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Thursday, October 15, 2026
Drone show marks Messi’s Argentina national-team farewell
AV Magazine: A drone light show featuring Lionel Messi, the World Cup trophy and Argentina’s national symbols concluded the footballer’s final appearance for the national team at Buenos Aires’ Monumental stadium on 6 October.
Don’t think I’ve ever watched a drone performance live, nevertheless, keeping up with drone shows through online videos. Watching this performance was magnificent, since my previous impression of drone performances was limited to drones simply relocating and rigidly switching colors. This performance created gradual transitions by having individual drones light up and scatter like human waves, dissolving into the next image, which I thought was really cool. As for including the Sancor Seguros logo, I’ve never really understood the point of including sponsors in celebrations dedicated to people. I don’t think anyone would pay much attention to or remember the brand, since the audience is there to appreciate the celebration of the person. Including an unrelated logo would therefore disrupt the aesthetics and mood of the performance. While all the images looked lovely, more attention should have been paid to the details. For example, portraying Messi as a right-footed player when he is actually left-footed undermines the authenticity of the celebration.
As a baby football fan, it's a little surreal to be getting into the sport (and the ensuing political tangles, my real interest -- I like international politics, what can I say) right when two legends of the sport are experiencing such wildly different endings to their careers. We're not here to talk about who is or is not the GOAT, not in this comment section! We're here to talk about drone shows! And, uh, yeah, this one wasn't great. I've yet to see a drone show in person (probably the best way to see them, to be fair), but I've seen many recordings of drone shows and they're always underwhelming. They're just so tacky, and given the current public relations situation with Argentina when you discount Messi... I wouldn't lean into tackiness. And nothing says "tacky" like depicting Messi shooting with the wrong foot and starting your drone show with an insurance ad.
2 comments:
Don’t think I’ve ever watched a drone performance live, nevertheless, keeping up with drone shows through online videos. Watching this performance was magnificent, since my previous impression of drone performances was limited to drones simply relocating and rigidly switching colors. This performance created gradual transitions by having individual drones light up and scatter like human waves, dissolving into the next image, which I thought was really cool. As for including the Sancor Seguros logo, I’ve never really understood the point of including sponsors in celebrations dedicated to people. I don’t think anyone would pay much attention to or remember the brand, since the audience is there to appreciate the celebration of the person. Including an unrelated logo would therefore disrupt the aesthetics and mood of the performance. While all the images looked lovely, more attention should have been paid to the details. For example, portraying Messi as a right-footed player when he is actually left-footed undermines the authenticity of the celebration.
As a baby football fan, it's a little surreal to be getting into the sport (and the ensuing political tangles, my real interest -- I like international politics, what can I say) right when two legends of the sport are experiencing such wildly different endings to their careers. We're not here to talk about who is or is not the GOAT, not in this comment section! We're here to talk about drone shows! And, uh, yeah, this one wasn't great. I've yet to see a drone show in person (probably the best way to see them, to be fair), but I've seen many recordings of drone shows and they're always underwhelming. They're just so tacky, and given the current public relations situation with Argentina when you discount Messi... I wouldn't lean into tackiness. And nothing says "tacky" like depicting Messi shooting with the wrong foot and starting your drone show with an insurance ad.
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