Quote Originally Posted by upthemaggies View Post
England were among the four bids for 2018, so there's obviously a lot of bitterness in this country over this particular choice of host but the reason Russia wanted the World Cup was/is for the same reason that every other country who's bid to host it, money.
Putin won't be doing anything that any other president hasn't done at a World Cup, probably a few fleeting glimpses of him in the stands applauding the dancers at the opening ceremony and then shaking the hands of the winning team at the final as they collect their medals and the trophy. What else do you think he's going to be doing? Showing off his judo skills and wrestling with Siberian bears in the center circle at half-time?
Wait and see, UTM. He won't need to be the sole focus of attention. It will all be in the way he presents his country, military might to the fore and people going hungry to facilitate an image of Russia as an affluent society, but luckily he can't fully control either 'the man in the street' or the football. The Russian team will be an embarrassment, with or without opiate assistance.