One thing we can all agree on in this Time of Covid is that the days begin to blend together after a while creating a blur of endless, yet somehow fleeting, time.
But maybe this despair is a somewhat modern side effect of the pandemic? Perhaps the modern obsession with Time has made us uniquely susceptible to this particular malaise?
Did the Victorian child clamber up a yet another chimney one day and think to himself, “Cor Blimey Guv’nor! I can’t believe it’s a Tuesday today and make no mistake”?
Did the Hunter Gatherer stare listlessly at a handful of berries and sigh deeply at the thought of yet another evening around the fire arguing with the same four people about whether the Ice Age was real?
Did Mrs. Neanderthal explain her failings to Mr. Neanderthal by lamenting, “The thing is Ogg, I’ve lost track of the days and thought it was Thursday and not Friday. That’s why I forgot to pick up a Tetradactyl egg for brunch tomorrow”?
It’s hard to be definitive about any of these examples, but such highly educated suppositions provide incredibly valuable insights into the lives of our ancestors.
Thankfully, as supporters of the Vancouver Whitecaps, we were already well prepared for the heady mix of despair and deja vu that permeates through society at the moment.
A home game where the Whitecaps face a a weakened opposition and fail to launch a serious attack until the seventy-fifth minute? Been there, done that.
A listless road performance explained away by a graphic showing air corridors to and from the Pacific North West? Pencil that one in for June or July.
A five goal hammering excused by an early red card? Bound to happen.
That exciting new signing scoring in the first two games before falling to the turf and clutching his knee sixty minutes into the third and thus embarking on a season of fitful yet futile recovery attempts? Feels oddly familiar.
Despite miraculously finding themselves still in the playoff hunt with three games remaining, the Whitecaps fall to two successive home defeats and a last day tie with Portland that is described as “Something to build on for next year”? As comforting and as reassuring as a Downton Abbey Christmas special.
Somebody writing about the Whitecaps who can’t think of a way to end the post? (Memo to self: Insert something here before publishing).
Soccer Shorts (The Director's Cut) 