Do you really care about football?

[Dark Black]

Once upon a time: A great game played with skill, teamwork and sportsmanship.

These days (in the Uk at least): A bunch of overpaid primadonnas swanning around with enough acting skills to warrant an Equity card...

[daviejones]

At its best it can be as good as great art. At its worst, well you saw yesterday. Have you ever seen any of the Brazil games from the 1970 World Cup? If you have that would answer your question.

I agree. My son is 9 and thinks that players like Beckham are the best that ever lived and I try to show him some of the old clips of Brazil, Germany etc and players like Pele, Best etc...he just says "yeah dad, ok..>"...

[Swiss Tony]

Whilst I enjoy football as a sport and I do enjoy watching the odd game, I find the current spirit in which the game is played abysmal. Players talking back to the referee, diving and rolling like they had just been shot by a sniper in the stands. The lack of passion from the England players when they don the three lions, the list goes on.

The way the Wembley crowd booed the Croatian national anthem last night was disgusting.

I fear for the games future.

Rant over

[tay]

I dislike the game, but I am enjoying it this morning

[sasguru]

I dislike the game, but I am enjoying it this morning

At least we can console ourselves with the thought that although our football team is carp, the Kiwi equivalent is much worse

[Board Game Geek]

Can't stand it personally, but fully accept that others do enjoy it.

I guess some don't understand computer gaming or MMORPGS, so I try to explain that the passion they have for the footie is the same passion I have for gaming.

All passion is, on a chemical level, is the release of Dopamine which is commonly associated with the pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate a person proactively to perform certain activities.

Various stimuli trigger the release of Dopamine, and hence the person feels "good" about that activity. Since we all want to feel good, we develop a passion for that stimuli that will allow us the opportunity for further releases of Dopamine. A natural, but nonetheless, chemical dependency if you like.

So that, in essence, is why people "enjoy" things.

In such a context, the activity itself boils down to a trigger mechanism that gives us a chemical fix.

We're all druggies then.

[Bagpuss]

I'd say it was more than that, Football is the new religion for men, while celebrity is the new religion for women. Remove those destractions and people would think about real issues or consider the pointlessness of their insignificant existance, rather than considering the dilema of England/Wayne Rooneys toe, or Brad Pitt's new hair do.

[snaw]

I'd say it was more than that, Football is the new religion for men, while celebrity is the new religion for women. Remove those destractions and people would think about real issues or consider the pointlessness of their insignificant existance, rather than considering the dilema of England/Wayne Rooneys toe, or Brad Pitt's new hair do.

Riiiight ...

BTW Don't they do something like that in Iran?

[realityhack]

A bunch of overpaid primadonnas swanning around with enough acting skills to warrant an Equity card...

It's time to return to grassroots? Supporting the local 3rd division team and bringing the family along like the old days? I'd probably be interested in watching something like that if the spirit of the game came back somehow, and we didn't let the swearing, mindless thugs in. I went to a Chelsea vs Real Betis (spelling?) game recently with a supplier and the whole thing was a soulless experience, hollow, no real character, didn't get into it even though I tried to enjoy it. Place was full of loud, gutter-mouthed morons with no sportsmanship 'spirit'.

The way the Wembley crowd booed the Croatian national anthem last night was disgusting.

Exactly, just the kind of thing I was trying to express above.

Football is the new religion for men, while celebrity is the new religion for women. Remove those destractions and people would think about real issues or consider the pointlessness of their insignificant existance...

Bread and circuses again.

[SallyAnne]

Newcastle (FC) is part of my blood. I can try and distance myself from it, but it always drags me back. A couple of years ago I tried desperately to have nothing more to do with it - the club wasn't something I wanted to be associated with frankly - the behaviour of the players was utterly disgusting.
Growing up with people like Keegan and Beardsley, and even Shearer to some extent, you have high standards to match up to! And noone was coming close with their constant gang bang allogations, and Big market rampages.
But....there's always still love there somewhere, and you get dragged back into it eventually.
At the minute I'm happily in love with Newcastle again...falling a little bit in love with Ashley, and only getting slightly annoyed with the ****wit fans who expect to win teh league every year else the manager gets the sack.

<breathe>

England...well a similar story, except I'm currently in the hate zone with them bunch of tools. I just hate the team. Pretty much everyone in that squad is an egotistical pr*ck and not someone I particularly want representing me or my country. Gerrard, Lampard, Cole, terry <shudder> I just hate them.

Beckham often makes me very very proud, as does Rooney's talent (but NOT his attitude). And the only person I've been impressed with lately (including last night) is Crouch. What a lvoely lad he is, and he's the only one who ever looks like he gives a tulip.

And McClaren...jesus wept. Keeps Crouch on the bench most of them time, thinks he can do without Beckham - what a cock.
Last night, when his lads are on the pitch soaked and (albeit half-arsedly) running around...he's tucked under an umbrella?!!! FFS.
And then heading into the tunnel as soon as the whistle blew without shaking anyones hand - what an utter cock.

So in summary....I love Newcastle. I hate Newcastle. I love Newcastle. I love England. I Hate England. I'll no doubt love England.
I always care.

Its more than a game.

ahem...but being from Darlo I'm not suprised you think differently RH