BY SCM Sports Desk
IT’S the ultimate football fan’s dream—or perhaps a claustrophobic nightmare. Two football-mad blokes have landed the ultimate “job” that will see them watch all 104 matches of the World Cup.
The catch? They have to do it from inside a giant glass cube right in the middle of New York’s bustling Times Square.
Austin and Kevin beat out a staggering 6,000 applicants to be crowned the ultimate couch potatoes. For their “hard work,” they will each pocket a cool $50,000 (around £40,000), alongside an endless supply of free food and drink.
But it’s not all pies and pints. Because of the sheer physical toll of watching weeks of non-stop football, the pair will be subjected to round-the-clock medical monitoring to ensure they don’t lose their marbles—or their eyesight.
Footage revealed on US sports show First Things First showed the custom-built, high-tech glass fishbowl where the lads will live out their tournament destiny under the judgmental gaze of thousands of passing tourists.
”It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, but living in a fishbowl in the center of the universe while trying to digest 104 games of football is going to be mental,” an onlooker remarked.
Meanwhile, back in Blighty, millions of us will be doing the exact same thing from the comfort of our own sofas—completely for free, and without a squad of doctors checking our pulse every time VAR makes a controversial decision!
The Scale of the Tournament: The expanded World Cup features 104 matches (up from the traditional 64). Watching every single minute constitutes roughly 156 hours of football, not including extra time, penalties, or pre- and post-match analysis.
The Campaign: The stunt is part of a massive promotional campaign by US broadcaster FOX (via their streaming platform FOX One) and job site Indeed, who launched a nationwide talent search for a “Chief World Cup Watcher.”
The Venue: Times Square in New York City is one of the world’s busiest pedestrian areas, meaning Austin and Kevin will have absolutely zero privacy, effectively becoming a live tourist attraction for the duration of the tournament.