Growing up in England with Football

[JohnBrown1917]

Watching sports is just as boring as watching youtubers play video games. Can just play them myself instead of watching someone else play.

The difference is skill between the very best and your average joe is gigantic.

[bladeXcrasher]

Being American and watching decidedly non-American sports, yes. People try to talk about baseball/basketball/American football around me and I just look at them blankly. I am know at work as the guy that hates 'American' sports.

[JohnBrown1917]

Football is just as exciting as watching paint dry to me. Same reaction to Formula 1, Golf and cricket.

More of a Rugby fan and generally a fan of other sports where people get knocked around.

Never saw the infamous 'battle of Nuremberg' between the Netherlands and Portugal in football?

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I always found it worst if I lied only to be followed with another question

Stranger: What team do you support?
Me: Leeds United
Stranger: Me too, who's your favourite footballer?
Me: ...

Then why lie?

[Deleted]

Never saw the infamous 'battle of Nuremberg' between the Netherlands and Portugal in football?

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Then why lie?

To avoid the awkward silence or to appease them. I don't do that now obviously.

[Deleted]

The difference is skill between the very best and your average joe is gigantic.

the difference between competing in something, at any level, and being an armchair athlete/manager is far bigger

[JohnBrown1917]

the difference between competing in something, at any level, and being an armchair athlete/manager is far bigger

Well, yes, thats my point?

[muto]

Football (soccer) is just as exciting as watching paint dry to me. Same reaction to Formula 1, Golf and cricket.

More of a Rugby fan and generally a fan of other sports where people get knocked around.

I'd thow tennis in there too.

[Xirrohon]

Football (Soccer) is picking up a lot of momentum in the US. I have quite a few friends that goto pubs early Sat/Sun morning to watch matches on TV together. Ive tried to get into it but I like a little more scoring than the normal soccer match. I might give it another try as so many people I know are really getting into it now.

[Champagne Supernova]

I'd thow tennis in there too.

I suppose, but all the female grunting is what keeps it somewhat entertaining.

[Theodarzna]

Luckily, as a girl, there is an implicitly lack of expectation for me to like sports, cars, or any of that stuff.

Though in both the US and the UK I do end up in sports discussions and I just say "I like the Sportball team closest to my house and hope they beat the one from a different geographic location." Though I think if a guy said that he'd get hit.

I was a High School cheerleader and didn't give a shit about sports to be honest.

[3DTyrant]

Just wear a shirt that reads "Don't ask me about sports, I don't care!"

[Kalis]

Football (Soccer) is picking up a lot of momentum in the US. I have quite a few friends that goto pubs early Sat/Sun morning to watch matches on TV together. Ive tried to get into it but I like a little more scoring than the normal soccer match. I might give it another try as so many people I know are really getting into it now.

I hope that football does not take off in the US, their fans are cringeworthy.

/r/Gunners being a prime example of things like "The fans are Gooners, the players are Gunners." No you fucking idiots, the two terms are interchangeable, they represent the same bloody word.

[Aquinan]

Not sure what's confusing about it unless you're just now being introduced to the more accepted name of the sport. Just because an American football is "foot shaped" doesn't mean calling it football makes any sense.

Try being from Sydney, where football could refer to 4 different sports depending where you lived ( soccer, rugby union, rugby league, or Aussie rules football. Was just headache inducing.)

[Kaleredar]

I could never get into soccer. Any sport that has a tactical "pretending you got hurt like a little bitch" factor as a legitimate strategy seems a tad... weak.

[Rixis]

I tend to find the people I speak with know my interests and don't bother asking me about things they know I won't have seen.

[Nerdgasm]

Any other people here suffer similar whilst growing up?

I'm brazilian and I hate footbal. I dislike watching it, dislike the fights and retarded rivalry between the fans, dislike playing it, etc. I was even named after some famous goalkeeper ffs.

The worst thing is that getting anything that had the colors of the rival team (Red and Black) was enough to cause a major shitstorm in my parent's home. I remember this time when I was younger, I really wanted this cool backpack, it was somewhat expensive so I saved some money and bought it just before the start of the school year. But I forgot about one little detail: The backpack was red, black and white. My father went bat shit crazy, burned the backpack and didn't let me inside the house until the next day.

I did some mountain biking races during my teens, and I had to turn down a team invitation because their uniform was red, black, white and green. (The shorts were only red and black).

Not to mention all other crap, like getting your bus attacked by hooligans/thugs/fanclubs.

So yeah, giving how much footbal is overrated around here, I was probably born in the wrong country.

[Aquinan]

Yeah it's stupid how people go batshit crazy over sport. It's almost bad as religion sometimes

[Mehrunes]

Same here in Poland. Which is even weirder. At least countries like Brazil and England are generally good at it. Polish representation almost always sucks and the local clubs require new words to describe properly how bad they are. And yet it gets most of the government funding for sports and people obsess over it to the point of violence. The most pointless case of tribalism there is and tribalism is pointless from the get go.

Try being from Sydney, where football could refer to 4 different sports depending where you lived ( soccer, rugby union, rugby league, or Aussie rules football. Was just headache inducing.)

What's the difference? Oo

[JohnBrown1917]

I could never get into soccer. Any sport that has a tactical "pretending you got hurt like a little bitch" factor as a legitimate strategy seems a tad... weak.

The game acteally has rules against that.. so.. ye..

[Deleted]

What's the difference? Oo

One is a thug's game played by gentlemen and the other is a gentlemen's game played by thugs.

edit: oh I misread which bits you had bolded but I have heard used the same line as a joke between rugby league and rugby union. It's probably easier to watch a vid explaining the differences as it would take a lot of words to explain stuff that can be done visually very fast as to how union and league differ.