The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Friday, May 11

Hey, everyone!

It’s time to cap Eurovision week with one last ramble before tomorrow’s Grand Final.

Ramble of the Day

I was about to say that today’s ramble leans into my specific interests, but that is not exactly unique to my Hoddles. Regardless, I have always been fascinated with the way the media covers specific things or people. After I saw Black Panther, I asked the Cartilage Free Captain writers to send me recommended readings, since I knew there were plenty out there, making Eurovision is no exception. I’ve spent the week looking up Eurovision articles out of my own curiosity more than anything else, but considering I’ve been given the platform to write whatever the heck I want here, I will share my findings.

I have enjoyed Eurovision coverage almost as long as I have enjoyed Eurovision. It is fairly easy to find articles written by people who understand the enjoyable silliness of the singing contest. That has been the case this year, with Ciara Knight taking the lead on that at JOE.co.uk, ranking this year’s Eurovision contestants on their promo photos and providing honest analysis of some of the song lyrics. Those are both genuinely worth the read if you want to laugh a bit before tuning into tomorrow’s show, if you plan to tune in at all.

As is the case with most things, there is also some more traditional coverage of the event. Recaps of both of this week’s semifinals are easy to find, particularly from publications native to European nations. Similarly, pieces answering questions about who each contestant is have been written, as have profiles of individual contestants. Owen Myers, for example, interviewed this year’s UK participant SuRie for The Guardian.

More than anything, though, this year has seen many try to answer the question: What makes Eurovision so attractive? The New York Times attempted to answer this question by interviewing four superfans from three continents, while Rob Holley looked very closely at a well-known part of the Eurovision fan base to find the answer for The Independent. Additionally, Eve Barlow looked to Eurovision’s past to find its impact on history and queer identity for The Guardian.

Naturally, there have also been more unique pieces dedicated to the song contest, like Clara Guiborg’s dissection of Eurovision winning songs over the last 11 years for the BBC. It is basically a study on certain trends in Eurovision songs, the main one being that Eurovision songs tend to be sadder lately, and that there are geographic patterns to back it up.

Before I go, though, I must return to the songs themselves, because there is no Eurovision without its recognizable songs. A classic preview can be found courtesy of Alex Marshall for The Guardian, with recommendations for the songs to watch. I cannot tell you if it is a good list or not because I never watch the semifinals, or any of the songs in advance, as I like to be surprised on the big day. However, from the little I do know, the list seems like a strong one.

tl;dr: Links of the day, Eurovision edition.

Links of the Day

Carlos Carvalhal will not keep his job at Swansea City with relegation almost certain.

FIFA will allow U.S. territories to vote for the 2026 World Cup hosting rights despite the U.S. bidding in contention to host with Canada and Mexico.

Speaking of that joint Canada-U.S.-Mexico bid, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is not a big fan of it.

Today’s longer read: Patrick Keddie on the Turkish club keeping young girls out of early marriages through football and education for The Guardian