FIFA World Cup Debates: keyboard warriors

The 2018 FIFA World Cup is the 21st World Cup football tournament, but it will not be the 21st time you would see fans on the internet bash each other about the upcoming games. It would surprise you how your quiet and shy neighbour turns into an absolute warrior trying to defend his/her team on social media after each game they lose. When it comes to football, fans usually put their logic on the back seat and let their pride and love for teams guide their actions. If you still can't grasp the idea of it all, perhaps the riot between the Brazil and Argentina fans can jog the memory. However interesting the drama on the comment threads might become, we fail to understand where the love and pride of these young fans come from.

“I think the idea of debates mostly in the football season comes from the act of loving something from a very young age. Football has become a part of me, and I suppose that has created a 'trigger button',” says Tahseen Nur, with a closet full of trophies piled up from winning football matches. Where there is love, there is pride. For some, football is more about passion than it is a preferred game. Jawad Mahmud Chowdhury believes that football is no less than religion because playing matches and watching his favourite players in the field gives him a rush that he cannot explain. The idea of debating in the comment thread is more than just fighting through the keyboards. It is an expression through which fans can mark their loyalty through heated discussions, loving statuses and emotional hashtags.

Nevertheless, the question is, does it create bad blood? Yes, it most definitely does! You would be surprised to see how the best of friends can brutally fight or groups can argue over who is better than whom. All the while, this debate will always include Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and your friends who support Germany will just sit there “HAHA” reacting to all the threads. Such is life in the world of football fanatics, but the rush and thrill on social media is no less than a festival. So keep your friends close but enemies closer, for this year will not be any different for the fans on the keyboard!