Thursday, 31 August 2017

Malta-England: decoding the headlines

Day -286 WorldCup2018

An online headline will never be as telling for me as it will be tomorrow late afternoon. As I excitedly approach New York for a weekend of US Open tennis, my mind will be on what I'm going to read when I stop driving, reach for my phone and search for the Malta-England result.

There are one of two websites I will check first, BBC or The Times of Malta. It''ll probably be the BBC first, just because it seems easier. I've gone over the potential headlines in my head and how the first two words may give away what happened and determine my emotional reaction.

On the BBC:

" Lucky England......" Damn, it was close but we lost. Agh, if it was so close couldn't we have at least got a draw?

"Dominant England..." I'm scared to check the result.

"Lacklustre performance..." Hold on, this could be good or bad. A scrappy 1-0 win for England or a draw? Must read more.

"Lowest point...." Yes! We beat them, or at least a draw.

The Times:

" Battling Malta...." Not again. Enough with the battling. Just get a result already.

"Plucky Malta..." Battling, plucky. Same thing. We lost badly.

"Defensive Malta...." We lost badly and didn't even got a shot at goal. Even the reporter is fed up and is just being polite.

"Malta succumbs..." Succumbs not good. Succumbs to superior English performance, to late winner?

"English relief....." Another way of confirming we lost.

"Schembri last....." ....minute winner? We all dream about it, don't we?

What if the first thing I see is a Facebook post by a friend of mine. How will he/she sum it up in a few words? How's that for a challenge? The emotions and associations generated from two or three words. The way those words are received are also influenced by the state of mind and expectations of the reader (me): resigned to news of a defeat but hoping for a miracle.

Of course, ironically after tomorrow is over I'll be back to supporting England come Monday and hoping they make it to Russia. I just want that one huge bit of good news for Malta.

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