Why UEFA is Evil and Ronaldo is Right
Some things just don’t mix
After a successful game against Hungary, the move that got the most people talking happened during the press conference. Cristiano Ronaldo’s move? Removing the two Coca-Cola bottles placed in front of him and raising a water bottle instead and exclaiming “ Agua!”. A move that wiped away billions from the company.
And probably there is something in it. His move was followed by players like Paul Pogba removing a bottle of Heineken during a later press conference. Some things just don’t mix. Like being an elite athlete and beverages.
Perhaps it is the pandemic that has made us realize that we need to value our health. That we are on our way into another culture where values and health are our top priority.
Is this the beginning of a health revolution? Will the time after the pandemic be seen as the time when we started talking about health. When celebrities started talking about all the procedures they did to look like they do.How Kendall Jenner doesn’t drink Pepsi and instead drinks water and juice. How they actually train, eat, and what expert help they get. Maybe a new type of sponsorship will be in demand where, instead of cola, they are looking for more compatible sponsors who allow the players with a clear conscience to stand and market asparagus and juice?
What are our stars really selling to us?
Our superstars are happy to tell us to exercise and eat right. Despite that, when it comes down to it, they stand there at UEFA Euro 2020 and market soft drinks and fast food to their audience. A lifestyle that is linked to many of our diseases of affluence. They do not use the great success they have gained to market something that in the long-run benefits all people.
And who is behind it all? UEFA. UEFA wants to fine athletes who make the choice of not promoting dangerous soft drinks. Sports was supposed to be something good that would make us be inspired to exercise and even participate in the sport we watched. Now they want to sell us diabetes in a bottle.
And one can argue that it is their choice what they want to sell. You can of course make money from it. But there is also a moral question as to whether one should. The fact that one has been given so much influence in the public. And for a person or organization to use that influence to market a lifestyle that an innumerable number of studies have linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity can not be seen as anything other than evil.
