Paj! Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) May as well make a new thread for this. So the other day I went to watch Scotland vs. Wales 6 Nations match at a pub with some friends, and I decided to make a joke out of it and go in a (£20) kilt and sporan, with a saltire on my face (not any pics online yet!). I enjoyed the experience, despite not being a sports fan, as Rugby is probably the ONLY sport I have ANY sort of interest in, even if it is passing. If it wasn't Scotland/a joke thing to have done that evening, I wouldn't have cared. I didn't care who win one iota or anything. But yeah, Rugby, a tiny tiny vested interest. The end, I enjoyed. But the same friends took me to the pub to watch the Arsenal vs. Barcelona football match tonight and it was just like... nothing. I stared at the screen, saw what was going on, but I just do not click with football. Grown men were shouting and saying "COME ON SON" (which always gives me a strange feeling/I don't like it) etc etc at things which I SAW, but didn't take in. Like..why was that kick so worthy of exclaiming? Basiclally it wasn't sinking in. I felt no connection on any level, even like how..onlookers can get into someone else playing a game on a superficial level. The pub went wild when Arsenal scored and I remain still, not out of standoffishness (is that a word?), though it might have come off like that. I just felt ZILCH. Like...they scored. ....Ok. I began to wonder if my prescence maybe made my friends enjoyment of the game less fun. There were no signs of this though. And to be fair, it wasn't like I was being all passively "I don't want to be here", I was genuinely watching, just mostly in silence with no connection to it. I hate when people have that silent, seething attitude. Lots of sighing etc. SO What do you guys think of passion for sports (and other things), or the lack thereof? Experiences, feelings etc. I'm not a very passionate person in that sense...I rarely, if ever, get genuinely angry, and am not particularly loud or RAAAAAGGGGHHHH from day-to-day. [P.S reading back it sounds a bit like I'm criticising football/passion for football, that's not intentional. It's meant to be about why people are so passionate about it (and similar things), not in a negative manner] Edited February 17, 2011 by Paj! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drahkon Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) It's meant to be about why people are so passionate about it I'm a huge football fan. Why? I don't know. It might be because my parents have gotten me into the game. I've played for 8 years regularly in a team. Now I play every week with some guys just for fun. I enjoy playing it but I also enjoy watching my favourite team playing. Maybe it's this 'connection' that makes me passionate about it. I began to wonder if my prescence maybe made my friends enjoyment of the game less fun. You not 'feeling it' didn't affect your friends. As you've said: There were no signs of this though. I've watched a lot of games while in company with people who don't enjoy football and I was still cheering, screaming, cursing and shit. So, no worries What do you guys think of passion for sports (and other things), or the lack thereof? As I've mentioned, I'm passionate about football (among other sports). There are sports that I'm not interested in. Like skiing. I tried it for a week and I think it's boring as hell. I can't really explain why. I just don't enjoy it. Edited February 17, 2011 by drahkon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayseven Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 If you have no interest in competition then you have no place in sports, and it has none for you. I watch MOTD because as it goes through the season it's like a story unwinding. You get strange results and unbelievable goals. I suppose it requires some experience of teh game on a personal level to understand if/when a goal or a pass or a save is, as Alan Hansen would say, "Absolutely fantastic." If you have no concept of how difficult it is to play football to that level then you won't enjoy watching it. And don't forget, football is a club - this includes the fans. I don't have a particular favourite (as a neutral I'll still prefer one side to the other...) but for many people their chosen club is their chosen clan, the strip becomes their own colours. Sports can unite people under different banners, but it isn't about that. It's about finding out who's best at a given task. I don't follow athletics all year round but come olympics or another big event I'll end up watching some of it. Not to say that some sports aren't "..." to me. Plus it's early and I can't think straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Sports is something that brings people together, like you said, everyone in the pub was cheering/celebrating when Arsenal scored (I went off my nut in the living room - they were on my coupon!). I can watch pretty much every single sport and get into it if I'm in the right scenario. My grandfather is very big on athletics and golf so if I watch with him he can tell me who everyone is, how good they are etc which makes it much more interesting. Football and tennis are my 'main'' sports to watch. I've always played tennis and ever since the early days of 'Henmania' at Wimbledon I've loved watching it. Watching Henman at Wimbledon was incredibly exciting, the media obviously built the hype up to the extreme but that all added to it. People always say that Henman wasn't a good player etc etc but when you look at it he was. He was consistently in the top 10 and always did well in the major tournaments. I do realise I'm rambling and my post has no real point to it but I'm hungover so what the hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murr Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Depends on the football match I suppose. Watching the Manchester Derby at the pub last season (where Utd won 1-0, Scholes goal ).... that was just... wow. at the time, alot was riding on the game. the title was by no means over, and had Utd Drawn or lost that game, we would of been further behind Chelsea. But that goal going in... I went ape-shit, as did many of my United fan friends. standing on the chairs yelling, pint's being spilled everywere. really was incredible. I know nothing came out of that season ultimately (the Carling cup was it) but the importance of that goal, and that result, to keep the title race going all the way to the final curtain, was just brilliant. Also... same can be said when watching Boxing. watched the David Haye vs Valuev fight at the pub. And I guess in that instance, weather you were a boxing fan or not, you knew about that particular fight, and It was as if the whole country was behind Haye even if they didn't really follow boxing. So watching that fight at the pub with everyone drinking, people who tend to not like the sport watching and cheering, everyone totally behind Haye... was just great. oh yeah and of course Rugby World cup final in 2007. We lost I know... but fuck me... that was an unforgettable night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Odwin Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Sports is something that brings people together There are three things in my life that drive me apart from people, that cause wedges. Awesomeness - Sometimes my awesomeness can make people feel intimidated Religion - Especially not drinking, clubbing, etc. Really causes a divide. Sport - It's this thing that brings most people together, but when you have no opinion on sport (football especially) then it can cause moments of awkwardness. People flounder when you say that you have no interest (not dislike, just no interest). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenuh Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I'm one of those people who has absolutely no interest in football, and pretty much every other sport out there. Probably much to the annoyance of Jim. He talks to me about stuff that's going on in football, or makes me watch Match of the Day with him, but it just bores me. =P Only times I can get into sports is when there's something big going on, something a bit more important. Like the Olympics. If there's a Belgian playing, I'll watch it (even the athletics). And things like tennis, especially now that Kim Clijsters is back. Football however, even with the World Cup, is still quite boring. Belgium never performs well so I have no one to cheer for. I watched the final and wanted the Netherlands to win, but in the end it was a very boring game, and I felt I had wasted my entire evening haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) There are three things in my life that drive me apart from people, that cause wedges. Awesomeness - Sometimes my awesomeness can make people feel intimidated Religion - Especially not drinking, clubbing, etc. Really causes a divide. Sport - It's this thing that brings most people together, but when you have no opinion on sport (football especially) then it can cause moments of awkwardness. People flounder when you say that you have no interest (not dislike, just no interest). This. I'm not really interested in football much anymore. I'll watch a match with my team playing, sure, but I don't look at who they signed or what happened or anything like that, which people find weird. When my friends or some of my family talk about football, I feel awkward because it doesn't interest me anymore like it used to and, as Odwin said, it causes a bit of awkwardness. I'd rather PLAY football than WATCH it if given the choice but I wouldn't do it either because I'm shit! besides, it brings very bad memories of school, haha. The sports that I love are tennis, snooker, swimming and MMA really (and DDR if you count it, pmsl). I'm not passionate about a type of sport but I like to watch them and I wouldn't mind trying them either. I also hate how people say you're not a man for not taking an interest in football. I can never get my head around why people say such weird things like that. I don't get how not being interested a sport doesn't make you a man... Edited February 17, 2011 by Animal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paj! Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 I also hate how people say you're not a man for not taking an interest in football. Well whoever says something like that is clearly a complete idiot, so it's best to ignore them and everyhing they say from now on. I too generally say I prefer to play Football but watch Rugby. Haven't played Rugby in like...8 years though. So maybe I'm suddenly amazing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Depends on the football match I suppose. Watching the Manchester Derby at the pub last season (where Utd won 1-0, Scholes goal ).... that was just... wow. at the time, alot was riding on the game. the title was by no means over, and had Utd Drawn or lost that game, we would of been further behind Chelsea. But that goal going in... I went ape-shit, as did many of my United fan friends. standing on the chairs yelling, pint's being spilled everywere. really was incredible. I know nothing came out of that season ultimately (the Carling cup was it) but the importance of that goal, and that result, to keep the title race going all the way to the final curtain, was just brilliant. That reminds me off two of my favourite ever moments. I was standing outside an outdoors bar on George Square in Glasgow because we were all underage and couldn't get it but we had a perfect view of the screen. We were watching Scotland vs France. Gary Caldwell scored. The whole city erupted, we were going mental, jumping up and down, cheering. Car horns were going off all over the place. We didn't even know it was Caldwell who scored until later on because we missed the celebrations/replays cos we were celebrating so much! Fast forward a year to that night in the Park de Princes. In a bar this time, pretty much the whole pub had a pint in each hand so you didn't miss any of the game. Then out of nowhere... This happened. Audio Fair to say, there were pints flying everywhere. I've never celebrated a goal so much in my life and quite possibly never will do again. Fantastic memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) I am perfectly able to let myself go and immerge myself in a sport (most often handball), especially when Denmark is playing an important against another country. Like just recently when they played against France in the World Cup final. I was screaming and cheering and shouting insults at the incompetent referees. Yet whenever I do immerge myself, no matter how the match turns out, as soon as I've calmed down, I'm always left with a bit of an empty feeling inside because I realise it hasn't affected my life in any way. Which is strange, considering I don't feel that way about other mediums of entertainment that have no direct effect on me, like games or films. I think I'm just generally less interested in sports, and I have to admit I feel a bit put off sometimes by the fanaticism of some sports fans. Edited February 17, 2011 by Dannyboy-the-Dane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcj metroid Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Oh I HATE soccer lol. I have very low attention span and can't concentrate on something for very long. Nothing against people who love soccer though. In ireland especially though I could never really understand why people would get SO passionate about English clubs like Man Utd and then bitch about the english people lol. it's incredible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramar Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 It's hard to describe why I'm passionate about sport. As a kid I was always active, sport was just one way of exercising and being social. I played loads of sport: football, cricket and tennis in the summer, street hockey, done a bit of running and athletics too. I think like jayseven said it really helps to be competitive, I am by nature a sore loser (cue Arsenal and Wenger jokes :p). Sport is just one way of releshing competition whilst being active. As for supporting or following sport passionately, thats a different subject and I feel there's different degrees to it. Which is a lot harder to explain. For example Dazz says he watches matches but doesn't really take note of everything about the club/game, then you have people like Flink who are Man Utd mad but don't go to games, then you've got people who fork out small fortunes home & away, rain or shine. There's definitely a clan nature at the root of it. At the other angle, I don't disrespect people who don't like sport. That's up to you, if you don't like something fair enough. What does do my head in is when people say "why do you spend so much money on going?" or "it's only a game". The latter annoys me the most, it's only a game to you but its a massive passion for me, I'm sure musicians would be upset if I said it was just sound, or if I told an artist it was just a drawing. We can't all enjoy everything or the world would be a boring place. tl;dr - I can't even summarise my rambling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supergrunch Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I've never been particularly interested in watching sport, although I do sometimes watch snooker and Go (not really a sport ) on tv or wherever, but don't get particularly passionate about it. I enjoy actually doing some sports, although I'm more into non-team based things like climbing, sailing, and swimming. Although that may result from the fact that I have various leg problems so am not really supposed to run... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grazza Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I don't get it either, Paj. I mean, I can enjoy an England match, but all the shouting and exclamation feels very false to me. I'm not accusing them of being false, just that it'd be false if I did it. When an England player scores a goal, I think "Oh good" instead of "YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" Sport is a good thing, I'm totally for it being on TV. I just explain the extreme passion about it as "male bonding". Many of my workmates never talk about anything else. When they bump into each other, they instantly boast/insult each other about their team's performance, and most of their Facebook updates are a serious analysis of the latest player to be bought/manager to be sacked. Harmless fun, undoubtedly. But no, I don't get it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 When i watch highlights from the Champions League final in 2005, i get goosebumps, and my hair stands on end. It's hard to explain why i love football so much, it's just so passionate and amazing. I get genuinely nervous and excited when a game is coming up, it's just an amazing feeling when your team scores. It has a massive influence on my whole life, as i play it nearly everday aswell and watch and talk about it. There's not really any other sports i watch/talk about alot, F1 could maybe come into that bracket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoogleViper Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I think that even if you have no interest in something, you can still "get into it" to a certain degree if you have an open mind and are doing it with somebody you care about. If you're watching the footy with your partner then I'm sure you still appreciate it. I don't have any interest in dancing (gender stereotypes ftw), but I'm sure if I had a girlfriend who was into it I could watch it and enjoy it. I'm not a massive fan of spectating sports, but I'll play just about any sport. The only ones I watch are football and athletics. But I play (although I'm pretty rubbish at them all) footy, squash, tennis, golf, badminton and used to play rugby (league, union is shit, I can't respect any sport that has some fat players who lack any real talent, and are only in the team to push the scrum forward and take players out). I've never been particularly interested in watching sport, although I do sometimes watch snooker (not really a sport ) and Go (not really a sport ) on tv or wherever, Fixed it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Oh i hate Rugby, it's so one dimensional and limited. Involves no technique or tactics. Just physical, and it bores me to tears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoogleViper Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Oh i hate Rugby, it's so one dimensional and limited. Involves no technique or tactics. Just physical, and it bores me to tears. Union I would agree, league is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I don't even know the rule differances between the two, what changes are there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoogleViper Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I don't even know the rule differances between the two, what changes are there? The main differences is to do with tackling. When a player is tackled, he must roll the ball away, and other players (on their feet, so if the tackler goes to the ground also he can't) try and get the ball. This leads to a massive scramble. League however has the five tackles rule. So when a tackle is made, the team who were tackled retain possession, and play continues from where the tackle is made. After five tackles the play goes over to the other team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 It brings people together, Sport is a universal language across the world. No matter how rich or how poor, everyone can be involved and have an opinion. There's nothing like the buzz of kickoff or the countdown to the final off something, and that's just watching it on the TV. Being in a stadium with thousands of passionate screaming fans is an experience that is unparalleled. Human beings at the very basic level are competitive, and sport is just a natural extension of that. I can't really put into words what sport means to me. It's a way of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fierce_LiNk Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 It's hard to describe why I'm passionate about sport. As a kid I was always active, sport was just one way of exercising and being social. I played loads of sport: football, cricket and tennis in the summer, street hockey, done a bit of running and athletics too. I think like jayseven said it really helps to be competitive, I am by nature a sore loser (cue Arsenal and Wenger jokes :p). Sport is just one way of releshing competition whilst being active. As for supporting or following sport passionately, thats a different subject and I feel there's different degrees to it. Which is a lot harder to explain. For example Dazz says he watches matches but doesn't really take note of everything about the club/game, then you have people like Flink who are Man Utd mad but don't go to games, then you've got people who fork out small fortunes home & away, rain or shine. There's definitely a clan nature at the root of it. At the other angle, I don't disrespect people who don't like sport. That's up to you, if you don't like something fair enough. What does do my head in is when people say "why do you spend so much money on going?" or "it's only a game". The latter annoys me the most, it's only a game to you but its a massive passion for me, I'm sure musicians would be upset if I said it was just sound, or if I told an artist it was just a drawing. We can't all enjoy everything or the world would be a boring place. tl;dr - I can't even summarise my rambling. Word, although not going to games is down to situation rather than choice. My family are from Manchester, but I'm the first one to be born in the South. Also, when growing up, I was brought up by my grandparents, and they were both in their late 50s/early 60s and partially disabled. I used to be quite bitter when growing up to see all my friends having their Dads taking them to watch the football or the rugby, when mine never really took me anywhere. But, I know it wasn't really their fault. I'm earning now, after the debt of uni, so hopefully I can put two pennies together and get myself up there. Somebody has to make some noise at Old Trafford. As for the general topic on hand, I love sports, particularly football, rugby, tennis and snooker. I also like watching darts, but haven't played much in a while. Football is my love, though. There's a brotherhood to it, a community aspect which grabs me. I also like to think of a game as a battle, where you've got 11 warriors against another 11. Seeing two teams going at each other really makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I try and watch as much football as I can. If I can't watch it, I'll listen to it on the radio, follow text updates, get streams off the internet to watch games, any way possible. At Uni, I'd sit in my room listening to the 12:45 Premiership kick-off on my radio. When I'm with Ine, if I'm travelling on the Saturday, I'll get to her place and we'll sit down and watch the highlights together on Match of the Day whilst eating some snacks. The only game I haven't actually watched this season is the away game against Birmingham, since I was travelling that day from London with Ine. I've watched every single game either on telly or with an internet stream. Would definitely rather be there with the crowd though. Football doesn't do it for everyone, though. Mainly due to the pace, but that's because a lot of the non-fans only watch the big games, when perhaps they're the least exciting due to the fact that both sides don't want to lose, so they play quite defensively. If they watched the 4-4 between Arsenal and Newcastle for example, or the 3-2 between Blackpool and United, then maybe they'd get a different experience out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramar Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Wasn't meant as a dig Flink, just used you because you fit the point I was trying to make and a well known KNEE-er. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happenstance Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 I miss going to watch Liverpool play. We used to have season tickets but then my Dad left and moved away and he just stopped getting them. Its been a few years now since my last football match but I always did love going to Anfield, hearing the songs and getting excited with everyone else. Im also similar to Flink in that all of my family before me were from Liverpool then I was born down South but still ended up supporting them. As for other sports, I tend to enjoy playing them rather than watching. Occassional bit of Basketball anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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