Oh sure, we all like to bang on about the ability to spend more time with out families and about reducing our individual carbon footprints.
But the real and often unspoken benefit of being a self-employed, work from home person is the ability to work when and where you wish.
That is always true; but it is even truer when a major football tournament rolls around. (Just a quick heads-up. If you don’t like football or if you refer to it as soccer, chances are much of what follows will mean precious little to you and you have my permission to skip ahead).
The delayed 2020 European Championship kicked off last week. At the time of writing this, there has been more than 20 matches; and I haven’t missed a single one of them. Admittedly I have watched several over the lid of a laptop. I have watched several more from beneath eyelids hooded with a mix of tiredness and boredom. But every goal, set piece, flash of brilliance and every moment of controversy has played out right before my eyes.
Having consumed well over 1,800 minutes of football, I can testify that – as we have all long believed – football is a microcosm of life. Moreover, it is a microcosm of the demolition industry. Allow me to elucidate.
Euro 2020 has proven that grit, determination and hard work (Hungary) can often outmatch flair and reputation (France). It has proven that without substance, hype and hyperbole are meaningless (England). It has proven that teamwork really does make the dream work (Italy); and that often times the underdog (North Macedonia) is the underdog for a reason. It has proven that past triumphs are no guarantee of current success (Spain); or that even the greatest and most talismanic leader cannot do it alone (Portugal).
Having lost their star player (Christian Eriksen) to an on-pitch cardiac arrest, Denmark has played two and lost two and is effectively on its way out of the competition. In football, as in life and as in demolition, there is no room for sentiment.
Those that have watched as much football as I have or that have been around demolition for a prolonged period of time will know all of this already. But Euro 2020 has also thrown up some lessons for the future in both walks of life.
It has served as a timely reminder that – sooner or later – even the most brilliant, charismatic and accomplished leader (Cristiano Ronaldo) will one day have to hang up their boots; and that a suitable replacement may not be waiting in the wings. It has reminded us that sometimes, a single person can be the beating heart of a team (Sergio Ramos) and that, without them, the rest simply fails to function. And it has reminded us that while some are content spending their time caught up in political and social media furores (England), some just get on with the real work required for success (Italy, again).
Football, like life and like demolition, has a nasty habit of throwing up an unexpected surprise along the way. So there is no guarantee that the team spirit, flair, determination and perseverance displayed by the Italy team so far will actually earn them the trophy. But one week (and counting) into the tournament, the football stars of the Azzurri stand a far better chance than the Instagram stars of England.
