Knowhere | There are no rules.

The Manchester City Treble Tour happened in Cape Town today.
I’m no City supporter but I definitely wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to see the trophies that make the football world go round, in person and up close.

It’s astonishing to think that it is these exact pieces of silverware that sit at the heart of multi-billion-dollar industries; that elite athletes have aspired toward while breaking the limits of human ability; that unite billions of people around the world with a shared love and sense of community.
If ever I was humbled to be in front of a 3-meter-long table, it was today.

Now that all is great, but the story behind how that photo was taken is the point of this edition. See, I rocked up to the tour and found a long line of people waiting to take a photo ‘the official way’. The line was in full view of a scorching Cape Town sun and far too long to make the suffering worth it for a Spurs fan.
Notably, when I walked in, I scanned the environment trying to figure out what the rules were - where do I go? must I follow a line? am I allowed to take pictures?

This is something we all do fairly instantaneously and unconsciously whenever we encounter new situations - we try to establish what acceptable behavior is, so that we can submit and be accepted. For the vast majority of cases, when people heed the caution that this instinct gives rise to, an orderly and structured society is maintained.

However, I’ve found that many people default to this behavior even when it’s not strictly necessary.
Most people at the tour today erred on the side of caution - they stood orderly in the line, waiting patiently to take a photo with their sweat-soaked t-shirts.
For whatever reason, probably because I don’t actually support City, I decided to wander the lawns and get photos from the bleachers.
I noticed a tent right in front of the trophies which was partly occupied by the cameras and staff that were taking the photos. It looked like a ‘media tent’ that would’ve been off limits to normal citizens (pun intended), and sure enough, nobody seemed to be venturing in.
And yet, there were no security guards, and it had the best view to snap a sneaky photo of the trophies.
So, I went for it.
And the result, is the once-in-a-lifetime close-up snap that you see above.

I didn’t get kicked out. None of the officials batted an eyelid.
Funnily enough, after I went forward, a number of people from the queue left their spots to come do the exact same thing.

Throughout life, we submit to rules that don’t even exist.
In everyday scenarios, maybe that’s inconsequential.
But if we make the ‘big decisions’ about our life in the same way - watch this video to see what I mean - we’re bound to end up on our death beds with regret.

Thanks for reading
Delano

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