The day before, media football gave us another reason for discussion. The match between one of the most popular teams, 2DROTS and FC10, ended in a massive fight, if not a fight between footballers and club officials. The game itself ended with a score of 1:1 (2DROTS won on penalties 2:0). And one of the main killers in the skirmish was the famous comedian Denis Dorokhov.
Comedian Dorokhov became hysterical and insulted fans. 2DROTS and FC 10 got into a massive fight during the match
Although the public has long been no longer surprised by such antics on the media football field, active hatred towards the organization and its concept continues to this day. As arguments, theses are cited such as the influence on the young public and the RFU’s unjustified access to participation in the Russian Cup. Andrey Tupikov, a colleague of the Sovsport editorial team, also expressed his point of view. I will add my two cents to this situation.
Telegram channel “Kryseva”
Let’s try to find out if the concept of Media Football is really that bad. We can safely assume that it has become a real way out in the midst of the absolute darkness that reigns in Russian football. The first thesis could be enormous popularity, because it must be admitted that if the match broadcasts attract hundreds of thousands of viewers, this indicates that the project is far from being the most mediocre. As much as you want to deny it, the fight in the last match attracted more attention than an average RPL match attracts.
However, if we delve deeper into the league itself, it is obvious that media football, oddly enough, is not about the sport itself, and if there is any connection between these terms, it is only partially. It would be strange to expect a display of sportsmanship and a high level of skill from football with the prefix “media”. It is evident that football acts here only as a shell, where famous personalities do crazy and sometimes not obvious things, providing the bread and spectacle that the public craves.
2DROTS
Is it bad that Russian celebrities, in collaboration with representatives of the football community, popularize football, although for some not in the most gentlemanly way? Now, in almost every Russian playground you can find children kicking a ball and discussing the latest media league match. Many of them fell in love with this sport precisely thanks to this organization, and not the conditional RPL. If media football fulfills the main goal of sport – its propaganda and encourages younger generations to participate in it, is this project really that bad?
And even the most conservative part of the football community, the ultras, are entering the field. It is worth remembering only the example of the “People’s Team”, whose efforts managed, albeit temporarily, to revive the spirit of sorrow during the absence of fans in the stadiums. Well, to be honest, would stars and idols of the younger generation like Hakim Ziyech come to Russia if it weren’t for media football? Very unlikely. Judging objectively, in one season this project, albeit within its own framework, revived what the RFU officials destroyed.
FC “BEY-BEGI”
And it’s not just about the league’s best clubs participating in the Russian Cup for the second consecutive season. And this, for a second, gives the opportunity to fight with professional clubs. And 2DROTS himself looked very, very dignified in these battles. Therefore, it is not entirely correct to call the media elite amateur football clubs. The guys train several times a week and the coaches usually work better than in other professional clubs.
If we summarize all these theses, the widespread hatred towards football in the media is mostly unjustified. Of course, sometimes the protagonists of the project deserve a little blame for their antics and extravagances, but there is no point in denying that media football is a logical reaction and quite a worthy response to modern Russian football today.
