…and I get that, as an American, I will probably never understand the true magnitude of its big-deal-ness—but I truly feel that it’s not worth this:

A soccer fan in China has died from sleep deprivation after saying up for days on end to watch the matches.

China is 11 hours off from Brazil, with the games airing between 11pm and 6am. Die-hard fans who want to watch the games live pull all nighters, go to work in the morning, and repeat the ritual the next night. It’s not known exactly how long the 25-year-old man from the eastern city of Suzhou had stayed up, but IB Times reports it’s believed he’d been up “for days.” It’s also not known whether he died directly from sleep deprivation or from a heart attack related to sleep deprivation. He was found in front of his TV five hours after Netherlands defeated Spain 5-1 in their first round.

It is worth noting that this is not an isolated incident.

IB Times notes that Chinese doctors had warned fans of the risks of sleep deprivation during the World Cup. Chinese hospitals saw a spike of admissions for exhaustion in 2006 and 2010 during the World Cup, and during the 2012 Euros Jiang Xiaoshan died after staying up 11 consecutive nights to watch the games.

Clearly it wouldn’t be the same to record the games and watch them during waking hours. For one thing, there just wouldn’t be enough time to watch them all without foregoing other activities. If you can’t afford to lose your job, it’s your leisure time, your sleep time, or both that have to go. (And we don’t know if this guy worked an 8-hour-a-day job, a 16-hour-a-day job, or if he did nothing at all but sit and watch soccer football for days on end.)

For another thing, anyone in Asia is generally at a disadvantage, considering that most World Cups take place in American or European time zones (I’m including South Africa in this because it’s on the same latitude as parts of Europe, and therefore still basically on the other side of the planet from China.)

Finally, I assume World Cup fandom is like most major American sports events (the Super Bowl, the World Series, March Madness, etc.) in that it’s not just about watching games—it’s also about talking/bragging/commiserating about the games. If you didn’t catch the game live, this isn’t Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. People are not going to respect your request for no spoilers.

But damn, dude, all good things in moderation, because the World Cup (nor any other entertainment event) isn’t worth anyone’s health, let alone anyone’s life. Continue reading →