With the World Cup looming, there’s still no clear replacement for sports Twitter. The current landscape of social media networks just isn’t the same for big moments like this. Twitter introduced a new kind of live experience that turned solitary viewing into something more communal and ingrained in our routines.

The exodus to newer platforms has fractured things such that there’s really no service that does what Twitter did at its peak. Threads, with its seemingly huge user base boosted by integration with Instagram, never really feels alive due largely to its algorithmic feed that keeps you from seeing the latest thing in favor of whatever thing Threads wants to show you.

Bluesky was fairly alive during Summer Game Fest and the Zelda-powered Nintendo Direct. But my feed has largely been a ghost town when it comes to large-scale sports, with little more than some gags about how tall Victor Wembanyama is. The vibes around this World Cup have been rancid, making it harder for even the most engaging matches to resonate.

The 2026 edition of the World Cup is filled with compelling storylines—Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s last dances, Lamine Yamal’s first shots at glory—but the bad vibes aren’t enough to explain the relative silence. As someone who spent years posting after seeing a highlight-reel goal as a reflex, I can’t help but miss it.