With the World Cup looming, there is still no clear alternative to sports Twitter

Three years ago, when the Women’s World Cup kicked off in Australia and New Zealand, my social media pages were in a strange place. Twitter just turned X, Newcomer Threads was apparently on the riseAnd places like Bluesky haven’t gained much traction yet. It left me with a strange and certainly ridiculous dilemma: I didn’t have a good place to make stupid jokes during games. Now, with the next World Cup set to kick off in Canada, the United States and Mexico, not much has changed.

There were plenty of issues with Twitter even when it was at the height of its popularity, but it also provided a new kind of live experience for many. Its real-time nature and huge audience of geeks from different communities turned live events, from the World Cup to E3, into a feed of commentary, jokes and highlights that served as the perfect second-screen experience. It turned solitary experiences into something more communal and it was something that became so ingrained that I didn’t think much about it until it was gone. It happened around 2023, when Twitter, now X, became so toxic that many users, myself included, decided to jump ship.

This was a good thing in many ways, including personal ones. I sure could do with one less app trying to get all my attention. But Twitter served some valuable functions, both as a news source and as a community-building experiment. The exodus of users has broken things so much that no service does what Twitter did at its peak. Some of the sports community is still on X, But the platform is getting worse. In theory, Threads are a viable alternative, with their Apparently huge user base Enhanced by integration with Instagram. But it never really is feel Live, especially right now, largely because of its algorithmic feed that keeps you from seeing the latest thing in favor of whatever Threads wants to show you.

I had high hopes for Bluesky. Again in 2024, I and other Twitter expats watched Netflix’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson “fight” with a sort of nihilistic delight.The emerging social network was up to the task. A ridiculous scene was turned into something much more entertaining as jokes and screenshots flooded Bluesky in real time. It felt energized in the same way Twitter used to. But in the intervening years, I’ve seen it happen again sparingly, and rarely during sporting events. Bluesky was more or less alive During the Summer Games Festival and the Zelda– Powered by Nintendo Direct.

But my feed was pretty much a ghost town when it came to large-scale esports. And it’s not as if there wasn’t a chance: In recent weeks, there have been the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup, and the Champions League. There was some hype last night when OG Anunoby scored the miracle game-winning goal for the Knicks, but outside of that and some gags about… How tall is Victor Wembanyama?these events did not affect my feed much.

Meanwhile, reactions in the run-up to the World Cup have been particularly muted. There’s a good reason for this that goes beyond changing platform dynamics: the atmosphere surrounding this World Cup was corrupt. The tournament is managed by An openly corrupt organizationMost of the matches are held in a country that seems intent on exploiting the event As an exercise They were meant to distract from brutal immigration policies, high-level corruption, and more. It’s not that I didn’t see any information about the World Cup on Bluesky, but it was primarily headlines about Veteran Somali referee unable to enter USor The Iranian team is forced to fly in and out of the country every match dayor Ridiculously expensive ticket prices lead to alarming attendance numbers.

All that said, the atmosphere has been pretty grim in the lead-up to the most recent World Cup, dating back to Russia in 2018, and there is still plenty of excitement on match days. One exciting match It can be overshadowed by a lot of bad. Being a modern sports fan involves a certain level of cognitive dissonance. I love the game itself, and the way it brings together a global community, but I hate supporting most organizations that profit from events like the World Cup. It’s an uneasy balance, as I realize how terrible FIFA is, but I’ll still be watching when Canada takes the field.

I also know that I’m not alone in this. The World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet, and one that only takes place every four years, ensuring that the hype will be at its peak by the time the tournament starts. The 2026 edition is full of compelling stories – it’s the last dance for legends like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and the first shot at glory for the likes of Lamine Yamal – so plenty of people will be tuning in, especially with an expanded line-up of teams. Bad feelings are not enough to explain the relative silence.

Perhaps the real answer is that Twitter around 2018 was a blip, a kind of unique experience that would never be repeated, especially as the internet became more fractured and destabilized. Maybe that’s not a bad thing. But as someone who spent years posting after seeing a special goal as a reaction, I can’t help but miss it – watching World Cup openers will never be the same.