How Badly Is Your Memory Of Recent Tournaments Slipping?

[Satchmo Distel]

I had totally forgotten that Italy didn't qualify for WC 2018, even though I could recall their 1984 and 1992 non-qualifications for the Euros as clear as a bell. What's going on? I can only assume that football has become something I only pay attention to while it's happening* and I have no desire to retain it unless it gave me particular pleasure (England's defeats in every major tournament are all present and correct in the mind, but not every goal).

Is there a technical term for this? Do other posters have similar experiences?

*What I mean by this is that when I was younger, I'd review (and re-view) games and whole tournaments a lot of times, but I no longer do this. I'd keep and re-read the WSC tournament reviews and revisit tournaments when the next one began (even the qualifiers). I also think the smaller size of tournaments helped; there's no way I'm going go remember 24 team Euros in detail, but 16 is easy if it's a classic (and even when not, see Euro 96).

The other issue is repetition and perhaps feeling (ethnocentrically) that Slovakia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Serbia multiplied by all their finals appearances is just a fucking blur, and certain countries (Russia, Turkey?) seem (in this jaded, western-biased view) to have become ever-present while doing fuck-all so what's to remember about them?

[Amor de Cosmos]

There were other tournaments... ?

[ursus arctos]

Some of this is just age and the increase in the number of teams, but it is also the case that the issues associated with Russia's hosting in 2018 caused most all of us to temper our enthusiasm for and attention to that tournament (and some of us to boycott it entirely). That has been replicated with Qatar 2022, the omnishambles of the imminent Copa America and this trans-European Championship (though to a lesser extent than the other three).

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

This is a similar thing to which year your FA Cup finals memory goes up to - I bet I'm not alone on here in have detailed knowledge of the 70s and 80s, and most of the 90s, but after that I know vaguely which teams won it on occasion and remember individual matches if they align with other things but I'd get trounced in a quiz that involved knowing the years and scorelines.

[ursus arctos]

A personal corollary to this is that I am much stronger on Wirld Series results from the 1910s than the 2010s

[DCI Harry Batt]

I have very little memory of any international football, tournaments / games / players etc. I don't watch much, I'm not really interested, and I don't remember stuff like that anyway. So it's a bit of a perfect storm.

[Foot of Astaire's]

I 'remember' more about the 74 World Cup which I was too young to see at the time, than I do about many recent tournaments I actually did watch a bit of.

I suppose the other issue is, like club football, as I've got older, I'm less interested in football itself and largely just focus on my own team. Euros 2008 is just a blur as with England not being there, I couldn't summon up enough interest to watch much of it.

[Duncan Gardner]

Oddly enough I remember 2008 more vividly than most of the others from 1996 to 2014

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Part of the problem with trying to recall 2008 is that in terms of eventual outcome and indeed how a lot of the matches went it sort of merges with 2010 and 2012. Four years of commentators drooling over Xavi and Iniesta passing the ball back and forward to each other before finally letting Fernando Torres kick it into the net.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Greece won a Euros once and people got all cross. I remember that. That must have been before now. In the past. This century? Maybe.

And then in the olden days, did Czechoslovakia win one?

There was a golden goal one time too, wasn't there?

[ad hoc]

Going back this is the sum total of all my memories
2018 - in Russia. England lost to Croatia who lost to France in the final. there was VAR
2016 - Portugal beat France in the final. 1-0 I think. Beyond that i've got nothing
2014 - in Brazil, Germany beat them 7-1 in the semi and then beat Argentina in the final after Neuer committed a brutal foul on Higuain
2012 - Spain won? No idea where it was, or what happened. was it the year that they destroyed Italy in the final? Balotelli took his shirt off at one point in another game?
2010 - Spain won. Iniesta's goal in the final and Pujol's in the semi. Horrible foul by Van Bommel
2008 - Spain? Romania were in it, and had a group of death but didn;t do badly, drawing with France and Italy
2006 - This was the one in Germany that italy won. Grosso's goal and run. Zidane's headbutt
2004 - Greece won. That brilliant Czech Republic Netherlands game. It was in Portugal.

Going further away I remember tons more so won;t go into it as it will take too long. But this genuinely all I remember of the ones above

[tee rex]

On similar lines to the OP, when a match is previewed, especially between teams with a long history, there's always a look back over past encounters and the same games and clips get recycled in the mentions. This helps reinforce certain memories (or myths). For example, England have played Poland approx 163 times (can't be bothered to check) but 1973 gets invoked far more than some of those numerous qualifiers played since. And England v Germany? Euro 2000 barely gets a mention. (England won, it says here).

[DCI Harry Batt]

One of the very few actual proper full-on memories I have is of that wonderful Maradona goal against England. And the second one which was pretty good too. I do actually remember watching that game, where I was, who with, all that.

[Jon]

I'm increasingly accepting (and indeed happy) to live in the moment. I will be all across this tournament like a rash but a month later, no clue. Documenting your reactions eg via OTF is useful as you can go back, if you so choose, at a later date to see how you reacted to things at that time. Similarly, keeping sticker albums and filling in wallcharts helps.

[Sporting]

Part of the problem with trying to recall 2008 is that in terms of eventual outcome and indeed how a lot of the matches went it sort of merges with 2010 and 2012. Four years of commentators drooling over Xavi and Iniesta passing the ball to each other before finally letting Fernando Torres kick it into the net.

Iniesta did score a quite important goal himself.

[Satchmo Distel]

I recall Spain being more attacking in 2008 and having two strikers yet by 2012 they had no striker so there was an evolution into more conservative play (as with Man City I guess).

I am relieved that others recall even less than I do about tournaments generally. My memory is built far too much around wanting England to lose rather than the matches where I was a non-stressed neutral.

[Benjm]

I tend to remember watching games if it was out and about in an interesting or unusual setting (or in the ground for a few in 2008 and 2016) but increasingly little of the general flow of tournaments as experienced from the sofa.

[Patrick Thistle]

I feel like I remember international.tournaments more than, say, Champions League or even FA Cup wins when it's yet another Manyoochelsearsenaliverpoolmancity snorefest.

2018 - England semifinal, undone by Croatia experience and technical skills
2016 - the magnificent Cymru experience; England v Iceland
2014 - loads of memories of this; Germany embarrassing Brazil
2012 - I remember watching this while on holiday IN Devon but I don't remember much from the tournament. I remember feeling like the only person who hated tiki-taka
2010 - the emerging Germany team; Lampard's goal that wasn't given; Maradona managing; vuvuzelas; Holland's brutality in the final
2008 - don't remember watching much of this
2006 - Zidane's headbutt in the final
2004 - Greece won; England v Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo's wink
2002 - Korea & Japan; we showed these games on the big screen in the cinema I was working in; England beat Argentina with a dodgy penalty; Senegal beat France
2000 - actually, no memories of this

[Third rate Leszno]

I tend to remember watching games if it was out and about in an interesting or unusual setting (or in the ground for a few in 2008 and 2016) but increasingly little of the general flow of tournaments as experienced from the sofa.

Yeah, pretty much this for me. Some games live in the memory because of where I was, and that's obviously amplified significantly if I was actually there. I remember far more of France 2016 than 2008 or 2012 because I went to it, so I was more engaged with it even before I left the UK.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I've just realised that all three of the friends I shared a pub beer garden table with watching England v Germany on a big screen in 2010 - Lampard's "goal" - are now dead.

[Sporting]

I've just realised that all three of the friends I shared a pub beer garden table with watching England v Germany on a big screen in 2010 - Lampard's "goal" - are now dead.

That's sad.

[lambers]

2006 - Zidane's headbutt in the final
2004 - Greece won; England v Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo's wink

I thought the wink was 2006, not sure if that's a reflection of your memory or mine?

[Patrick Thistle]

I thought the wink was 2006, not sure if that's a reflection of your memory or mine?

Haha well if that doesn't say it all...

[Simon G]

It absolutely was 2006 - got Rooney sent off, whereas Rooney went off injured in 04.

[Sunderporinostesta]

I've just realised that all three of the friends I shared a pub beer garden table with watching England v Germany on a big screen in 2010 - Lampard's "goal" - are now dead.

Two of the three I watched Beckhams WC sending off are gone. Somewhere on Upper Street, Islington. It’s pretty sobering stuff.


The general non remembrance of more recent tournaments in comparison to those of childhood may have something to do with watching them in pubs. I know it does in my case. I can charge through FA Cup Final winners, losers, scorers etc from first attending games to leaving school then….nowt.