COULD YOU DO IT ON A RAINY NIGHT IN STOKE?
Culture is an important pillar in our society; it inspires us, encourages us to think deeper and explore the depths of our knowledge. From the beginning of time, mankind has created vast and expansive culture that is diversified and cannot be grouped into one. It highlights individuality, creativity, and innovation, as well as the ever-important need for constant evolution, whilst preserving past customs.
Memes, believe it or not, are one of the driving cultures of our young generation. They may seem inherently senseless and not worth investing in time, as many older people would fail to understand the beauty behind a simple picture with a punchline. Sometimes I myself even wonder what the internet has done to this generation, which from the outset appears to be more entitled than ever before.
However, such “meme culture” can be attributed to everyday life. Take the meme “But Could He Do It on a Cold Rainy Night in Stoke?” Any of you reading this that don’t have a significant investment in football or “soccer” will most likely fail to understand what this means, but fear not, you’ll know the inner workings of how this particular meme can be applied to your life.
Stoke City Football Club plays in the English Premier League, possibly the largest and most popular soccer league in the world. Littered with money making goliaths such as Manchester United and Liverpool, the Premier League makes billions of cash every year. Now, back to Stoke. The weather is far from ideal, making that drink down at the local pub seem quite dismal. Constant days of cloud and showers would make anyone go mad. But the footballers of Stoke City are forced to deal with these conditions every season. They train in the coldest and most gloomy environments, and freeze under the bright lights of Britannia Stadium (albeit all quite exaggerated due to the simple fact that Stoke is an average soccer team).
But what does the meme actually mean? How could this meme possibly reveal something deeper and more meaningful when its sole purpose is to make others laugh and be stored in meme folders in personal phones?
It basically suggests that the greatest athletes would struggle against Stoke in their own stadium, because they wouldn’t be able to handle the weather. Lionel Messi, maybe the greatest footballer in the history of the game, wouldn’t even get a shot on target. Why? Because he’d become numb. Serena Williams? Good luck getting full power from that arm, it’ll be victim to frostbite before that happens.
You may be asking yourself, “ok, nice description, but could you hurry along with the point please?” Since you politely asked in your head I just read, here’s the correlation. This meme has a deeper meaning. It questions our willpower; our ability to test the waters and try something new. We as humans become comfortable with our surroundings, and then when faced with new challenges we struggle and sometimes fail to overcome them.
Take that job you have for example. Working 9 till 5, with the same routine every day. It suffices, but you desire something more. A career as a race car driver perhaps! You’ll then fill your head with nonsensical questions like “but what if I’m not good enough?” or “how can I possibly leave everything I have behind for something I may never succeed in?”
How about that girl you like. You want to talk to her, but you’re too afraid of being rejected almost immediately, much to the chagrin of your mates. “What if she doesn’t like me or thinks I’m a creep?”
The question, “but can you do it on a cold rainy night in stoke?” relates to everyday life. Is it even feasible that we as individuals can play at Stoke and win, or perhaps live to tell the tale?
It is already established that humans are complex creatures. We feel obliged to stay within the means of our comfort zone, because no one can tell us otherwise. But beneath a thick layered sense of security lies a will to learn, to adapt, and to evolve. Cavemen don’t exist anymore, and that’s because of human innovation and advancement. We develop the desire to venture into the open world, obtain knowledge, and seek to further ourselves because it is within our very nature.
Some naysayers actually believe Lionel Messi can’t play in Stoke because he’s too acclimatised to the Spanish climate. But that never stopped him from becoming the best player in the world. He’s played in countless stadiums and won, regardless of the circumstances he found himself in. He’s worked incredibly hard to reach the top of the mountain, because he knew that he wanted to be there.
So, sit down, maybe get a nice cup of coffee in your hand or whatever makes you feel comfortable, and just ponder this question, and let it swarm through your medulla oblongata like bees. “Can I Do It on A Rainy Night in Stoke?”
