Perspective?

I'm finding that I don't miss Arsenal, and football, as much as I thought I would.  I hope a few billion humans are coming to the same conclusion.  The economic fallout from this crisis is going to scramble expectations.  The biggest clubs will probably be fine, including Arsenal.  Stadiums may prove not to have been the best investment, though, so Spurs may be regretting their magnificent new edifice and the debt that came with it.  Some clubs weren't far from bankruptcy as it is, and this will push them over the edge.  Players are going to have to take pay cuts.  Our men went first in the EPL, accepting a 12.5% cut, but that is going to be just the start.

Sports in general are a communal experience, both playing and (for most people) spectating.  We've all seen high profile games that were televised before empty stadia.  It's not the same.  There is nothing wrong with a big decline in interest in big time football.  It may even be healthy.  I'll be following Arsenal when things start up again.  I'm even watching recorded games on occasion now.  But I hope I can maintain some more emotional distance.

I got through a messy divorce from the Baltimore Orioles a couple decades ago.  We were happy together from the 1960s through the 1980s, But Peter Angelos came between us, and after a disappointing decade I called it quits and barely even follow them in the paper anymore.  I never watch them try to play.  I'm not saying that Stan Kroenke is as bad as Angelos--yet--but I know there is life after I fall out of love with a club, so I realize I don't actually need Arsenal.  That's liberating.

The Wrong Headline

The Guardian has a story about Arsenal players violating contact guidelines, and several paragraphs down, it says:

Several players have been caught flouting the government guidelines since the UK introduced a lockdown to help curb the spread of coronavirus.
Jack Grealish was found to have attended a house party, Kyle Walker hosted a party of his own with two sex workers and Mason Mount was spotted playing five-a-side with Declan Rice.

Walker was definitely not social distancing.