When you go to work a World Cup, you go to work a World Cup. I know, I've already conveyed just how busy we are compared to those news crews who only cover ONE country.
Is there time for lunch? Weekly, not daily. Is there time to go out and see the sights? No, unless you count crawling by in traffic on the way to team pressers. What about the first day without games, June 19, surely some reprieve? We can always hope, but that's still some time away.
I’m not by any means a World Cup whiner. I accept and even embrace each day as, in fact, not work, because ... I’m at the World Cup, for gosh sakes.
I’ve spoken to a few journalists who have been following their national team on a daily basis. They have a different issue: It’s like the movie Groundhog Day. Every day is repeat: team training at 10 a.m., presser at 1:30 p.m., and the next morning it's back to training at 10 and then a presser at 1:30.
But Sunday brought with it a small chance to relax, to let the continual buzz of the World Cup subside a bit. Just after FIFA’s daily 11 a.m. news conference at the International Media Center, a handful of journos knew exactly what time it was -- fight time. Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson.
Sure, the French Open women's final had passed us by, but we would not miss this event. We all sat in awe, watching the boxing on large HDTV screens (and the match was on free national network SBS, not pay-per-view). We relished the chance to be spectators.
After the eight-round bout it was back work -- after a respite of an hour or so. But a welcome break at that.
Joe McCurdy
World Sport
