Did you watch the World Cup? Whether you’re into soccer or not, I suspect you saw at least snippets of games. It was impossible to walk into any kind of restaurant or waiting area with a TV and not see it being broadcast. I actually attended a college that had soccer instead of “real” football, but I just never became much of a fan. I had no idea that the World Cup has qualifying rounds that go on for three years and that the final game between Germany and Argentina set a record for television viewership right here in the U.S.
Anything this big is guaranteed to attract nearly non-stop media attention. I tried to ignore most of it and barely noticed that the New York Times referred to the tournament as “five weeks of drama and magic and grace and beauty”. But, an article quoting a Brazilian TV station that called Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones the “Angel of Doom” and the “Biggest Jinx in World Cup History” did get my attention.
Jagger is being blamed by Brazilian soccer fans for their rather dismal performance against Germany, losing 7-1 in the semi-finals. It seems that the last six or so teams he has backed have lost. Soccer and hard rock audiences have a lot in common. They are passionate, loud and often end up stretching fan into fanatic. I imagine it’s a bit disconcerting for him to be on the flip side of all that for a change.
In the big picture, however, the world’s focus has moved away from soccer and Mick Jagger will be remembered as the lead singer of one of the most poplar bands of all time. Many of their songs are classics, including one of my favorites, “Time Is On My Side”. It’s got a catchy tune and, even though they recorded it 50 years ago, you still hear it played. Of course, the “Soul Queen of New Orleans”, Irma Thomas, covered it first and better, but this was the song that launched the Rolling Stones on this side of the Atlantic.
The refrain itself, “time is on my side”, is all about perspective. In the song it means waiting for someone to come back to a relationship. Mick Jagger is 71 years old and, while the band still maintains a busy tour schedule, it’s hard to see how time is on his side as far as continuing to perform. For those soccer teams, whether having a lot of time left in a game would be considered good or bad would most likely depend on if they were winning or losing.
Before they reach the point where they can grasp the concept of time, it’s difficult for children to feel like it’s “on their side”. The same holds for us as adults as we try to plow through the long list of things we feel we have to accomplish at work and at home. It can all be more than a little overwhelming, which, in turn, results in a loss of ability to be productive.
We think a lot about how we can help put time on your side here at Time Timer. That’s why Jan Rogers invented our very first timer nearly 30 years ago, and it’s what we strive for every day. We’ve been running a promotion asking Time Timer users to send us their stories about how they use their timers and the difference it makes in their lives. Our “fans” may not riot and destroy bleachers, but their passion and gratitude comes through loud and clear.
We’ll be sharing the results soon, but there’s still time to tell us your story. Don’t wait! You just might win one of our limited edition color timers!
