In our column “Green space“ Christof Siemes, Anna Kemper, Oliver Fritsch and Stephan Reich take turns writing about the world of football and the world of football. This article is part of TIME on the weekendissue 48/2024.
I’m not a good role model. I’m not going to the doctor. If I’m really sick, then yes. But I avoid precaution, even though it is important. Not that I’m afraid. I just don’t feel like it or just don’t think about it, and I also don’t like waiting rooms because they give me an idea of physical decline. But you can’t use that as an excuse; going to the urologist would be advisable. From the age of 45, statutory health insurance pays for prostate examinations, so I’m almost eight years over it.
I probably fit the stereotype of my gender. A report from this week reminds me of this. Manchester United will soon be offering insoles to men with weak bladders. The club has them distributed in the stadium and containers set up in the men’s toilets for disposal. Period bucket for men.
Incontinence prevents fans from visiting the stadium, United claims to have found in a survey. There are endless urinals there, but who wants to run to the pint after every beer and miss another goal?
It’s not just business interests that push and drive the club. He wants to do good. This is not a campaign by the beer sponsor, who is hoping for greater sales, but rather a campaign for prostate cancer prevention that was launched by the non-profit organization Prostate Cancer UK.
“I’ve been to a lot of bars and pubs that have hygiene products for women, but none for men,” the club quotes fan Mark Farrington, 56, as saying. After prostate surgery, he was dripping like an open tap for a few weeks, he says United’s homepage. He is all the more grateful to his club. He’s been shying away from the stadium for a long time, but he’ll be returning soon.
But others are also addressed. If you can’t hold water, you don’t have to have cancer. It is estimated that at least one in four men is affected by incontinence. The moment when you realize it’s no longer warm and humid, but just damp…need I go on?
