The wonder of choice

When in 2014 Wolves escaped from the third division I wrote a little piece reflecting on how I would miss the certainties that came with third tier football. Games that were played free from play acting allied to a fixture list over which the malign presence of television had little influence. Of course now that Wolves are back in the second division there is more simulation (a Big Brothersesque euphemism for cheating) and you never know from one week to the next when your home games will occur - today’s fixture v Newcastle United being a classic example. And of course this messing with the fixture list is not the exclusive preserve of football.

Once upon a time the BBC had sole rights to the Five Nations Championship. You knew that on the first Saturday in February at 2pm on BBC1 four of the five nations would be playing one another and depending on where you lived you could watch your home nation live. Highlights were shown on BBC2 on the Sunday. There was something rather comforting about these certainties but now, unless I search the tv listings in the paper, I haven’t got a clue what is happening.

Of course it’s all spun to us under the banner of choice, that modern day illusion promoting the notion that our lives are so much better for it. I suppose that if you have grown up knowing no different then you accept things as they are. But if you are slightly longer in the tooth then the old certainties do seem rather appealing.

As for today I have made my choice. I’m not going to the Molineux to watch the game live. I am staying at home to watch the first half of Wales v England. I’ll then watch the start of Wolves v Newcastle and depending on how that game pans out I will split my viewing between that and the second half of the rugby. It’s unlikely that either will be watched in totality. But that, afterall, is the wonder that is choice.

©Mark Brennand