All things sporting

And hating someone over a game is dumb -Lorient

We call that suporting your team. Really.

You can support a team without despising members and fans of another

Football doesnt really work like that.

Well to help give a little context I am a Glasgow Rangers supporter- and I grew up in the allegiances and alliances that come with that- and in the west coast of Scotland that extends far beyond going to a match- not often now, but when I was growing up getting or not getting a job might depend on which team you supported, as it also told the would be employer what religion you were, and that mattered.

The world would be a better place without religion.

Sorry, please continue.

There is a point to this. Because whilst I agree with you Chris- and whilst there is nothing good in the sectarian bile, the violence, the inbuilt hatred and mistrust, the division of communties along club alligiances and religous association ect- it does make the game more meaningful and exciting.
It creates an emotional connection to a game that is not unlike clan associations of the past- and if you have to ocasionly fight to defend your teams name and honour then it just makes the whole thing seem more meaningful, more important and more exciting.
As a particapant you feel stronger, you get a good adrenlain buzz going, let pent up frusrations out. And you have your colours to nail your feeling to, and a clear enemy who are doing the same to aim your feelings at.

Now I am not advocaing any of this in anyway, I am just trying to convey the why behind some of it. And why it perpetuates. And why being a football fan in many parts of the world is more than just being a fan of watching a particular sport. Its being a part of a movement, its having a voice shouting in unison with thousands of others when nomally you are never heard at all. Its empowerement of a sort.

In a culture where gang warfare is considered "sport", I can see why taking away knives, guns and glass bottles makes sense!

Are you part of a hooligan firm, Petty?

Its certainly an interesting social outcome. Not exactly gangs- the team, success on the field are all still crucial- but attached to it is all the other stuff.
A football fan is a part of the club they support and in footballing countries that is usually instilled in you from very early on- I already knew I was going to be a Rangers supporter before I had ever seen a football match, I was born to a Rangers, protestant, Orange Lodge, masonic family- if I had choosen Celtic as my team it would have ended family releationships- thats how serious it was taken.

Eldo- no, I have been in small scale fights in my youth over football, nothing major. But Ive seen it, seen it in people I have known, family members friends ect over the years- I used to be doorman taking the tickets every year at the local Rangers Supporters Club Dance- in my town that meant the towns dignatries, being a strongly protestant town- so councilors, leading businessmen ect- and theyd all be singing the songs 'up to their knees in fenian blood' ect "F*!& the Pope and the Ira" all the classics.

Charming.

Gives you an idea of how interwoven supporting your team is with culture and your immediate society here.

So when I say Americans dont take their sport seriously I do mean it- when you and I talk about sport Eldo we are talking about two different concepts really. I guess thats what Im trying to get across.
For you sport is a game you watch to be entertained. For me growing up football was a part of everyday life in one way or another. Its part of the fabric of life.

I think I understand you, but to be perfectly honest, it all sounds a bit senseless and loony to me.

Thats because it is. Nevertheless in some parts still whether you are getting bought a drink or a bottle in the face can depend on how you answer the question "What team do you support?"

Even now thats got to be up there with one of the more dangerous questions you can be asked in Glasgow.

Pettytyrant101 wrote: Nevertheless in some parts still whether you are getting bought a drink or a bottle in the face can depend on how you answer the question "What team do you support?"

As a traveler, I'm curious about the rules here. Does a bottle in the face count as fair play? It would have been a foul by Alaska fishing bar rules as I used to understand them. A bottle to the head would have been fair, but any blow to the face or balls would get you stomped if you went down.

These aren't my favorite sports, but it's always good to know the rules when you travel.

Good question David.
Sadly there are no national rules only local ones. So avoid going to pubs on rule boundaries for a start- that keeps things simpler.

In terms of fair play its more measured on a scale of entertainment, flair and style.
You can get away with a rule break if it is carried off well, or with a particlarly fine witty remark.

But rules do change area to area- Motherwell Rules -pool cue up the arse is fair game, Port and Greenock Rules -you wont get much change out of a witty retort as they are unlikely to understand it, whereas in Glasgow the right bit of patter (a style of witty speech) is the difference between saying hello to the blunt end of a buckie bottle and being offered the drink from it.

It is also a good idea to try to learn the limited 'patter' of the greater and lesser nasal Ned- as their calls are likely to precede any potentially tricky encounters.



And this may help in understanding a bit of Glasgowegian- visitors often find it hard to tell when someone is being aggressive in Glasgowan and when they are being niece, as to the untrained ear it sounds the same. Let the late great Stanley Baxter explain.



Oh and avoid anyone who goes by then name 'The Big Man' -the Big Men are masters of patter- dont even engage, you will lose.



Lastly, never, never, ever, underestimate the women.

You know how Orwell is always boasting about how Aussies are natural sortsmen ect? Not that natural! Now we know why they are so good at sport.

The use of banned drugs in Australian professional sport is "widespread", a year-long investigation has found.
The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) said scientists, coaches and support staff were involved in the provision of drugs across multiple sporting codes.
The use of illicit drugs in some sports was thought to be "significantly higher" than official statistics showed, it added.
In some cases, players had been administered with drugs not yet approved for human use, the report also said. - BBC

I alway suspected there was something extra in Odo's seedcakes.

Frodo a football hooligan.

"i was kicked out of hogwarts"?

Good finish to a game.

Damn. You a basketball fan, Chris?

I dont mind the last couple of mins. Used to watch it all the time
over here (Perth wildcats) but basketball has been on the decline
the last few years. Havn't watched a game in years.

I like baseball.

azriel wrote:Ive found out my friend supports Miami Dolphins & San Fransisco 49 ?
Means nothing to me ! Are they good or bad ? (baseball)

The Dolphins and the 49ers are football teams. They've both struggled a lot in recent years, but the 49ers have managed to turn themselves around in the last two years. They were in the Super Bowl last week, although they lost. Lorient is a 49ers fan, too.