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

[Backhills]

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]]

Now THAT I would watch @Brightthing

@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.

This.

I don't hate it, although I hate the rude and unruly behaviour of a lot of the fans. I've tried watching it and found it rather boring. I am also worried about the impact on Covid figures following mass audiences.

Sport is just grown adults betting other grown adults that they are better than them, again and again until they die or retire. Just doesn't appeal sorry. It also feels like an over the top reaction to "that guys foot kicked a ball into a piece of netting!!!" 😅
But no nothing really would make me react like that.

Maybe he would if there were 11 other bus drivers trying to stop him getting his bus in to the depot for 90 minutes

Nah he'll just fall over, roll around for 5 minutes until the "referee" tells him that he can get a free run to the bus The driver will then make a miraculous recovery, run to the bus and drive off.

@Bryonyshcmyony

Also I think people who are of more of an individual mindset don't tend to follow sports teams

Ah the intellectual snobbery. Wonders how long that would take.

Yes indeed, that's the crux of it. Amazed it took so long to get there!

@trappedsincesundaymorn

Can I just check you feel the same about Olympic Athletes, Wimbledon tennis players, theatre actors, pop singers, etc? They're all just "doing their job" too

When was the last time you saw any of those rushing up and leaping on their team mates for doing their job? A hug maybe but a pile-on, lifting their shirts and running around the venue? I've yet to hear any actor yell "get innnnnn" after someone else has delivered a line.

Well they certainly do in other team sports, such as rugby, hockey, cricket, and yes, shock, horror, even the in the woman's games!

If hating thuggery and nationalism is intellectual snobbery, I'll take the label happily.

Well they certainly do in other team sports, such as rugby, hockey, cricket, and yes, shock, horror, even the in the woman's games

I doubt very much that the women's football team run around the venue with their shirts over their head bare chested, likewise prop forwards piling onto the flyhalf...they'd break his ribs and show me any footage you have of Ben Stokes running around the Oval topless.

I hate the thuggery and arsehole behavior that occurs at football matches, I had a bad experience of it as a child and it just put me off the whole thing, the sheer anger or on the flip side happiness around something you don't take part in only watch and have no control over seems pointless to me.

@Aspinelli

I hate the thuggery and arsehole behavior that occurs at football matches, I had a bad experience of it as a child and it just put me off the whole thing, the sheer anger or on the flip side happiness around something you don't take part in only watch and have no control over seems pointless to me.

The vast majority of footie supporters aren't thugs. I've been to matches with 20k, 40k, 60k spectators without a single arrest.

Yet I've been in town centres on a Saturday night, with just a few thousand people spread over several pubs/nightclubs where there've been a dozen or two arrested for fights, assault, etc.

The real problem is drunkeness - and that can happen in a town centre just as much as a football stadium.

If it weren't for football, men would have nothing to talk to each other about

I don't really watch any sport.. although I always support Wales in the rugby.

I'm a big fan though of Gareth Southgate and this current team. They seem like an amazing, inspirational bunch of people.
What did Johnson look like though, with a football shirt over a shirt and tie...I can't even.

@beguilingeyes

Music does it for me...specifically live gigs. There's nothing better than being in a crowd of people all loving the band and them playing your favourite songs.

When a Queen audience were compared to a football crowd Brian May agreed and said 'but everyone's on the same side'.(Showing my age here).

I saw Barbra Streisand's A Star Is Born when I was 15, it was a huge thing for me and made me a lifelong fan. Love her.

When she played Hyde Park in 2019 she brought on Kris Kristofferson (her co-star in the film) and they sang the duet from the film. I thought the top of my head was going to come off.

That's just one example...so many special gigs over the years. George Michael singing Somebody To love at the FM tribute. Being at Live Aid in that atmosphere. Carole King doing all of Tapestry, also in Hyde Park.

And conversely..you never get the awful feeling when your team loses.

beguiling that's reminded me of one of my moments - Gary Cherone singing Love of My Life at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert

(with Nuno Bettencourt playing all the piano parts on guitar!)

And I wasn't even there, but still seeing the video gives me "that feeling"
:)

I don't "sneer" at all and for me it's definitely not intellectual snobbery! I just find football dull and slow to watch compared to some other sports that I'm more interested in. The sports I watch are also more physical so the increasing amount of diving for the slightest thing by some players irks me.

My husband loves it so I'm often half watching it while he has it on but it doesn't hold my attention. Particularly recently when there's been extra time, I don't think football is exciting enough to hold attention for 2 hours of play.

I do understand the buzz you get when your team is doing well though and I feel similar when it comes to the sports I like.

I don’t hate football, but i hate the bad behaviour of some of the fans which seems to go along side it. I grew up in Glasgow and have vivid memories of being caught up in a crowd of warring football fans with my mum. Not one of those men gave a shit they were scaring the hell out of a small child and her mum. I’m afraid I have disliked the game ever since. DH never watches football and that’s fine with me!

I'm not bothered about football but will be swept away on Sunday.

But I wouldn't notice if football disappeared tomorrow (except DP would suddenly have a tonne of spare time 😂).

For me I get that sort of elation from music. Bouncing around at live gigs (or even at home) leaves me feeling how I think football fans feel. Although the older I am the less exciting even that is. Or maybe I just feel a bit self conscious mum dancing.

In answer to the OP

Galloping my horse and jumping a massive jump
Watching my children succeed at something similar to above
Music
A party!

Loads of things and none of them encapsulate toxic laddish or Wag culture or mob mentality.
What is it about football that brings out the very worst people.
You just don’t see the kind of antisocial scary and sometimes frightening behaviour you do at football at any other sporting event.
And I speak from experience.

@StellaAndCrow Nuno gives me all sorts of feelings I can’t explain

That was meant to be a

The Olympics!

Watching Free Solo when the climber reached the top.

Basically, any individual sporting achievement - I just find it so much more emotional than a team.

I think the success of the England team is nice and they seem like good lads, but I can't get excited about it 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ooh also - the fact that domestic violence goes up whether england win or lose really takes the sheen off it for me.

I love football. England fans however, not so much. Plus I hate all the bandwagon jumping from people who don't actually give a shit about football and just fancy an excuse for getting pissed up in the sun every few years

My own personal achievements give me that feeling, like getting a big promotion or passing a major exam. Oh, or smoking dope and in my wasted youth other drugs.
But I've never really had a group mindset for things like sports. I grew up in America where our school had "pep rallys" and we were all supposed to go and cheer for our sports teams (when they weren't even playing) led by cheerleaders in skimpy outfits. I could see a lot of people got kind of a "high" out of it but it always just seemed really weird to me.
Nothing to do with snobbery - I just find sports boring.

@ouchmyfeet

I love football. England fans however, not so much. Plus I hate all the bandwagon jumping from people who don't actually give a shit about football and just fancy an excuse for getting pissed up in the sun every few years

I can guarantee you that the same minority of fans in other countries are similar. I remember getting caught up in massive crowds of rawdy fans in Rome after a major football game. Not pleasant at all.

Actually the economics of football affect a lot of lives and businesses.
Merely having a Premier League presence (say Leicester) can influence foreign investment into businesses. Local businesses around a stadium can be utterly dependent on the crowds, and how well the team does affects their business dramatically. When a team is relegated it can be a sad state of affairs for some businesses.

The success of the Premier League helps to paint the UK as being capable, professional, a world leader in broadcasting and hosting events.

Regardless of enjoying football or not, its effect is significant.