With the World Cup coming up, there’s no substitute for a Twitter feed

Three years ago, when the women’s World Cup started in Australia and New Zealand, my diet was unusual. Twitter just changed to X, new Threads seem to be risingand a place like Bluesky had never had so much power. It left me with an odd, and silly, problem: I had nowhere to put dumb jokes in the game. And now, as the next World Cup begins in Canada, the US, and Mexico, not much has changed.

There were many problems with Twitter even though it was very popular, but it also introduced a new kind of life for many. Its real-time nature and large audience from different regions turned events, from the World Cup to E3, into fodder for commentary, jokes, and highlights that became the second best show. It turned a private experience into a public one and it was so ingrained that I didn’t think about it until it was gone. This happened around 2023, when Twitter, now X, became so toxic that many users, including myself, decided to jump ship.

In many ways, including personal ones, that was a good thing. I certainly could do with one less program trying to absorb all my attention. But Twitter served other important purposes, as a news source and community builder. And the exodus of users has disrupted things so much that no service does what Twitter did at its peak. Some of the gameplay remains on the X, but the platform continues to deteriorate. In theory, Threads is a viable alternative, and its own looking like a great user powered by integration with Instagram. But it wasn’t really to hear live, at least for now, mostly because of its algorithmic feed that prevents you from seeing the latest in favor of whatever Threads wants to show you.

I had high hopes for Bluesky. Back in 2024, Me and other Twitter people watched Netflix’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson “fight” is another kind of magic.and the fledgling social network was taking action. A silly show turned into something really fun as jokes and jokes flooded Bluesky in real time. It sounded as loud as Twitter did. But over the years, I’ve noticed that this is happening again a little bit, and usually during the game. Bluesky was definitely alive at the Summer Games Festival and and Zelda– Nintendo Direct.

But my feed has become a joke town when it comes to big games. And it’s not like there haven’t been opportunities: In recent weeks, there have been the NBA, Stanley Cup, and Champions League finals. There was a lot of noise last night when OG Anunoby miraculously won the game for the Knicks, but outside of that are some gags about How tall is Victor Wembanyamathese events did not affect my diet too much.

The response to the preparations for the World Cup, meanwhile, has been severely compromised. There’s a good reason for this beyond the platform change: The buzz around the World Cup here has been distorted. The competition is run by an openly fraudulent organizationand many matches are being held in a country that seems to want to use the event such as exercise His goal was to disrupt brutal immigration policies, high-level corruption, and more. It’s not that I haven’t seen much of the World Cup on Bluesky, but it was mostly World Cup headlines. a former Somali soldier who was unable to enter the USor The Iranian team is forced to travel in and out of the country every matchdayor high-priced tickets that cause concern for attendees.

All that said, the vibes have been very negative in the lead-up to the most recent World Cup celebrations, starting with Russia in 2018, and there was plenty of excitement on match days. One fun game he can cover many evils. Being a fan of modern sports involves a certain level of cognitive dissonance; I love the game, and how it brings people around the world, but I don’t want to support the many organizations that benefit from events like the World Cup. It’s tough, I know how bad FIFA is, but I’m still watching Canada take part.

I also know that I am not alone. The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, held every four years, ensuring that the hype is at an all-time high when the competition begins. The 2026 edition is full of exciting news – it’s the last dance of legends like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and the first shot at glory for the likes of Lamine Yamal – so a lot of people will be listening, especially with bigger groups. The bad vibes is not enough to explain the relative silence.

Perhaps the real answer is that Twitter in 2018 was a flash in the pan, the kind of one-off event that will never be repeated, especially as the Internet becomes increasingly fragmented and disrupted. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. But as someone who spent years writing after seeing a reel-to-reel goal as a guide, I can’t help but miss it – watching the opening game of the World Cup will never be the same.