This summer, every World Cup match included mandatory hydration breaks.
It didn't matter whether it was blistering hot, mild outside, or even played inside a climate-controlled stadium. The break was coming.
And for the first time, hydration wasn't just part of the game.
It became part of the strategy.
I found myself in group texts with friends saying the same thing over and over.
"Just get to the hydration break."
Teams under pressure could regroup. Coaches could reset. Momentum disappeared.
If your team was hanging on, the break was a lifeline.
If your team was dominating, it could completely change the rhythm of the match.
Whether you supported the breaks or hated them, they changed the way the World Cup was played.
For a lot of fans, the optics were impossible to ignore.
Sponsored hydration breaks.
Commercials filling the extra airtime.
It was hard not to wonder whether this was less about player welfare and more about creating another commercial opportunity. It's understandable why so many people came away believing the breaks were, at least in part, a cash grab.
And honestly...
I understand that point of view.
But I also believe something else.
Modern soccer has evolved.
The game is faster than it's ever been. Players sprint more, recover less, and cover more ground than previous generations. Fitness, speed, and physical output have become defining characteristics of the modern game.
This World Cup asked even more of players by adding another match to an already demanding tournament.
Whether FIFA introduced hydration breaks for the right reasons isn't the only question worth asking.
The better question is what those breaks reveal about the demands of today's game.
We've spent the last year thinking about one thing:
How do we take better care of soccer players?
That's why I find myself holding two thoughts that many people think can't exist together.
I don't like mandatory hydration breaks.
I love the uninterrupted rhythm of two 45-minute halves. I love that players have to solve problems in real time without scheduled pauses. To me, that's part of what makes soccer unique.
If we had it our way, the game would continue without mandatory hydration breaks.
But I also believe players deserve better hydration.
Those two ideas don't contradict each other.
The game can be beautiful in its simplicity while still demanding more from the athletes who play it than ever before.
Whether mandatory hydration breaks become a permanent part of soccer or disappear altogether, one thing won't change.
Players are working harder than ever.
They deserve to be cared for accordingly.
That's why we built PARC.
Not because FIFA introduced hydration breaks.
Because the game evolved long before they did.