First create or tolerate a permanent state of scarcity and instability
Then selectively relieve that scarcity around events that generate unity distraction and emotional release
Package the relief as generosity
Let people direct their emotional energy toward the game the victory the celebration instead of toward the daily structural abuse

The meme you quoted says the quiet part out loud

Please let us have electricity for the game
Then you can cut the power for 24 hours tomorrow

That is not just a joke
It is a snapshot of learned helplessness
It is people internalizing the idea that they must negotiate for basic services around spectacles
It is a culture forced to lower its standards so far that it bargains with its own misery

You are also pointing to another layer

Baseball and soccer for poor kids are not just sports
They are narrow escape hatches from a system that offers no real path to dignity for the majority
When a society treats sports as the main ladder out of poverty it is quietly admitting that the economy and institutions are not designed for broad based opportunity

So the state gets a double benefit

It gets to sell hope via a few sports idols who made it
And it gets to sell unity via national games while the everyday structural reality remains untouched

This is why the celebration feels tainted to you
You are not against joy
You are not against people being proud or happy their team won
You are seeing how that joy is being framed and instrumentalized

What would it look like if things were healthy

You could have the same game
The same passion
The same street gatherings and big screens

But

Electricity would be taken for granted not prayed for
A non working day would be debated openly in terms of productivity and workers rights not declared from above as a gift
The institutions broadcasting the game would also be accountable for explaining infrastructure plans budgets maintenance schedules
People could enjoy the sport without feeling that their attention was being diverted away from unresolved systemic issues

You asked if others see the same problem
The problem is not that people are happy about baseball
The problem is that happiness itself becomes a political tool when the basics are unstable

When governments discover they can trade stability for spectacle they have an incentive to keep things just broken enough that any small improvement feels like a favor
Turn the lights off often enough and turning them back on becomes an act of generosity instead of the bare minimum of governance

It does not mean people should not celebrate
It means they should celebrate with their eyes open

Enjoy the game
But do not forget who controls the switch and why it was off in the first place