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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
David Hillier

‘Will I be happier if I erase football from my life?’: how I went cold turkey and quit the beautiful game

Football Spurs Sally Baker WhatsApp Harry Kane Arsenal Cambridge United Podcast Tottenham
David Hillier, photographed at White Hart Lane station in London while fellow Spurs fans make their way to a game.
David Hillier, photographed at White Hart Lane station in London while fellow Spurs fans make their way to a match. Photograph: Orlando Gili/The Guardian

What would you do with 25 hours of your life back, every single week? I wondered this after England lost in the men’s World Cup quarter-final in December last year. Through the fug of a festive hangover, memories of the previous evening flooded back: namely me, crying in the middle of a Christmas party, after Harry Kane skied an 84th-minute penalty against France.

Prior to this game, my football consumption had been spiralling out of control. Whether I was watching a match, reading about it, listening to podcasts, tinkering with my fantasy league team or endlessly WhatsApp chatting, some fag-packet maths revealed I spent roughly 25 hours a week preoccupied by football.

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