Everyone has a podcast these days. It's just what you do. Opinions need to be disseminated into the world, and all that matters is yours. The problem, of course, is that when everyone has a podcast, when everyone is just yelling, no one really listens. So, it just becomes a bit of a race to the bottom.
Only most outlandish opinions stand out. The silliest "takes" tend to win. But what happens if you start to believe your own propaganda? What happens if you say something so angsty that people are forced to listen - and it's so good that you may as well just embody it?
Welcome to the world of soccer punditry, where everyone has a bone to pick, and pretty much no one can offer objective analysis. In fairness, it's the media sphere we live in. Clicks are good. Opinions - even wrong ones - are good. Engagement is everything. The value of saying something intelligent is fading.
This has always been the case in the European game, where former players, in particular, disseminate their perceived injustices into the world. Roy Keane is the grumpy one. Gary Neville is the United apologist. Jamie Carragher is the scouse one. Micah Richards brings the #bantz.
In the United States, though, it's a more recent phenomenon, especially around the current iteration of the men's national team - the old heads taking to their home studios to speak their minds. And with every poor performance, every slip, every showing that falls even slightly short of expectations, the noise grows louder. Podcasts become shoutier, dissenters are dissenting more. A previous generation of footballers, the supposed embodiment of the "good old days" just becomes one ball of anger, dragging nuance out of the game.