To start an IDGAF thread about football restarting?

[TakemedowntoPotatoCity]

If, like me, you see the lack of education provision for months and the devastating effect on the UK economy and people's livelihoods as marginally more important than a bunch of millionaires kicking a ball about you can come here to lament the lack of fucks around these parts. Football widows welcome.

@SleepOhHowIMissYou

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f27IqVo5-Oc#menu

Interesting that men can name players and goals scored decades ago but won't remember or be interested in the names of their child's teachers at school.

Huh? I can do the same (but with rugby), naming all the carers my son had at nursery, his foster carers, his teacher and TAs isn’t difficult. I don’t know any parents (male or female) who don’t know who teaches their children etc.

@SimonJT I know plenty of men who consider child-rearing, including home educating, as wife work.

However, your mention of Foster Carers suggests you've had a different journey to mine.

sleep those men you know are shit dads. The fact they may like football has nothing to do with it.

I only know one man who thinks like that and he doesn't care about football at all. His kids do though, and my DH has taken them to matches.

I know lots of football fans from all walks of life - hairdressers, mechanics, pub landlords, university academics, a university vice chancellor to name a few. All them are family men who are wonderful parents and partners who happen to follow football.

If you're a misogynistic twat that's who you are - it's not because you're a football fan.

95% of all the women I’ve ever met in my life couldn’t give a flying fig about football. Many hate it and find it pointless - 90 minutes of boredom. Men kicking a ball. Wow. Like watching paint dry. Why not let us just have a little moan and move on? Because let’s face it, however irrelevant it is for the majority of women it’s never going away.

What crap. I'm a woman. I love football as do many of my women friends. We're not living in the 1950s you know - women are actually allowed to appreciate football. If its 90 minutes of boredom for you then don't watch it but don't come on here talking crap and thinking you're speaking for all women.

My mother was an avid football fan. She was born in 1920. Both my parents' families were - male and female. My parents spent their courtship attending matches (home matches of rival local teams).

My DH, DS and his GF are all footie fans.

I'm not interested myself although I'm quite happy to have it on the TV as I prefer to read anyway.

I had forgotten though that 'normal-life' evenings have DH permanent commentary of 'xxxxx is crap' 'xxxx are playing shit' 'are you effing blind ref!!' I haven't missed that

Still, DH and DS have been permanently on WhatsApp to each other since the football restarted and it's good for them to have that connection .

All the girls on my dad's side of the family are hardcore Everton fans (my auntie's husband is a massive blue). The only cousin on that side who isn't is the token male one, who gives zero shits about football.

Some of the most hardcore fans I've met are women. Mum used to regularly watch Liverpool back in the Shankly era. Equally, I've met men who hate it.

@annabel85 hooligans don't give a shit about football, they just use it as an excuse to start fights. The DFLA and their ilk should fuck off back to the '80s and let the rest of us watch the game in peace.

I'm a member of a group for female football fans on Facebook and a lot of us have been talking about how arseholes like that spoil it for the rest of us.

We're not living in the 1950s you know - women are actually allowed to appreciate football. If its 90 minutes of boredom for you then don't watch it but don't come on here talking crap and thinking you're speaking for all women.

Well to be fair it was the FA that excluded women from playing from the 1920s (the women's game was more popular than the men's game before the ban. Dick, Kerr ladies beat St Helen's Ladies in front of a 53,000 crowd just months before the ban) and only allowed us back in the 1970s (and only apologised for the ban in 2008). I don't find it that surprising that many women aren't that interested in watching (men's) sport that has historically excluded girls and women.

Burnley fans have flew a plane over Manchester for their game tonight "White Lives Matter, Burnley"

This is why football fans have such a bad name.

@annabel85

Burnley fans have flew a plane over Manchester for their game tonight "White Lives Matter, Burnley"

This is why football fans have such a bad name.

You missed the word Some at the start of your post. Could have been one, banner planes are very cheap.

Someone judging an entire group on the actions of a minority is quite ignorant.

I'm delighted football is back, as my DS loves it. He is finding it very difficult to watch on TV though, as him and his Dad have season tickets.

Our entire lives evolve around football in one way or another. My DS plays football and qualified as a referee last year. He coaches the Y7's and 8's in school and referees their matches.

I am a parent ambassador for a young referees association.

We had tickets for all the Euro 2020 games, which has now been postponed.

We have travelled the world watching football and been to some incredible places.

I have made life long friends from all over the country through watching football.

I am female, as are a lot of my football family friends. It's an incredible community to belong to and we do our best to ignore how we are characterised by the media and the gullible people who believe everything they read in the press about football fans.

My football family friends come from all walks of life - diverse in terms of sex, class, jobs, ethnicity, religion and political persuasion. Football brings us together, regardless of these diverse differences.

If you don't like football, I have no issue with that - each to their own, but please don't characterise 'all football fans' as mysogynists, sexist, racist hooligans. It's incredibly rude.

Some racist Burnley fans have flew a plane over Manchester for their game tonight

There you go @annabel85, IFTFY.

Annabel and my Facebook and Twitter is full of football fans saying how disgusting that banner was.

Do you think the actions of a small minority represent the majority? Are you that ignorant (or stupid)

@annabel85

Burnley fans have flew a plane over Manchester for their game tonight "White Lives Matter, Burnley"

This is why football fans have such a bad name.

There is no evidence that football fans were responsible. Burnley FC acted swiftly to condemn this. More ignorant bullshit from someone determined to advance their own agenda.

It really doesn't matter that eleven people you don't know can kick a ball past 11 other people you don't know.

Football is just another excuse for tribalism.

More importantly, who do you all support?

It really doesn't matter that eleven people you don't know can kick a ball past 11 other people you don't know.

I guess you could say a lot of what we do/support/watch etc 'doesn't really matter'. Where do we draw the line? Who decides what matters and what doesn't?
Or maybe we accept that people have different interests and that what makes the world an interesting place.

@SueEllenMishke absolutely agree. However isn't your response a paradox in itself?

In what way? I was just saying that people could say anything hobby/interest related doesn't really matter in the scheme of things.
I wouldn't say that....hobbies and interests are what makes life pleasurable.
I really, really object to people being snobs about other people's interests and hobbies. Who are they to decide what is worthy?

I agree with @sueellenmishke .

Football isn't particularly my thing but I do love sport in general. There's a lot more to it than "kicking a ball round a field" and it's quite snobbish to dismiss it really.

This was 50 years ago. Two of the worlds greatest players and is a much better statement than a plane flying over Burnley.

@SueEllenMishke I was referring to the last paragraph of your post...
"Or maybe we accept that people have different interests and that what makes the world an interesting place."

And calling me a snob for not agreeing with you just bolsters the hypocrisy of this statement. Perhaps you need to take your own advice?

I get that there are a lot of people who don't like football but making a thread to say how little of a fuck you give about it implies that you give many, many fucks.

Anyway. I am a Rangers fan. I am very used to being judged by the actions of some other Rangers fans, but thankfully I am not, myself, a violent, Catholic hating, Brexit supporting, racist piece of shit, so the whole "football fans are bad" thing doesn't wash with me.

And I see a lot of good done by football clubs and supporters groups. There are almost always food bank drives on match days, for example. Much as I hate them in football terms, I have nothing but praise for the staggering amount of positive community work done by Celtic supporters groups. I live in Manchester now, MUFC and MCFC do a lot of work with local vulnerable youth. Footballers can use their fame to very good ends- look at Marcus Rashford recently, if he wasn't a high profile footballer would he have had the platform to drive pressure on the government to U turn on FSM support over the summer?

@BlusteryShowers I'm suggesting it's a cloak for tribalism, how is that "snobby"?