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!

I'm a massive football fan, and have been for 50+ years. I can't imagine my life without it.

My club hasn't done very well for several years now, but still, I persevere.
Because it's not just about the winning, or the trophies - it's given me so much more than that.

DH and DS2 are Man Utd fans, and go to home games regularly. I support a different club, but no longer have a season ticket unfortunately.
DS1 supports the same club as me, so there are interesting times in our family!

I don't need anyone to understand my obsession with football, but I do take exception to the snobbery and sneering that goes on.

It's a traditional 'working class' game. But, that's fine. I'm working class, and I don't feel ashamed of that.

DH and DS2 are also big cricket fans. I hate cricket - but I don't need to 'understand' their love for it?

We're all different.

Of course they won’t. It’s par for the course on here. Sneering and looking down on people so they can wallow in their imagined superiority

There are threads every five minutes on Mumsnet moaning about how people are so isolated and that nothing exists now which brings people together.

Yet when people talk about being part of a football community then they are accused of following the crowd and conformity. A sixth form debating society would do better.

Also, I'm not sure about the "vile culture"?

This isn't Milwall in 1986.

My son and his pals frequently go to watch our nearest local club, Darlington FC.
£5 to get in, a few hundred fans, and they enjoy seeing the game.

Nothing vile about it.

I love football. I support Newcastle United. I hate tennis with a passion though. It would be boring if we all liked the same things.

Oh how clever, call people sheep (or do you use the word sheeple)

why so sneery? I presume all your interests are so much more…individual…

I don't share it (I find football incredibly boring as a sport) but I get pretty hooked on the Tour de France when it's on, so I understand it.

My son is there and said everyone is crying 💙 COYB

Waves back @Matchingcollarandcuffs !

I follow football closely and can honestly say it’s been the best thing I’ve ever done.

I’ve been to well over 500 games in the UK and around 100 games overseas including many World Cups and European Championships.

I have met some wonderful people who will remain lifelong friends. I’ve visited places I’d never normally visit and have made memories to last a lifetime.

I feel very lucky.

I love both football and cricket, you must really think I'm weird.
I support a different team, football and cricket, to DH and DS so it makes for some interesting conversations.
I dated a guy once who wasn't into sport, it was very boring.
MN does make me laugh when it comes to football, you never see posts started about how people hate tennis and find it boring, the snobbery is very real 😅

I love football
lifelong Liverpool fan (am a scouser)
3 obsessed sons
i want palace to bring their historic cup to anfield on Sunday, when Liverpool lift the Premiership trophy
going to the match with my boys is magical

I watch rugby and I cannot stand football. The tribalism and grown men throwing themselves about like they've been snippered makes me cringe.
Whereas rugby players take a beating and nearly always respect the ref.
It always makes me smile when you see a great big 6"8 hulking man take a telling off from a wee 5"4 person that he could crush with 1 hand.
Rugby's definitely more respectful

Oh Cordelia, you have completely shown yourself up to know absolutely fuck all.

1. Not all footballers are millionaires.
2. Most of us went with our parents and got hooked into their team.
3. Our parents/grandparents certainly didn't follow millionaires as they didn't exist back then.
4. It's a social thing, nothing to do with self esteem and is a family thing.
5. Without fans smaller clubs would go under and communities would suffer.

But take the award for most predictable post of the day 👏

I'm not a fan, but ds and dh are CPFC season ticket holders and were at Wembley yesterday. They had a joyful time!

When I met dh, ds was 8 years old and just starting to get into football. It's the thing that's bonded them together, and it's been so, so wonderful to watch over the years. Ds is now 22 and runs his own Sunday league team, which has also been a fabulous experience for him. He has made such good friends through football and, whilst I don't 'get it' myself, I can absolutely see how love of football has been such a positive for him.

Yes, premier league footballers are certainly overpaid and sometimes terrible role models. No, I don't particularly enjoy seeing fat, bald, tattooed men in ill-fitting nylon football shirts yelling and swearing on the terraces, and some men undoubtedly use football as an excuse to behave like thugs.

But...yesterday was absolutely lovely. Ds and dh haven't stopped texting each other all morning about their plans for European jaunts, and we'll all be going to the open-top bus parade on BH Monday because it will be a fabulous event, once in a lifetime.

Football brings people together, bonds friends and families and creates communities. I could happily live the rest of my life never watching another football match, but I will never sneer because I have seen how it's brought nothing but positivity to people I love.

More clichés and sneering.

Care to elaborate?

That's why I said that the patronising sneerers would pop up. And they have.

Love/hate football. It annoys me when my team have a mehhh attitude and just kick the ball without purpose but when they look like they care..

It can give you goosebumps! Staduim vibes. Love it.

If you can't see the cliché and dismissive sneering in your post I doubt I can enlighten you further.

Touch sexist? I have a DD. She’s played football for 5 years now and despite being a teenager, has no intention of stopping. And just to put an end to any other stereotypes - she loves football but she’s also a singer and actress. I’m lucky that I have a DD that is so well rounded.

Rugby, the sport that only exists because some kid at school couldn’t play football properly 🙄

It wasn’t really a dig, the op ask why the obsession. That’s why people do it because everyone else does it, it’s a community thing. It’s historical, Children are raised on it and carry on the tradition.

The relationship people have with it is individual but that’s why football is such a big thing in the uk.

Nice backpedal. That's absolutely not what your original post was saying!

Lovely to see Hibs Women secure their first Scottish league title in 18 years this afternoon.