There is nothing like the first World Cup you enjoy with your kid, writes BBC Sport senior journalist Alex Bysouth. For him, that moment has arrived unexpectedly with his almost six-year-old son, who has become head-over-heels obsessed with the beautiful game.
Four years ago, any effort to watch a match together was met with toddler resistance – the same stubbornness that once greeted suggestions of a midday nap. Now, father and son are knee-deep in Panini swapsies, reeling off France’s all-star attack and pointing out the flags of all 48 nations. “Shiny Brazil!” the boy exclaims.
“BBC journalist Alex Bysouth reflects on the unexpected joy of watching the World Cup with his football-obsessed six-year-old son.”
Bysouth recalls his own childhood World Cups – summers that seemed to last forever, stars like Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Kaka who felt immortal. Those heroes now appear as cut-to crowd shots, greying legends in suits instead of boots, an aura with achy knees. Tournaments that once defined his youth blur into adult ambivalence, postcards plotted along the timeline of his life.
But this World Cup is different. It is not a bedtime-friendly one for those in the UK – no dashing into school early to catch Senegal shock France. Instead, the family gathers at first light, the little boy climbing into bed with his baby brother, listing yesterday’s fixtures and predicting which star will shine next.
The medium through which his son engages is new: YouTube, specifically a creator named Chuffsters who pulled a 99-ranked Pele icon card. “Grandad saw Pele at Goodison Park?” the boy asks – poignant for his grandfather, an Evertonian, but impressive for the child because of that digital card.
Bysouth reflects that falling in love with football must come naturally – through playground grazes and childhood intrigue bred between young mates. He and his wife thought their son might never fall for the sport, and that would have been fine. But now their son is obsessed, kidsplaining celebrations and marvelling at the game’s greatest stars. “Who’s better, Messi or Ronaldo?!” the eternal question, now asked by a new generation.
There is nothing like the wonder of your first World Cup, Bysouth writes – but there is also nothing like the first World Cup you enjoy with your kid.