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England Fans are Right About the World Cup Hydration Breaks
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Hydration breaks aren’t new in soccer. They’ve had them in various forms on this side of the globe for years now.
But FIFA mandated the breaks for this World Cup, which makes sense if you’re playing outside in Miami in June. You don’t want to have a heart attack and die.
However, it looks very stupid when they take these breaks inside of air conditioned stadiums, and then FOX uses the time to show a couple of commercials. The Brits are normally insufferable but bang on when it comes to this topic:
The hydration breaks are a health and safety thing in some venues, but definitely not climate-controlled Jerry World. They didn’t need to stop the action in Dallas between England and Croatia because the players were under a roof and in no danger to begin with.
So that’s the firstpart.
The second part is the decision to dip out to commercial during these pauses. In the past, broadcasters have stayed with the game throughout the hydration break. They show a couple of bench shots, maybe a replay or two, and have the broadcast team do some analysis. So even though the on-field action was paused, they weren’t disconnecting entirely to show us some bullshit ads.
Of course, FOX is gonna go to commercials instead of staying with the game, because if there’s money to be made, they’ll do it. If you’re surprised by that, I’ve got beachfront property in Lawrence, Kansas for the Algerians to rent. Shout out, however, to Telemundo, which is not showing ads during these breaks.
It’s overall annoying because soccer was the last bastion of uninterrupted sporting flow. There are too many commercials in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. At least with the Premier League or MLS you could sit down for 45 minutes, watch the first half, take a short break, then sit down for 45 more minutes, and that’s it.
Now we’re giving an inch that we might not get back, unless we band together in our seething hatred for the hydration advertisement break. Down with FIFA! Down with FOX!
P.S. – I had no idea the British called air condition “aircon.” Apparently they don’t say “AC” because that’s an electrical term over there. “Alternating current.” At least that’s what “the Google” says.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com