World Cup- is it really all that?

[RebeccaBunchLawyer]

Just that really.

A group of lads dashing around after a ball, on a patch of grass.

Am I missing something? Why is it so exciting? Is it the actual game, or the fact that it only happens every 4 years? Also, these young men are paid more per week than most hard-working folk (with
proper jobs) earn in a year, so surely they should be winning the odd match anyway?

Why are people so delighted when they actually win? Have I just answered my own question??!

Wait football fans can’t read? nobody told me!

Yeah but jk entertains and inspires kids

Just like Harry Kane does.

It’s the triwizard tournament but for muggles.

Of course only rugby / tennis / rowing / polo fans can read. That’s nonsense as well!

Great post usernumber about the community work clubs and players do.

And as sodding said don't forget the fans supporting foodbanks charities

@soddingunicorns yy, I totally agree about the sectarianism, one of the reason we moved away, it’s in the blood Of the west coast Scot.

That said, orange marches are still going on every year through Glasgow city centre so until the council step on and ban them things will never even begin to change.

The relevance is ghosty is that that is all I do

I can't afford to go to the theatre or the cinema, if I didn't have a disabled bus pass I'd only leave my house to go to places in my local area (shop where I work, library, doctor, chemist)

Yes I've read JK Rowling, and yes she's worth billions, but, and this is just my personal opinion, She's earned it, and deserves it a lot more than any footballer

That said, orange marches are still going on every year through Glasgow city centre so until the council step on and ban them things will never even begin to change

Problem is there’s too many Orangemen in Glasgow city council for it to ever stop, same with other areas.

Although I did buckle laughing that a Larkhall mob have been told they can’t march this weekend. I wouldn’t have fancied telling them that!

We’ve had so many tragic events over the past 4 years in this country and they pull us together, it’s good to have something that isn’t a disaster where people have died to bring us together at the moment, much needed, just let people enjoy it, it’s only a very short period of time in the grand scheme of things

user you know very well i wasn't saying roofers and scaffolders should be paid the same. I'm talking about the logic which you mentioned, about the very small window of earning power. I said that logic didn't apply to certain other jobs. You asked for examples. So why have you now twisted it?

But i hope you're not trivialising a roofers work by that remark. It's a very dangerous job, it certainly doesn't deserve to be downplayed.

If it was the Quidditch World Cup, I'd definitely watch it.

I feel for real sport haters - tennis is an acquired taste and the main channels don’t have a lot on apart from sport!

This is where not having a TV is sheer heaven!

I didn't even realise that England were playing yesterday so the quiet drink at the pub I'd planned with friends was ruined. None of us were watching it but it still impinged on our evening.

And no not everyone can do the job a roofer does at all. It demands a head for heights, and a lot of bottle.

I’m not trivialising them, done a lot of work with them in the recession when everyone stopped building and we had to tidy off and made safe. Salt of the earth and good people to a man.

But a totally daft example in comparison to footballers. It’s not just the shelf life, it’s the time invested to get there.

Doctors, accountants, lawyers hell even top ballerinas get 30k a show and are all paid to reflect the unpaid training they did for over a decade.

Good peopke that they are, scaffolders and roofers end up in that role for precisely the opposite reason.

And more to the point, roofers are paid more than equivalently qualified construction workers because of the shelf life and risks.

When they can’t roof any more they move into related construction sectors;

Footballers that don’t make the grade only have experience to go into coaching, almost all not pro teams, just kids and sports clubs, do you know how much that makes?

And pro football doesn’t take bottle?

50% of the population could roof if it wanted to.
0.0000000000005% could play top level pro football

Nah, it’s been losing its allure since South Americans started playing for European clubs in greater numbers.

It used to be a treat to see incredible footballers you’d never heard of once every four years. Tv is so saturated with football coverage - Uk leagues, Spanish leagues,serie A,European Cup/Cupwinners Cup/Africa’s Cup that we’re seeing global talent on a regular basis.

It does feel slightly different without Italy/Holland and early exits of Germany & Argentina this year but not “all that”

I said it needs bottle to be a roofer because you said than anyone with a "modicum of physicality" can be a roofer etc, which isnt true. A huge proportion of physically strong men won't go on a roof. How did that equate to pro footballers not having bottle?

50% of the population certainly couldn't be a roofer. It's attitudes like that that make people undervalue them and not think theyre deserving of their very reasonable prices. It's a dangerous job and the pay is very low compared to plumbers, electricians etc. It certainly isn't learned in a few weeks either. A good roofer will have been learning his trade for a few years.

50% of the population certainly couldn't be a roofer.

I think the PP was being flippant with the 50% mark, but it is a much lower barrier to entry to be a roofer than it is to be an elite professional footballer who earns millions.

No one is downplaying it and roofers are not considered to be in the twilight of their career when they hit 30, so it really isn't comparable.

Only on mumsnet would people be happy about footballers over inflated wages. Whereas in real life most people think they're hugely overpaid.

It’s astonishing how much they earn, rosesgarden for, like I said, kicking a ball around a patch of grass.

Heard a group of people discussing in a cafe how football brings out the best and worst in people, but mainly the worst: anti social behaviour, being a general nuisance etc. Some fans in this country do not have a good name around the world; they’re an absolute embarrassment at times tbh. Nobody can disagree with me on this one, surely?!

Some fans in this country do not have a good name around the world; they’re an absolute embarrassment at times tbh. Nobody can disagree with me on this one, surely?!

Of course not. Do you think poorly behaved fans is the sole bastion of England?

If your going to make sweeping statement about "most" then you have to realise that "most" also understand basic economics as to why the very elite are paid astronomical wages.

They are not overinflated to the business they work in, that is the subtle difference. You can say there is too much money in football but we then go back to the fact that is the most popular sport globally and teams like Man United, Barcelona and Real Madrid etc have global fan bases which gives them millions in revenue alone to spend on players wages.

For all the complaints about players being overpaid were you aware the England team donate their match fees to charity?

I have to say I was shocked at the stats surrounding dv during the world cup. www.thedrum.com/news/2018/06/28/if-england-get-beaten-so-will-she-posters-bleed-world-cup-fever-domestic-violence