I took a 95-year-old camera to the World Cup. Everyone thought I was crazy.
Fareed Kotb brought a nearly 100-year-old camera to the 2026 World Cup, hoping to connect modern soccer with the tournament's earliest history.
Fareed Kotb brought a nearly 100-year-old camera to the 2026 World Cup, hoping to connect modern soccer with the tournament's earliest history. This
Read Full Story at Business Insider Mkt →Why This Matters
The juxtaposition of a century-old camera against the high-tech spectacle of the 2026 World Cup underscores a deeper cultural tension between tradition and innovation. It challenges perceptions of what constitutes a valid medium in modern sports journalism, reminding audiences that the essence of capturing moments transcends technological sophistication. More than a quirky stunt, this act reaffirms the enduring power of analog storytelling in an increasingly digitalized world.
Background Context
Photography at early World Cups—like the 1930 tournament in Uruguay—relied on bulky, manual cameras that required slow exposure times, often missing the dynamism of live action. The 1920s and 30s marked the infancy of sports photography, where images were prized not for clarity but for their ability to evoke atmosphere. This era also coincided with the global spread of soccer as a unifying cultural force, making such artifacts both historical curiosities and testaments to the sport’s evolution.
What Happens Next
Kotb’s experiment could inspire a niche revival of analog sports photography, particularly among purists and collectors who view digital archives as sterile. It may also prompt broader questions about sustainability in event coverage, as the carbon footprint of high-tech equipment contrasts with the minimal impact of vintage gear. Observers should watch whether major tournaments begin incorporating retro-themed media zones to cater to this growing aesthetic sensibility.
Bigger Picture
This moment reflects a broader backlash against the relentless pace of technological adoption, where retro practices are reclaimed as acts of resistance against algorithmic curation and AI-generated content. It also highlights how sports—often a microcosm of societal values—are increasingly sites for cultural negotiation between nostalgia and progress. As legacy media struggles to retain authenticity, unconventional tools like Kotb’s camera may become unexpected symbols of renewal.
