Anyone else who doesn’t give two shits about football?

[Soubriquet]

I don’t care about any sports. To me it’s a load of overpaid tossers kicking a ball. That’s it.

I don’t have sports cos it’s cool. I just hate it especially since it was my dad’s entire identity and remember being dragged to the pub on multiple occasions so he can “watch the footy and have a pint”. Boring

Facebook is all “it’s coming home” blah blah blah.

I. Don’t. Care.

It makes me sad to see all the resources and effort going into something so pointless. Why does humankind put such value on a load of blokes chasing a ball?

All talk of saving the planet and carbon footprints seems to go out of the window when football is concerned.
Not just all the plane and road travel involved but all the match merchandise that will end up in landfill, shirts that are out of date the next season, state of the art stadia in places that often don't have adequate housing for the locals. I actually get quite angry when I think about it.

Having said all that, I have a DH who is severely disabled and enjoys watching international football of all kinds on various satellite channels so I have to put up with it for his sake. He is however equally happy watching grass roots football or even kids kicking a ball about in the park.

I also dislike the obsession side of sport and wonder what is missing in someone's life that they have to attach themselves to the same tribe as other people and fight like animals against other people wearing a different colour.

I believe the fandom of football is caused in part by brainwashing by parents and in part by insecurity of men feeling like they need a 'tribe'

I find the psychology around this interesting. As DD has grown up I’ve watched my ‘boy parent’ friends all cave in and start to encourage (and in some cases coerce) their sons into football - even those who can’t stand it themselves. There’s definitely a lot of social conditioning going on, and a lot of hierarchies being established whereby, already at 6, the male pecking order is determined by your skill and aggression on the football pitch. The few boys who have other interests and won’t go with the flow are already beginning to struggle socially. My own DD, meanwhile, is still considered a bit of an aberration for playing football, despite the success of the Lionesses - all the other girls are off doing ballet.

It’s all so tied up with tribalism and male identity, and it’s something DH has always really struggled with. He’s found it very difficult to bond with the other school dads because they’re largely very blokey football types, who have set up their own team and meet up weekly to play. With him being one of the few football naysayers he struggles to find common ground, as they seem to talk about little else.

This is another reason I’m not keen - the way that football looms so large in our culture that it can dictate social standing and is difficult to ignore in the same way as e.g. Wimbledon or the Olympics.

I couldn't give a toss either. I can't understand all the excitement about it

Other way round. Football is one of the best redistributors of wealth from the haves to the haves nots in this country because it's the only major industry in Britain which gives a reasonably fair crack of the whip to kids from working class and ethnic minority backgrounds. I suspect that's why a lot of more middle class people dislike it so much, they don't like the 'oiks' getting above themselves.

A tiny tiny proportion of the have nots become the haves in a big way. As a redistribution of wealth thats insignificant in terms of numbers and entirely disproportionate for the few who succed. In fact it probably has a socially negative impact because of the numbers of dreamers who fail to break out as big players and neglect more probable and traditional paths to success such as education. Inequality breeds discontent

In fact it probably has a socially negative impact because of the numbers of dreamers who fail to break out as big players and neglect more probable and traditional paths to success such as education

Agree with this; I once taught a really bright 10-year-old who was grammar school bound but turned down his place because he was also in a junior football academy and totally focused on that. He’d decided he was going to be a football pro, that he therefore didn’t need to work hard at school, and started getting into low level trouble. Ended up losing his place at the academy by 13 as he wasn’t quite good enough, then scraped a mediocre set of GCSEs. There’s now a lovely boy in DD’s primary class who seems to be on a similar trajectory.

Like a PP, the tribalism of football fascinates and disturbs me.

My exH was outraged when I pondered aloud if our DCs might choose to support a different team than him ...

I hate all sport and find it mind-numbingly dull. One of the best bits about divorcing and living on my own is absolutely no sport on the TV, ever.

I don't enjoy that kind of sport at all and luckily, never have to get involved, as DH doesn't either.
Inexplicably, one DS likes it.
The closest I came recently was when I was in a garage waiting room having some new tyres fitted and football was on the TV.
I was interested to see how colourful it was, with both sides wearing bright fluorescent colours - and really bright boots.
Even more interesting was the sea of corresponding team colours in the stands!

Win or lose, I couldn’t give a flying fuck. Watching grass grow would be more appealing than watching any football match.

Always one 🙄🙄🙄

I was going to say, it's not easy to avoid. Especially this time of year when everyone has their windows open and you can hear all the shouting and screaming!

Also the games last far too long, especially with VAR and all the added time and that's even without extra time and penalties.

The numbers of working class kids getting rich from football are tiny!

I don't like football because I think it brings the worst out in people, including parents and coaches at grass roots level, and because it's used like a proxy for war at international level. Other sports are much more civilised and treat it like sport, rather than a tribal struggle.

This is another reason I’m not keen - the way that football looms so large in our culture that it can dictate social standing and is difficult to ignore in the same way as e.g. Wimbledon or the Olympics

Yes I completely agree.

The only good thing about big football matches is that Ikea is quiet.

22 inarticulate property developers passing around a lump of leather in between board meetings and court appearances ... no thanks
Loving the TdF though

It definitely brings out the worst in men.

Women's football is more civilised.

The snobbery and sneering on this post is unreal

How on earth is riding a bike fast any more skilled than football

And let's not forget one of the most corrupt sportsmen in history was a cyclist

It's all a load of wank along with virtue signalling shops and schools bending the rules.

Believe me, im not the only one

I wouldn't let my child watch football. The players all cheat, it sets a terrible example.

If that's what schools want to champion its no wonder education is in the state its in.

You're not wrong. It's the overreacting to every kick or decision that makes no sense. Local FB pages full of mums asking which pubs will welcome kids on Sun night to watch the match. What a terrible idea even more so now we have the trend of chucking your pint in the air when England score.

Humbug!

“Football – a game for gentlemen played by hooligans. Rugby – a game for hooligans played by gentlemen.”

And tennis, athletics, Olympics etc etc, bored rigid by all of it.

I don't get it either, but as I'm Scottish we never really get our hopes up!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I watched the Scotland game in Tenerife and very much enjoyed cheering you on

One of our LFC family is your captain, and your supporters are legends

Not a great fan of footy but I so like the international tournaments. Yes overpaid and over celebritised so I just ignore the rest lol 😆