player, even if they may not be the next Megan Rapinoe. It’s competitive (& sometimes harsh) but at the end you can all have a drink together. /8

That’s the kind of game I want to play. Not the sort of team sports exemplified by Champions League finals. I don’t want to be on either team. Next time, I'll skip watching the final altogether. You will find me at the local kick-about. Chance are, I’ll be at the bar... /END