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Original poster

If you hate football what do you do that makes you feel like this?

176 replies

Backhills · 09/07/2021 09:48

Sneer all you like, but you can't knock something that gives people moments like this.

Assuming football doesn't do it for you, where do you get those moments?

[[BBC News - Euro 2020: England fans celebrate as Three Lions make final
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-57758930]]

OP posts:
Kanaloa · 09/07/2021 12:40

I just don’t care for it. I don’t get that screaming shouty feeling about anything because I’m generally not a screamy shouty person. I enjoy reading, watching my favourite tv shows, riding bikes with my kids, going on holidays to different places, but I don’t read pride & prejudice and scream in elation every time Darcy and Lizzie speak.

Watching other people play football just does nothing for me, but even if it did I wouldn’t be shouty and loud about it. I express my enjoyment more quietly.

LiJo2015 · 09/07/2021 12:41

I find the amoumtbofnmoent footballers earn abhorrent. I despise wag culture and the ambition for thousands of girls/women to be wags. I hate the behaviour exhibited by so many footballers which is then expunged from media owing to status/money. I hate the associated violence at games and the association of increased in DV when games like this are on. I hate the ludicrous and obscene amount of money that football association are charging for kits... This could go on tbh.

Kazzyhoward · 09/07/2021 12:42

@DaxtheDestroyer

I have no interest in football. I wouldn't say I hate it, I'm indifferent to it. What I don't like is the effect it can have on the country, as something that is essentially meaningless, why does it affect eg domestic violence rates, why when we're in a pandemic is it considered important enough to have many thousands of people together in a stadium? Whether we win or lose on Sunday makes literally no difference to most people's lives (barring those directly involved) so I just don't get it.
Do you feel the same about Wimbledon and the Olympics?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Football
Kazzyhoward · 09/07/2021 12:44

@LiJo2015

I find the amoumtbofnmoent footballers earn abhorrent. I despise wag culture and the ambition for thousands of girls/women to be wags. I hate the behaviour exhibited by so many footballers which is then expunged from media owing to status/money. I hate the associated violence at games and the association of increased in DV when games like this are on. I hate the ludicrous and obscene amount of money that football association are charging for kits... This could go on tbh.
Official merchandise prices aren't that much different for other things like Formula 1, pop concerts, etc. We've been to plenty of events at Birmingham NEC (Minecraft, Top Gear, Gadget Show etc) and even theatres/shows, where "official" T shirts, hoodies, etc are very similarly priced to replica football shirts.
JovialNickname · 09/07/2021 12:44

No... there's really nothing that makes me want to get my face painted like a child, then jump up and down like an animal making primate noises. And I'm cool with that

MephistophelesApprentice · 09/07/2021 12:46

I actually play games myself to get that thrill, rather then watching others do that.

The moment when your party finally brings down the dragon is beyond compare.

BastardMonkfish · 09/07/2021 12:46

All these fans who can't imagine anything in life giving them a rush like England making the final, when a few weeks ago they couldn't have cared less about football Hmm

Kazzyhoward · 09/07/2021 12:47

@Kanaloa

I just don’t care for it. I don’t get that screaming shouty feeling about anything because I’m generally not a screamy shouty person. I enjoy reading, watching my favourite tv shows, riding bikes with my kids, going on holidays to different places, but I don’t read pride & prejudice and scream in elation every time Darcy and Lizzie speak.

Watching other people play football just does nothing for me, but even if it did I wouldn’t be shouty and loud about it. I express my enjoyment more quietly.

It's only a small proportion who are "screamy/shouty" We were at Wembley for a play off final a few weeks earlier. The screamy/shouty minority gathered together behind the home goal, everyone else were sat in their seats spread out over several blocks of seats and were generally quiet apart from clapping at various points.

The TV tends to over-exaggerate and pick out the "screamy/shouty" and the jumpy/cheery sections of the crowd. They never home in on the vast majority who are generally sitting quietly, why would they?

Kazzyhoward · 09/07/2021 12:48

@JovialNickname

No... there's really nothing that makes me want to get my face painted like a child, then jump up and down like an animal making primate noises. And I'm cool with that
People do that for cricket, rugby, Wimbledon and the Olympics too!
MissyB1 · 09/07/2021 12:48

I dont sneer but I do find football so very bloody dull compared to Rugby. I actually cant force myself to watch football.

I have a season ticket for our local Rugby club, and have been to many internationals too - cant wait to go again! Rugby is a much faster game with generally a lot more action and points scored.
Also Rugby players dont fall to the ground like they've been shot by a sniper every time someone touches them. Oh and there's no racism and no violence at the matches either.

We dont have to love football - why does it irk you so much???

Callywalls · 09/07/2021 12:49

As the daughter of a former professional Premier league footballer and the sister of a former professional footballer, as you can imagine, football was the main focus in our house as I was growing up. Football always came first and I missed spending quality time with my dad due to his footballing commitments. Our whole lives revolved around football, training, preparing for and watching matches, then hours were spent dissecting them afterwards. If we'd lost it was as if someone had died and as soon as I was old enough I stopped going to matches. I find excitement in reading new books by my favourite authors and watching films, series etc. This weekend I'm excited about reading the latest Mark Edwards book and watching the new series of Virgin River and I definitely won't be watching the football, although I want England to win and I'll keep checking the score.

Vilanelle · 09/07/2021 12:51

Amazing the amount of "crazy" football fans coming out of the woodwork now England are finally getting somewhere. Bore off with all the threads

Shirleyphallus · 09/07/2021 12:51

I have no interest in football. I wouldn't say I hate it, I'm indifferent to it. What I don't like is the effect it can have on the country, as something that is essentially meaningless, why does it affect eg domestic violence rates, why when we're in a pandemic is it considered important enough to have many thousands of people together in a stadium? Whether we win or lose on Sunday makes literally no difference to most people's lives (barring those directly involved) so I just don't get it.
Do you feel the same about Wimbledon and the Olympics?

Wimbledon and the Olympics don’t create a spike in domestic violence like football does, @Kazzyhoward

Gingernaut · 09/07/2021 12:51

I don't do sports.

I don't do watching sports.

I worry about the mob mentality around sports.

There are some scary people out there, using the football to spew utter racist shit and the mob are happy to either let it slide or they're lapping it up.

HeadNorth · 09/07/2021 12:53

I find football dull and the culture that surrounds it toxic.

I climb mountains and ride horses - highs like you cannot describe and I suspect a deeper, more soul lifting elevation than that gained by getting pissed in a grotty pub then rampaging through streets intimidating locals.

Bryonyshcmyony · 09/07/2021 12:55

I love a few sports.

There's something about football which means people feel totally entitled to go on about how much they hate it or even that they want the other team to win. My mum is like this. She just hates what she sees as the enforced jollity of it. She is a medicated depressive though who really doesn't like people very much.

Of course people are free to be utterly uninterested in it! I'm uninterested in rugby but I'd be pleased if England won something

Sheldock · 09/07/2021 12:55

I've competed for my country on several occasions but watching sport (any sport, even my own) bores me.

However, we will be watching on Sunday as the atmosphere in our road was amazing for the semis and it was great to listen to everyone around having so much fun.

LittleBlackCat22 · 09/07/2021 12:57

I think it’s mostly the gross fans that put people off football. There is no other sport that attracts people like it.

MysweetAudrina · 09/07/2021 12:57

Sistine Chapel does it for me :0

Bryonyshcmyony · 09/07/2021 12:57

@LittleBlackCat22

I think it’s mostly the gross fans that put people off football. There is no other sport that attracts people like it.
Really? The rugby clubs at uni are pretty gross.
OverByYer · 09/07/2021 12:58

I find football itself dull although I do find the business side of it quite interesting and the life stories of players like Stirling and Rashford interesting and admirable.

I like other sports, Wimbledon and Olympic Athletics in particular.

I’m glad that the football fans are enjoying England’s winning streak but I won’t be watching. ( I’m Welsh anyway!)

lynsey91 · 09/07/2021 12:59

I am not interested in football although I would love for us to win on Sunday.

I love F1 and support Lewis Hamilton. I often scream and shout at the tv or at the race track on the few occasions I have been to a race.

I am also a fan of tennis although not as much as I used to be. I used to sleep on the pavement to get in and watch Bjorn Borg. I still shout at the tv especially when Andy Murray is playing.

I also love athletics and was lucky enough to go to a few events at the London Olympics. I screamed myself hoarse watching Mo Farrah.

Kanaloa · 09/07/2021 12:59

@Kazzyhoward

Yes, apologies if I offended - I am of course aware that not all football fans are shouty and loud. However, I prefer hobbies where there is no proportion of people screaming and shouting. For example, it wouldn’t be acceptable in my book group if, when asked how you felt about ‘The Secret History,’ a small proportion of the group stood up and started screaming. That’s what suits me! I accept that going to football games suits other people.

Wanttocry · 09/07/2021 13:00

I don’t read pride & prejudice and scream in elation every time Darcy and Lizzie speak.

You don’t???

ShowOfHands · 09/07/2021 13:00

I can't work your link at all but do you mean what gives me sheer joy? Lots of things. Sports wise, I do love the Tour and like a pp, don't like cocky Cav per se but there's a real thrill to watching his sprint finishes.

I couldn't cope with ott euphoria in a moment, it would be too much for me. I prefer the deep satisfaction of a well written book, brilliantly performed musical, favourite album, museum visit etc. I think it's healthier too perhaps. I can keep topped up with moments of joy which aren't reliant upon somebody else's performance. And there is a real difference between people loving the game and its skill and those loving vicarious victory. I've been to three football matches in my life (not my choice but fairly diverting) and in each case supporters of the losing team were v cross and left early (in one case missing a last minute equaliser AND winning goal) and I found that so unhealthy. It didn't seem like a fundamental and nourishing love of a sport but a crutch for esteem.

I look at the dv stats around football and England and wonder more widely about how such intense euphoric moments highlight emotional dysregulation. The vast majority of people appreciate the moment but it's a dangerous cocktail for a minority.