We get a lot of news from Las Vegas and not all of it is scary. There are some suggestive ones, such as the 4K restoration of the film Heartbreak (1982), by Francis Ford Coppola, a tribute to the city of neons starring stars such as Harry Dean Stanton, Teri Garr and the brightest Nastassja Kinski. With Tom Waits on the soundtrack. But this delicious reunion with the best cinema is an exception. Las Vegas, beyond being the epitome of an unsustainable city, not only insists on stirring its indigestible cocktail of gambling addiction, family tourism, paid sex and conferences, but also establishes itself as the capital of the more excessive, the better. There is no more brutal immersive experience than that of its Sphere; Its Formula 1 GP sets the tone for urban circuits that threaten to displace the traditional ones (Madrid versus Barcelona) and the boxing matches from there reach global resonance. Their last winning bet (the bank always wins) was to host the buffo match held last night between Nadal and Alcaraz, broadcast on Netflix. The least important thing is how two enormous tennis players played but unmotivated and limping due to injuries: the audience that the exhibition had is assumed to be as spectacular (and dizzying) as its staging.
But, having arrived here, it would be pertinent to ask: is there a future for sport beyond the television gala format? I hope so. For the good fan, the tennis player who reaches a final is not a mushroom that sprouts in the middle of the Nevada desert. The charisma of each finalist is determined by which rivals he has eliminated during the tournament and in what way. The public and the tennis player weave round after round, in one or two weeks of coexistence, a relationship of affection or animosity. It is common in historic club tournaments and is in the very essence of tennis. It is proximity tennis that challenges the global circus.
This reflection is valid for football: Las Vegas would in this case be the equivalent of a Super League that the Premier and the modest and not so modest teams that still believe in meritocracy reject. Also the neighborhood football that flourishes in Barcelona thanks to CE Europa or Sant Andreu and that has something of a popular revolt against the tourist city and the arrogance of the hegemonic clubs. It’s the neighborhood versus Las Vegas.
