To say the anti-football lot need to calm down a little?

Personally, I think it's the entitlement that comes with it that gets people's goat. I'm not a football person, but I do follow the NHL. I can't watch many matches live because the US to UK time zone change would mean watching them in the early hours and being knackered for work. That's life - you either take a day off or you catch up in the morning. And yeah, that means avoiding EVERYTIHNG when it's Stanley Cup time otherwise you spoil it for yourself. But for football life stops.
In the words of the iconic Ilya Bryzgalov...

But that's about personal responsibility, not the football. So your problem should be with your colleagues as individuals rather than the football

This is a statement I 100% agree with.

It's the most popular sport in the world. The World Cup is the most prestigious competition. Why attack something that brings joy and excitement to millions? Are you just trying to be superior?

Is the school offering anyone else for pupils who aren't interested in watching the match?

The OP is giving off the sort of really unpleasant vibes that people who don’t like football associate with the mouthiest people who do like football. Ignorance, accusations of lying, demeaning comments, etc all acceptable when you are watching ‘the national sport.’ Only, for a large number of the population (and I’m talking millions of people here) it’s just another sport going on in the background.

This. This is the thing I struggle with about some diehard football supporters. It's the assumption that it is more important than everything going on in people's lives and that failing to support it wholeheartedly makes you either a traitor or some sort of middle class poseur.

It's perfectly possible to like football, to enjoy watching it, even to love watching it, but to also not want it to consume 75% of your waking hours, to dominate conversation to the exclusion of everything else and to justify people having pitched battles in the street over, to it being the justification for sectarianism and violence and excessive alcohol consumption.

Some of us just aren't that into it and that doesn't make us 'anti-football'.

I love watching football and so does one of my DSs, who is 13. He stayed up to watch it, and went to school for 10am this morning, as the teachers had emailed to say the students could do that. I didn't stay up, because I'm too old for that little sleep 🤣 I set my alarm for the end of the game, to make sure he got straight into bed as soon as the final whistle blew. He's tired today, so am I, but it's just one day.

As opposed to the important of a load of men kicking a ball around a field. Which is much more important. 🙄

you can enjoy watching professional sport and not being a hooligan at the same time

> Why should those who couldn't care less about football...
Who are, after all, the vast majority
Ipsos Mori conducted a large (12,000-ish people) poll
Slightly under 85% said they would be watching none, or very little, of the world cup
This is almost identical to the same poll conducted four years ago, slightly higher than for the same question about the olympics
Yet the whole country is supposed to rearrange things for the minority who do watch it

Please don't choke of your vat of superiority! The moon landing was an intensely boring thing to watch, having waited for hours since the eagle landed!

My heart was in my mouth during the last 5 minutes and I knew the result! A couple of years ago the last 10 minutes of the 2003 Rugby WC were shown on TV and I could barely watch even knowing the score for 20+ years.

Compared with dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, landing men on the moon, the fall of the Berlin wall it's pretty insignificant, in a couple of years it will be an answer in Trivial Pursuit.

Many females enjoy sport, including football. Tribalism in sport exists for everyone, but any violence is wrong - whatever the circumstances.

I know the country has lots of problems - but it’s still nice having something to be cheerful about today. 🤷‍♀️.

I hope the hospitals were geared up for extra heart patients turning up at A and E! When we lived in Gib it was well known that St B's anticipated an influx of heart attack patients during big matches. I'm sure that those working in healthcare and other vital roles will be in work as normal. A Headteacher friend e-mailed parents of pupils on Thursday saying that the school day would start after Break but if that created problems for parents getting to work the school would be open at the usual time, he'll be showing the recording of the match for those who wanted it and others will be entertained!

This is very true, at all levels (u7 grassroots up to professional). Hilarious.

Amazing, brilliant game!! Well done England. I watched this morning without knowing the score. Heart in mouth the last 10 minutes. I'm a proud Scot but utterly delighted for England.

Agree with all of this.

To be honest, I don't care at all what supporters do. Stay up. Wear the kit. Decorate their houses. Sing. Go without sleep. Take annual leave. Spend thousands travelling to watch matches. Whatever.

Just don't bang on to me about it. Happy to hear the score but after that, move on.

It's just a sport. Just like tennis. Or rugby. Or cricket. We're not expected to obsess about them.

And let's be honest, we're not going to win. But I have no issue with you (supporters) being obsessed, but don't drag me into your obsession because you sure as hell wouldn't be interested in me droning on about mine.

What pisses me off is the expectation that normal civilised behaviours don't apply because it's football.

There's loads of events or interests other than football that people enjoy, but no one would consider suggesting work gives them an understanding late start the next day because they'd be laughed out of the place - unless it's football.

I live near one of the big Premier league clubs. On match day our roads are clogged, the high street is lined with police and barriers for a mile and a half, the side roads have blokes pissing, there's litter left everywhere - but hey, it's football.

@Sereine
My grandchildren don't go to an under achieving primary. On the post were an OP was contemplating taking her children out of private education, she listed what their school did. My grandchildren's school, only fell short on trips out. Yet they aren't doing much this month. Year 6 have done the transition week, taken home their crap, had the dragon's den/speak out, school fair, so nothing is left. I think litter picking and semi forest school is on the cards. This morning the school is showing the match, but tbf, we are top of the county/country under 12 football teams.
If anyone wants to see a violent game, watch yesterday's rugby, St Helens vs Wigan. It was a case of trying to kill each other, whilst throwing a ball about.

We didn’t watch it. Some helpful souls at 4am did wake us up to tell us it was a win from the street 😂😂
I couldn’t care less if you watched or didn’t. But kids aren’t doing naff all in schools. There’s still 2 weeks to go. My Y10 is doing mock exams and my Y5 is doing normal lessons, spelling tests etc. So you are wrong about that 😂

Now you're just being rude. Probably tired from your late night, bless.

Actually I did say they were sat watching the football - they were!

But I really didn't mean to derail the thread so much - it was supposed to be one example of it being a bit crap to say 'why can't things just pause for the football, it's such a big thing and not that often'. I wasn't expecting OP to respond like that and so turn it into such a 'thing'. I am really grateful for people who have posted nice, supportive (and believing!) messages though. DS1 and I are both great now, and I went on to have another, much better, birth with his younger brother, probably in part because by that point staff did believe that I labour quickly and fairly quietly!

I'm Irish so have no dog in this fight but we lost our minds when we experienced some success in tournaments back in the 90s. And it was bloody brilliant and a key memory for the vast majority of people around at the time. No one remembers that X widgets went out one day late or how tired they felt the next day or whether the service at X business was a bit below par. I mean what is all this striving FOR if we can't have moments snd periods of collective excitement and celebration. They are rare enough and precious and unlike many things nowadays, accessible to all.

I like watching the sport. I detest the violence.