Who doesn't like football?

[Tony Harrison]

You can be involved with the game in different ways. You can be a team fan and/or a football fan.
As a team fan it is more about the attachment. If you have this emotional investment there is something to gain or lose. Having something on the line will intensify the experience. A little similar to playing a (computer) game with only one life. If your playing with infinite lives the game is not the same.

But that doesn't mean it can't be appreciated. You can also be a fan of the sport without this attachment. Judging by the viewing figures of Euro 2008 there are quite a few of those. People watched with no affiliation, not for identity or tribalism, purely for the sport and the drama it can provide.

The players at the top level have an incredible amount of skill, it is not something just anyone can do. You don't really have to appreciate this to enjoy a football game but a little respect for the fact would help.

As for the money they earn, I don't see a problem with it. That's the way the world works; if you have an issue it is not with football but with society. Millions of people worldwide will pay good money to watch footballers and buy shirts. This expenditure is not really something that can be argued against on a gaming forum, considering the money we will spend on games.
There are other people that deserve this hostility more.

 

[huntedannoyed]

I like the adds during the super bowl.

 

[the_tralfalmadorian]

i don't particularly favor football, but then team sports in general bore me, so it's not really football's fault. I'm more of a boxing man myself.

 

[Ultrajoe]

i must say i enjoy football (with the feet)

not just the games but the environment and culture of the game is nice.

And for the fans it is genuinely exciting, there is real skill at the professional level and there's nothing like the tension of a penalty shootout.

 

[Blu3Forever]

It is almost indescribable to someone who doesnt understand and is looking in from the outside, there is definitely an emotional attachment amongst the fans and their team. Its something that you could only get after watching your club for x amount of years, the atmosphere that surrounds you during games is electric and should be experienced at least once in your lifetime.

oh, i understand it. i used to like sports when i was a child, but the fervoring momentum of the masses is not a complex phenomenon that is difficult to understand.

thousands of people all unified as one, together for a single meaningless cause.

in the defense of football though, i had a discussion about why i hate sports with a serbian college football player. he could see my point but as he explained it, in europe football is like a safe proxy war by which each region demonstrates dominance and a false sense of superiority over the other.

i guess it's a lot cheaper than using the size of your military as a penis measuring contest.

By reading a few of the posts towards the begining of this thread, it does seem as though it is hard for them to understand.

The whole of europe dont see football as a safe proxy war, but perhaps the serbs do as parts of eastern europe hold a lot of tense feelings towards each other sinces quite a few countries fairly recently split up.

 

[ninja chicken]

MR me doesn't like teh footblz..

 

[mintsauce]

I don't dislike football as a sport. It's a decent game and is a lot of fun to play, and I love watching international games.

However, I have a real problem with the professional game. It's full of overpaid primadonnas, whiners and divers who have no place in any sport, and yet they are idolised as role-models for kids.

The top leagues in the world, particularly the English Premier League, are broken. The most popular teams get the most money, so they can afford to buy the best players, and hence improve their place in the standings. Other teams cannot compete. There are two leagues in the Premiership - one for Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, and one for everyone else. Look at teams like Stoke and Hull. They are in the same division as the top teams, but they will never win. Ever. So what's the point in them even being in the Premiership?

The solution is a salary cap and a draft system, as with many North American sports. Force your teams to select junior talent carefully and distribute it fairly to the teams that really need it. Don't allow any teams to overspend and effectively buy the championship. This gives everyone a chance at winning, but still allows teams with good coaching and good front office staff to run a consistently good team.

 

[ukslim]

I never enjoyed football (we're talking about English football, right?) until I started watching my home town's non-league team. Having an emotional attachment to the town helped a great deal. At first I just went for the atmosphere, but gradually I started to understand more about the structure of the game.

I still can't get excited about the Premiership (although I *do* hate Chelsea ).

Anyhow. I enjoy it. You're free to not enjoy it.

 

[dukeh016]

I don't dislike football as a sport. It's a decent game and is a lot of fun to play, and I love watching international games.

However, I have a real problem with the professional game. It's full of overpaid primadonnas, whiners and divers who have no place in any sport, and yet they are idolised as role-models for kids.

The top leagues in the world, particularly the English Premier League, are broken. The most popular teams get the most money, so they can afford to buy the best players, and hence improve their place in the standings. Other teams cannot compete. There are two leagues in the Premiership - one for Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, and one for everyone else. Look at teams like Stoke and Hull. They are in the same division as the top teams, but they will never win. Ever. So what's the point in them even being in the Premiership?

The solution is a salary cap and a draft system, as with many North American sports. Force your teams to select junior talent carefully and distribute it fairly to the teams that really need it. Don't allow any teams to overspend and effectively buy the championship. This gives everyone a chance at winning, but still allows teams with good coaching and good front office staff to run a consistently good team.

Wait. We did something...right? Hurrahz! Take that Iran. Now who is more hated? Ehhhh? Ehhhhhh? Sucker.

 

[anNIALLator]

I don't really like football either. i don't understand why someone would be willing to get into a fight with someone because they 'support' a different team. i also don't understand how they attach or asociate themselves with the team - 'We' won? which position did you play?

 

[Treblaine]

watching a football game is like being a spectator to a CSS game, as I'd much rather be involved (even getting my ass kicked) than sitting on the side lines. Considering the outcome of football and a computer game are just as arbitrary and insignificant then I'd much rather play the game with the guns and crazy team-speak.

One of the biggest criticisms I have of football is that it is mostly a spectator sport, that and it is a pretty pansy with half the game seems to be players going through some melodramatic mime performance as they ***** to the referee over some ridiculously complex and arbitrary rule or writhing on the ground like a toddler having a tantrum trying to play up an "injury".

The endless rules of football just make it awkward like no hands, well that is the most counter-intuitive part of the game you are constantly holding back what you could be doing. There are no rules in CSS/TF2/Battlefield (well, no racism or haxorz) so you have full freedom to compete with other players. If it is possible then it is allowed, you have to go out of your way and do unnatural things to break the rules.

That is why online computer games will always be more appealing to me, I'll get my exorcise in the gym and on my bike than you very much.

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

People like things you don't like. Get over it. You seem to think that someone elses hobby is inferior to your own. So if I want to talk about the football game I can. Don't be so ignorant about something and bash it just because you don't like it. It's quite frankly childish.

Ya well at least gamers don't constantly ***** about egregiously inane shit or engage in blind factional hatred!

.....wait...FUCK!

 

[penguin123]

honestly the ONLY sport i like is golf because you have to be smart instead of just strong. also proof that america sucks in rugbe(or however you spell it) they wear almost NO armor while in american football they have all this armor on

 

[Goenitz]

OK, I feel pretty strongly about this so I gotta make my opinion known.

As a first generation European in Canada, I LOVE FOOTBALL!!!! I have season tickets to TFC (Thats Toronto's MLS team) and purchase tickets to anything I have an interest in. For example, tonight Im going to the Canada vs. Jamaica world cup qualifier, at BMO field, which is in downtown Toronto.

Granted that watching football on TV leaves alittle to be desired, but there is nothing, NOTHING, more intense than being at the stadium, with 25000 people around you screaming and chanting for their team. Even better, try to get tickets in England and go to a Manchester game, and have 100k people screaming and chanting. Add that to all the beer your gonna be drinking and you've got the recipe for the best time ever.

 

[freakyHippo]

The solution is a salary cap and a draft system, as with many North American sports. Force your teams to select junior talent carefully and distribute it fairly to the teams that really need it. Don't allow any teams to overspend and effectively buy the championship. This gives everyone a chance at winning, but still allows teams with good coaching and good front office staff to run a consistently good team.

The problem here is that Football is a global game. There is only one top flight professional Gridiron league, thats the NFL. This makes restrictions on player trading and salary caps easier to maintain. If the EPL were to introduce salary caps but no where else in the world did, then all the talented players would flock to other leagues (Seria A, La Liga, Bundersleague etc) where they can maximize their earnings in non-capped leagues. This would cause the EPL to lose significant revenue, especially on the global market, as people in Asia/Africa/Middle East won't watch the EPL if the best players aren?t playing there. Without FIFA doing anything i doubt we'll ever see an effective salary cap system that will make club football more competitive, especially not when an idiot like Sepp Blatter is running the show.

International Football however is where its at. Euro 2008 was a fantastic competition with some really great games of football being played by all nations. Although England weren't there i enjoyed a vast number of matches and was especially glad that Spain beat the Germans in the final (Germany got very lucky against a plucky Turkish team). For me Euro 2008 showed that Football can be a properly majestic, gripping and entertaining sport. If only the mighty Bradford City would play that way.

EDIT: I am in no way trying to defend the pre-madonnas or the stoopid amounts of money they win. Just pointing out why a salary cap system will be difficult to implement.

 

[Spinwhiz]

I like college football better than the NFL...BUT...I am in 3 fantasy leagues this year, so watching NFL has become much more fun!

 

[mintsauce]

EDIT: I am in no way trying to defend the pre-madonnas or the stoopid amounts of money they win. Just pointing out why a salary cap system will be difficult to implement.

No no, you make an excellent point and I agree. It's just a shame that the current system will probably carry on indefinitely!

 

[gr33ny76]

1. You're watching 22 grown men running around a pitch kicking a ball about.
>You're watching a collection of pixels in a darkened room

2. There's easily more better, fun(and important)things you can do for 90 minutes, have sex anyone?
>Like play games perhaps? I hear PES2008 is quite good

3. I don't feel an "emotional" attachment for people I don't know who get paid gazillions for doing something a child could do, albeit alot better. When Arsenal score my brother practically jumps and whoops for joy, my uncle is even worse, luckily they haven't both been in the same room yet, thank god.
>I dont feel an emotional attachment to a particular console or title, yet there are some >people called fanboys or something?

4. Fights fans get into over football are stupid and childish, do you think the team you support gives two shits? Really? Do they? No, they don't, it's all about the money.
>Fanboys. Fullstop.

5. I never understood why some people say "It's never about the football now, it's about the money". Since when was it about anything else? You're talking about football as if it's a way of life or something important. And since when were footballer reliable role models? I would much rather look up to someone who actually contributes to the community and does something significant, what do footballers do? You guessed right, they kick balls about, what a great role model for our kids. Not.
>When I grow up, I want to kidnap, rape and then beat hookers to death.

6. Wouldn't it be better to actually play football? Rather than sit down with a six pack of beer and watch it? Surely no wonder so many people are obese, instead of wanting to go out and have a kick about with friends which could benefit your health you would rather sit at home and watch the game on tv. you could be doing so much more in those 90 minutes.

>Jeez, 3am already? I better stop playing with my mates!

7. Atmosphere. This word gets chucked in my face so many times(2974 times including today now)and is the word used to describe the euphoria of watching a football match. They say if you can't beat them join them so I watched(well tried to watch)a game. I picked a team to "support", check, beer(even though I hate it), check, load, rowdy bunch of friends, check, remote, check, HD TV, check, let's begin.
15 minutes in and I'm asleep, I can't do it, I can't hack it, I don't know how people go through this shit, seriously.
>MMORPGS, seriously, what is that about?!

/ironic pseudo rant over

EDIT: COME ON YOU RED AND WIZAAAAAAAAAAARDS!

 

[PureChaos]

i dont see what some do, i can watch about 15 - 20 minutes of a match but then get bored. but, each to their own

 

[birdbrain18]

I can't personaly stand football. they are stoping evrey 15 seconds for some sort of reason.
I'd mutch rather watch wreastling