Dear Readers,
Most girls never get the special affection we men have for football.
"Not just do they roll around in the muck, sweating like pigs and chasing that stupid ball for no reason; But these silly boys stay awake late to watch other jobless guys do the same on TV"
A variation or part of this statement has been uttered by all women at some point in time. (Don't lie girls. The truth is in the open now)
But guys, they won't get it even if we break it down to them. Not because they lack the intellect to understand it; rather because what we feel about football is not rational in the first place. The Mind of a football fan is common to find but difficult to understand. What attracts us to this sport of kicking around a ball towards opposing ends of a field for no reason? What attracts us to watching other guys doing the same thing in another country on the TV?
Well, Life and the best it holds never tend to be rational! Women, kindly explain the rationale behind gossip and window shopping? Isn't gossip a mere relaying on hearsay that we cannot even rely on being true? Isn't window shopping a waste of time, downright? But yet women will love their daily dose of gossip and window shop the crap out of Zara?
Sure there are the girls who play football too. The ones who are as much a football fan as you could hope to find. And there are the guys who, I have a suspicion, have had an estrogen infusion. The ones who do not play football during the P.T. period and opting to sit out and gossip.
But still I haven't gotten into the mind of the Football fan.
The appeal of Football lies in its simplicity. It reminds us that life is not only complex bullcrap. Chasing the simply joys, that's the good life. Football is perhaps the cheapest sport and the one with the least requirements. (Just call you friends and ask them to get the ball). The need for officiating is minimal. The violence is automatically regulated because as soon as it gets violent, the game mostly ends because somebody ends up hurting the sentiments of the owner of the ball! The competition just among friends is so palpable and yet after the game these same guys who wanted to "bajao" the ball into each others face are now laughing and fooling! The stupidity of the ball going into the gutter (Flashback to "The Revolution Is Often Incomplete") is followed by the ingenuity of getting it out. Football is just a great release.
But Supporting our respective Clubs and adopted Countries is a totally different matter. (Notice how I tend to refer to the club like I'm a part of it? We tend to do that)
The Clubs we support are chosen not by us but a force we have no control over. I started supporting Manchester United as soon as I heard the name back in 2006. I didn't know that this was a major club with some of the best players and a prestigious history. The name. That was all I needed to fall in love with Man Utd. And the same can be said for nearly all fellow football fans.
The Clubs we support take on a near divine standing in our lives and our devotion to them has religious overtones. Every match is like our weekly mass and every player in our club is a man sent by God. Every word against our club is blasphemy and must be vehemently argued to the last bit! Even if we have no case, we argue it like there's no tomorrow. ( Liverpool fans, that is actually true about you'll not having a tomorrow only a rosy yesterdacade! ) But why do we do all this? Because it gives us a sense of being a part of something larger than ourselves. Somewhere we belong. Clubs are a constant in an everchanging world. Sure the players change. The manager changes (quite often for some clubs) ( *cough* Chelsea *cough*). But the constant is the club is always there. Through thick and thin. Relegation or Championship. All it asks for is loyalty. And the choice of which Country you support just follows club preference. (I wonder how many kids outside India can name even a single Indian club or player..)
But the Football Fan will never lose hope for Indian Football......... JUST KIDDING! Its very unlikely we will ever make it.
So till then the English and Spanish and Italian and Brazilian guys will keep us entertained! (Special Mention to Portugal. CR7 <3)
Here I rest.
Most girls never get the special affection we men have for football.
"Not just do they roll around in the muck, sweating like pigs and chasing that stupid ball for no reason; But these silly boys stay awake late to watch other jobless guys do the same on TV"
A variation or part of this statement has been uttered by all women at some point in time. (Don't lie girls. The truth is in the open now)
But guys, they won't get it even if we break it down to them. Not because they lack the intellect to understand it; rather because what we feel about football is not rational in the first place. The Mind of a football fan is common to find but difficult to understand. What attracts us to this sport of kicking around a ball towards opposing ends of a field for no reason? What attracts us to watching other guys doing the same thing in another country on the TV?
Well, Life and the best it holds never tend to be rational! Women, kindly explain the rationale behind gossip and window shopping? Isn't gossip a mere relaying on hearsay that we cannot even rely on being true? Isn't window shopping a waste of time, downright? But yet women will love their daily dose of gossip and window shop the crap out of Zara?
Sure there are the girls who play football too. The ones who are as much a football fan as you could hope to find. And there are the guys who, I have a suspicion, have had an estrogen infusion. The ones who do not play football during the P.T. period and opting to sit out and gossip.
But still I haven't gotten into the mind of the Football fan.
The appeal of Football lies in its simplicity. It reminds us that life is not only complex bullcrap. Chasing the simply joys, that's the good life. Football is perhaps the cheapest sport and the one with the least requirements. (Just call you friends and ask them to get the ball). The need for officiating is minimal. The violence is automatically regulated because as soon as it gets violent, the game mostly ends because somebody ends up hurting the sentiments of the owner of the ball! The competition just among friends is so palpable and yet after the game these same guys who wanted to "bajao" the ball into each others face are now laughing and fooling! The stupidity of the ball going into the gutter (Flashback to "The Revolution Is Often Incomplete") is followed by the ingenuity of getting it out. Football is just a great release.
But Supporting our respective Clubs and adopted Countries is a totally different matter. (Notice how I tend to refer to the club like I'm a part of it? We tend to do that)
The Clubs we support are chosen not by us but a force we have no control over. I started supporting Manchester United as soon as I heard the name back in 2006. I didn't know that this was a major club with some of the best players and a prestigious history. The name. That was all I needed to fall in love with Man Utd. And the same can be said for nearly all fellow football fans.
The Clubs we support take on a near divine standing in our lives and our devotion to them has religious overtones. Every match is like our weekly mass and every player in our club is a man sent by God. Every word against our club is blasphemy and must be vehemently argued to the last bit! Even if we have no case, we argue it like there's no tomorrow. ( Liverpool fans, that is actually true about you'll not having a tomorrow only a rosy yesterdacade! ) But why do we do all this? Because it gives us a sense of being a part of something larger than ourselves. Somewhere we belong. Clubs are a constant in an everchanging world. Sure the players change. The manager changes (quite often for some clubs) ( *cough* Chelsea *cough*). But the constant is the club is always there. Through thick and thin. Relegation or Championship. All it asks for is loyalty. And the choice of which Country you support just follows club preference. (I wonder how many kids outside India can name even a single Indian club or player..)
But the Football Fan will never lose hope for Indian Football......... JUST KIDDING! Its very unlikely we will ever make it.
So till then the English and Spanish and Italian and Brazilian guys will keep us entertained! (Special Mention to Portugal. CR7 <3)
Here I rest.
Yours Truly,
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