To not understand all the obsession with footbaall

[Thomasina79]

Live and let live and I understand people love it, but it’s a mystery to me? DH has been glued to telly today watching Crystal Palace!

Some people love football.

Just like some people love; tennis, motor racing, rugby, golf, theatre, hiking, cycling etc. People are extremely enthusiastic about their hobbies and the things they enjoy.

It's a nice part of being human.

Well done Palace!

This sums it up so perfectly!

I was raised in a city that lives eats and breaths football. We are lucky enough to have two premier league teams and they are the identity of our city. Some of my best memories with my Grandad (now deceased) are the finals we got to watch and celebrate together.

Football got my family through covid, gave us something to look forward too and some sense of normality (watching from home of course during lockdowns) .

People like different things shocker!

Personally I can’t understand Eurovision but millions were glued to that last night and enjoyed it so fair play.

I grew up with the old Upton Park at the top of my street and a started loving dad so it was a case from a very young age if you can’t beat em join em.

i was rooting for Palace yesterday and delightedly Eze whose story is one to admire fir his never giving up after setbacks attitude. Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving young man

Spirt is about community and bringing people together with a shared love. It’s I’m not to like it of course but it’s the people who sneer at those who do who annoy me.

Enjoy what you love rather than get snotty about what you don’t.

I’ve lived in the uk all my life! I certainly don’t object to people liking the sport, I just don’t understand the obsession! Still, it would be boring if we were all the same. This was lighthearted btw

I heard it referred to as "the working man's theatre" the other day, a good way of putting it (albeit a bit patronising). It helps if you know the history of the teams involved, then you get why fans get so invested. If you just randomly put on Blackburn Rovers v Sunderland with no affinity for either team and see a 0-0 result it's not going to convert you!

Well it didn't come across as light hearted, it came across as faux naive and goady. Why can't you understand the basic concept that different people like & obsess about different things?

I don't get it but i don't have too i don't get faking looks to make myself look younger nor lying on a sun lounge for a week in Spain but I don't have to get to get it, same as people don't get what I do

It’s such a mumsnet thing to do though.
“But WHY do some people enjoy football when I myself don’t?”

Well done Crystal Palace btw. Not my team but they’ve made history for their club.

You don’t have to get it. You just need to respect that different people like different things.

If you WANT to get it, go to a women’s match. The tickets are much cheaper, the crowd is very family friendly, but the concept is the same.

I do think it's strange when people claim not to get football. You don't have to like it yourself, but surely it's not hard at all to understand why other people do.

Competition, belonging, wanting to run and be physical and move your body - and to watch other people do the same, to be impressed and amazed by the physical prowess of other people, those things are all an intrinsic part of human nature. I think all peoples' throughout world history have had team sports and spectator sports, haven't they?

And as to why football above all other team sports, I think fundamentally, it's because any kid can turn up to any park almost anywhere with a ball and instantly have a game. It's accessible, it's easy to follow, you don't need expensive equipment to play.

I love it. I don’t understand people who like cricket or cats but they do and that’s all that matters

I don’t think it’s boring or awful as a sport in itself, but I loath the culture. It’s a vile culture for young boys to be influenced by, and unfortunately it’s one of the biggest.

I actually thought that I posted this.
In hate football. I’m working class Scottish. Every man I have ever lived with has taken over the living room with his bloody football. My dad, my brothers, my first boyfriend, my husband, my father in law… my son.
so the first time my son put his hand to wave me away from the tv when he was watching it…. He got such a row that even the neighbours check its ok to put the football on their telly

How about young girls? Many of them play and watch football.

Some aspects of football fandom are unsavoury, sure. But it is bigoted and ignorant to say football itself has a "vile culture".

Eleven million adults and kids play football regularly just in the UK and match attendance is 55 million throughout the season. The global TV audience for the Premier League is around 1.8 billion.

What a load of shit you speak.

You get it or you don’t, football is a passion for many,I enjoy some in moderation and as to being a vile culture for young boys, it’s vastly preferable to the likes of Andrew Tate

I kinda understood it after watching Wrexham programme. The sense of belonging etc.... But there are many aspects I don't understand:

• why don't people support their local team (like in Wrexham)
• why don't people who love it also play it
• why are they mean to each other when a team loses
• why is club football more important than national
• why are supporters sooooo critical of players and often the players in their team

I have played a team sport for many years (not any more due to arthritis) but never really enjoyed watching it. I do watch it occasionally but I find it difficult to see what is really going on cos of camera angles.

I don’t think its unique to football.

Taylor Swift on tour last year we had “why do people like Taylor Swift” “am I the only one who thinks Taylor Swift is overrated” (yes, it’s just you 🙄).

Or love island “why do people watch love island” “AIBU to ask why love island is popular”

Or the traitors earlier this year “I’ve just watched the traitors and didn’t like it - what do people see in it?????????”

Royal family “why is the bbc showing the coronation, I don’t care!” “Why has eastenders been taken off tv for the Queen, I don’t care!”

Maybe the England men’s team haven’t fulfilled their potential but England women WON the Euros! They also reached the finals of the World Cup despite losing key players to injury shortly before.

It’s a passing fad 😉

Agree. My DS has been a season ticket holder since he was 7 years old - he’s now 20 - and there’s nothing vile about the culture for him.
It was a great weren’t was his dad when he was a kid and now he goes with a mate he’s been friends with since year 7.

The culture nowadays is completely different to the dark days of the 80’s and trouble is much less. In fact the last match I went to the worst behaved men were the older ones - the ICF grandads as we nick name them - who still think they’re 21 after a few drinks and look for a row.

My son met a lot of friends through playing in a team from age 5 and one of the kids he played against has gone on to actually be a West Ham player and score his first premier league goal age 19.

Football is about community and bringing people together.

And as a West Ham girl I’m not ashamed to say I cried tears of pure joy when we won the Europa Conference trophy - 7th June 2023 is a date I’ll always remember

I always think there’s a little bit of snobbery when it comes to people liking football. It’s probably seen as a bit of a working class, pub dwellers game. Where as cricket and tennis for eg are seen as a bit more high brow. Not saying everyone who dislikes football is a snob, but there’s definitely an element of it to some people.

Exactly! I'm not into Taylor Swift, but I get that millions of people are. I don't need to "understand" it, or snipe. Just live your life OP. Annoying!!

i feel you. About to renew my season ticket for my particular frustrating fuckers

It’s taken my children becoming passionate about it for me to really understand why people enjoy it. One of my DC plays and his coaches and team mates have such a positive influence on his life. DH and three of our DC regularly watch our local team, it’s a great bonding activity. There is a real community feel about the club, often when I’m out with my children they’ll bump into someone who sits near them at the football and have a chat which is really nice.
Even so I struggle to watch a match, it just doesn’t hold my interest long enough. I miss goals because I get distracted.
I still don’t understand the total obsession some people have. The ones who call their children after football teams or move weddings to watch matches etc. I don’t understand super fans of anything though.
I think it’s fascinating that sport and music are accepted obsessions. Walking round dressed as a football player is perfectly normal but walking around dressed as a wizard or a game character is seen as a bit odd.