Pals, it hurts.
Oh god, it hurts: England lost the final of the Euro 2020 championship.
Yes, it might have happened over a week ago now, but some things take time to heal.
On one hand, my overriding emotion remains a heartyoof…
…but on the other?
Im somehow actually… overflowing with joy?
Not only was this the first final the mens football team reached since 1966 (woo!
), but the current crop of players represent England in… a positive light?
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Genuinely, Im as shocked typing that as you are reading it.
Yes, some of this was overshadowed bysome monumental fucking bellendsthrowing racist abuse at England players.
But the reaction against this has beenheartwarming in itself.
People have come together to fight and condemn it.
The world isnt all bad.
Neither did we, friends.
Over the past month, Ive had the pleasure of watching the games with ACTUAL PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE.
This and prepare yourself gentle reader is where I clumsily pivot into the theme.
Drum roll just… itstechnologythats made this shared sporting experience possible.
The question is what sorta tech?
So very, very wrong.
Let me paint you a picture.
England are in the quarter-finals of the Euros.
But heres the twist: its a good friends birthday and were going on a boat trip.
What am I, a Footie MonsterTM of the highest level, meant to do?
Step one, bring a portable projector with me on the boat.
Thankfully, I hadthe excellent XGIMI MoGo Proon hand:
This little thing is an absolute marvel.
On top of that, it runs Android, so you could just use your favorite video apps.
Overall, exactly the sorta thing you gotta watch football while sailing the high seas/canals.
But, theres a step two on the way.
The thing about boats is… they dont tend to have walls.
So we had to find somewhere to project the match that was also safe from the rain.
And hell, did we find that.
OBSERVE:
The XGIMI MoGo Pro did its job beautifully.
We watched the match protected from the rain, while it pumped out the lovely commentary.
In other words, a dream.
To me, moments like these are the purest expression of consumer technology.
Five or ten years ago, something like this wouldve been borderline unthinkable.
Bring on the World Cup.
