[Closed] The stigma of not liking football

I can't stand the bloody game, you are not alone.

No interest whatsoever, never been to a match, probably never watched a match either. Neither had my parents.

Just don't talk to cabbies would be my suggestion...

You should try living in Wales and not being bothered about rugby!

...Or live in Canada and have no interest in Ice Hockey!

I made the mistake of going to both hockey and CFL (aka American football with slightly different rules). So bloody boring as the games kept getting interupt by advert breaks for TV schedules and/or to swap offensive and defensive teams over.
The CFL games went on for 4 hours...I think it was a ruse to make punters buy overpriced, shite beer...

Couldn't care less about it and can't fathom the obsession others have over it.

I also don’t care for football or rugby, but don’t particularly care what others think. Folks and strokes.

You should try living in Wales and not being bothered about rugby!

That does sound a tough gig! You have my sympathy!

I don't mind people who like football, some of them are OK.

I don't mind anyone not being interested in football. There are >10,000 things I'm not interested but I don't carp on about them.
I do wonder sometime why people with no interest in football end up commenting (negatively) about football/footballers.

I’ll get in on this. Family enjoys a bit of football - I don’t get it at all.

I do wonder sometime why people with no interest in football end up commenting (negatively) about football/footballers.

Fair enough, though not something that has happened on this thread so far

Couldn't give a toss about football (in fact I actively dislike it), and frankly don't mind if people take issue with my view - it's a handy filter.

As a sport I 'get it' more than ice hockey, basketball and basically everything else an american jock would get a stiffy over; I just struggle to get past the tribalism.

Quite like playing it, no interest in watching it.

Don’t drink alcohol either which thoroughly confuses a large part of the population.

You should try living in Wales and not being bothered about rugby!

Really, I’ve lived in Cardiff my whole life, I don’t know anyone who follows club rugby, most people will watch the 6 Nations and World Cup, but the actual game often gets in the way of the drinking.

For the record I’ve no interest in Football either, but if you really want to feel like a leper, trying telling people you don’t like Tea, or worse Tea OR Coffee.

but if you really want to feel like a leper, trying telling people you don’t like Tea, or worse Tea OR Coffee.

yeah, but drinking tea/coffee with people is a completely ingrained part of friendship, greeting, hosting and being hosted. It would be like not shaking their hand...........oh.

but if you really want to feel like a leper, trying telling people you don’t like Tea, or worse Tea OR Coffee.

Freak!!! Burn him! 😄

As a teen in the 80s, I watched MOTD and most televised football, almost without fail. Played loads too, bought the first generation Adidas Predators, they were awesome for swerve. Then Liverpool stopped winning, I went to uni and besides watching the odd Euro/World cup game, my love for the game died.

Not only do I not like football, I don't drink tea, coffee or beer. In fact, I very rarely drink any alcohol at all. Therefore, I don't do pubs or clubs.

Same, no interest in football.
Back in the days when lots of people worked in an office*, I could kill just about any conversation that started with "Did you watch..." by pointing out I'd not had a TV for over a decade. It moved on to having to rebuff "Well, what about Netflix/Prime..." counters until people realised I'm just genuinely not interested in watching telly. Then they get a bit weirded out...

* Like, any time previous to about 6 months ago...

Don’t particularly like it can’t say it’s ever been in an issue.

As a fan of rugby and football I couldn't give a stuff if I am in a group who don't like football. In fact most of the 12 out in the bike today don't like the sport.
But what I do dislike is the urgent need to declare a dislike of football.
I for instance hate computer games, golf and all Motorsport but never say unless I'm asked.

Not a huge fan, it’s in my blood as my Dad played pro and I’ve played to a good standard, but I don’t really follow it anymore. However it’s a big part of British culture so I think having a passing knowledge is a good thing.

Being consciously ignorant of things that play a big part of others lives or culture is not smart IMO.

But what I do dislike is the urgent need to declare a dislike of football.
I for instance hate computer games, golf and all Motorsport but never say unless I’m asked.

Fair enough, though I don't get the "urgent" bit. My point is that there is a distinct difference between declaring a dislike of football and other things (computer games etc) because most football fans (in my experience) seem to assume that any adult British male they meet will share their enthusiasm and be utterly baffled if they don't. Golf, computer games etc don't seem to have the same reaction.

Obligatory posting of this:

'Stigma' is a very strong word though surely, lots of people aren't into football. I'm not into soaps or reality tv shows which are similarly ubiquitous.

Being consciously ignorant of things that play a big part of others lives or culture is not smart IMO.

That's a good point something along the lines of what I would believe.

I don't follow football and don't get involved in conversation about it. Morris dancing however...

Wife and teenage sons all are season ticket holders with one of the main glasgow clubs. I have never been to a game and have no interest in it whatsoever. They go to the football, I go on my bike, all good...

Being consciously ignorant of things that play a big part of others lives or culture is not smart IMO.

Whereas I really couldn't give a flying **** what either of the Old Firm are doing and will be quite glad if my daughter grows up with the same disinterest the rest of her family has towards it, mainly because of the toxic baggage it can (but not necessarily) bring.

There is a huge gulf between conscious ignorance and cultural snobbery FWIW.

Fair enough, though I don’t get the “urgent” bit. My point is that there is a distinct difference between declaring a dislike of football and other things (computer games etc) because most football fans (in my experience) seem to assume that any adult British male they meet will share their enthusiasm and be utterly baffled if they don’t. Golf, computer games etc don’t seem to have the same reaction.

Quite. And computer games don't get 15 pages in every Sunday paper, most of half an hour of the BBC news every evening, 3 hours of primetime TV coverage multiple times a month...

By saying urgent it sometimes seems that it's like an ex smoker or drinker being fervently anti. Like some trauma there somewhere from school days.

No interest in football here either.

Never felt particularly stigmatised by this (unlike when I worked in a rugby league town and word got out that I had a season ticket for the local union side; the pisstaking was lengthy).

However, the departmental admin tried to engage me in conversation about Man City the other day and it was painful, as I’d no idea what she was talking about.

@iainc Thistle then?

^^^ aye, that’ll be the one 😁

Quite. And computer games don’t get 15 pages in every Sunday paper, most of half an hour of the BBC news every evening, 3 hours of primetime TV coverage multiple times a month…

One of the things that annoys me about football fans is how much they exaggerate.

Whereas I really couldn’t give a flying **** what either of the Old Firm are doing and will be quite glad if my daughter grows up with the same disinterest the rest of her family has towards it, mainly because of the toxic baggage it can (but not necessarily) bring.

And that’s fine.
But like it or not, for a large part of the populous it’s an important part of their lives. So knowing a little is a good thing. You don’t need to have any “toxic baggage”, just know a little about what’s going on.
I’m an atheist, but I acknowledge that religion plays an important part in society and culture for many so I make sure I am reasonably knowledgeable about the subject.

Think the key to not liking football is to say it like it's entirely normal to not like football - which it is of course!

If you can say it as if it would be insane to like it even better 😉

But like it or not, for a large part of the populous it’s an important part of their lives. So knowing a little is a good thing.

Out of interest, does the same obligation apply to other areas of popular culture enjoyed by large parts of the populous? Love Island for example? East Enders? I'm a celebrity? Snooker?

I like football. It's a useful couple of hours to get out on quieter roads.

Not sure that's a good analogy as most schools include football as part of the physical curriculum. Footballs been around for over hundred years in its current form. And most large towns have stadiums.
Love Island is just a trend for the moment.

OP, I feel the same.

I play along with it in conversation when people start talking about it without actually specifying the sport. For example, if someone starts talking about the world cup, I'll converse by talking about a different world cup. It takes a while for people to clock on. Then I'll act just as surprised as them when they work it out.

Just hate it when people assume I like the sport.

Out of interest, does the same obligation apply to other areas of popular culture enjoyed by large parts of the populous? Love Island for example? East Enders? I’m a celebrity? Snooker?

There’s no obligation to anyone to know anything, that’s your call. But for me, I don’t see what you wouldn’t have a basic knowledge of something that lots of people like. Using your example, I’m no Love Island fan but I know what it’s all about and know enough that I can see why people would like it, even if it’s not for me.

Why is it as a bloke, that admitting to having zero interest in football or not following a team elicits a similar reaction to declaring a love of necrophilia, Morris dancing or hamster porn?

Wow, did all these admissions happen in the same conversation? That's pretty intense.

You could make exactly the same argument about cricket, tennis, athletics etc (school sports, local clubs, facilities in every town and most villages etc) Do we have to be interested and knowledgeable in them all?

And that’s fine.
But like it or not, for a large part of the populous it’s an important part of their lives. So knowing a little is a good thing.

Why?

I’m an atheist, but I acknowledge that religion plays an important part in society and culture for many so I make sure I am reasonably knowledgeable about the subject.

Why?

I have no interest in football or religion and no interest in discussing either topic. Similarly I'm not bothered that most people aren't interested in the things I enjoy.

Oh I give Up

tried to quote someone and just couldn’t.

This forum is “challenging”

anyway

dont like footy.. don’t care what anyone else tjhinks...

You could make exactly the same argument about cricket, tennis, athletics etc. Do we have to be interested and knowledgeable in them all?

Spot on. @lunge, are you really saying it behoves us all to have a working knowledge of everything which is "popular"?

I dislike the game. I really find the football 'rich and couldn't care less' culture distasteful.
I've never got why the papers dedicate pages daily and TV hours every weekend to it.
And I agree op, there seems to be a bafflement when I say I don't like it, that I don't receive when I say I'm not interested in golf or another sport.

Spot on. @lunge, are you really saying it behoves us all to have a working knowledge of everything which is generally popular?

I’m saying that I don’t think beIng wilfully ignorant of a topic, football in this case, that is huge part of culture in this country is a good idea. I think it’s important to know what is going on with topics that influence and are important large parts of the populous.

Clearly many disagree and that’s fine. But I feel you’re missing something if you don’t have that knowledge.

Tennis, cricket, and athletics are very different. Football seems to have a following and culture of people who assume everyone is the same and likes the same thing.

@lunge OK. I respect your view but disagree and don't think I am missing something. There is a difference by the way between ambivalence/disinterest and "willful ignorance".

Tennis, cricket, and athletics are very different.

Not really. I also follow all of those sports as well as Gaelic football.
You'll find there's a lot of cross overs as many athletes, crickets and tennis players also watch football.

I’ve thought for a long time that mountain biking is a bit of an outcast/ loner sport.

It’s always seemed to me that people that don’t play/ aren’t interested/ aren’t very good turn to individual sports like this one so this forum will probably give a very biased answer.

I play football and mountain bike, always have. Prefer the team sports but also appreciate time on my own/ with mtb mates which is different to team sport.

Just My thoughts though. I might be wrong.

Using your example, I’m no Love Island fan but I know what it’s all about and know enough that I can see why people would like it, even if it’s not for me.

I'm pretty sure folks that don't like or follow football still know enough about it that they can see why people like it, even if it's not for them. But to the Op's point, prople expect you to know who the likes of harry mcquire are. Yet If you said you didnt know who Georgia Steel was (google her) no one would bat an eyelid.

I used to quite like football I followed leeds went to a lot of games then one day on my way home on leave from the army just as I got off the wrong train in Leeds a leeds fan stabbed me for being whatever he thought I was , ive not really watched it since despite me being treated like an oddball from everyone in the fire service for not being into it

I’m pretty sure folks that don’t like or follow football still know enough about it that they can see why people like it,

Guy at a business I visit was bemused that I couldnt name a single Man City player(bearing in mind I have grown up not 10miles from Manchester), thought I was winding him up.

I agree it seems to be a opener when you meet new blokes and they then appear at a loss of how to proceed with the conversation when yo say you have no interest in the sport, probably why I get on with women better as conversations seem to be more varied.

I don't dislike any sports, I've no interest in them however, well, except for motorcycle racing and I struggle to stay awake watching that half the time 😀

No interest in football, no one in the family does. If England got to the world cup final I'd watch but that's it. Don't like what footballers get paid or how intertwined it is with the culture of this country. Not interested in ball games in general although football and rugby are right down the bottom for me. So of course I didn't fit in well for PE classes at a school where it was almost always ball games and they even put a staff car park over the almost new swimming pool.

I've found that when conversation turns to football I say I don't follow it and we start talking about something else. I used to be one of those people who took umbrage at assumed fandom but eventually realised that made me as annoying as the other person.

The difference between football and all the other sports/passtimes mentioned (maybe with the exception of Rugby and the Welsh but I don't know) is that there is an expectation that you will "have a team" etc... and there are definitely people who struggle to comprehend that a "bloke" doesn't like football.

because most football fans (in my experience) seem to assume that any adult British male they meet will share their enthusiasm and be utterly baffled if they don’t.

But you are making that up aren’t you? I love football but don’t expect others to like it. If I mention football to someone and they don’t share my love of the game I am not baffled - it’s quite easy to understand that not everyone likes all the same things as others. I am sure it’s the same for other football fans just like it is for fans of any other sport you care to imagine.

I have no team. I follow no team. I just like the sport as I played at quite a high level and the fitness levels I reached have lasted into middle age.

My indifference to the beautiful game is worn as a badge of honour.

I generally find people that know me and know that fact are happy not to try and engage me in bladder-kicking related conversation.

But like it or not, for a large part of the populous it’s an important part of their lives. So knowing a little is a good thing. You don’t need to have any “toxic baggage”, just know a little about what’s going on.

So?

Why is it so important to you that people know a little about football? I can't think of a single reason other than not having anything else to talk about.

In fairness, nobody has ever given me grief for not having any interest. Although when I say I don't follow football most folk once again assume I'm a Pars fan.

Next time anyone asks about it, just saY you very much enjoy ‘soccer’ and that you loved it when *insert name of premiership player most recently arrested* hit a head strike in the score zone.

I bloody love football.

I’d rather remove my own kidneys with a teaspoon than watch a game of rugby

Each to their own. Like what you like. You don’t have to justify it to anybody

I have zero interest in it and don’t suffer from what the OP mentions. Each to their own and all that. Never been a fan of any team sport really or watching sports. MTB, skateboarding, climbing, boxing and martial arts are all things I have or do enjoy though.

I’ve been to a couple of games when friends have asked and will occasionally watch World Cup matches. It’s just really boring to me though. Can’t fathom why people get excited or emotional over a game either. I find how emotional some folk get over it a tad disturbing if I’m honest.

Am I the only one?

Nope!

I like football. It’s a useful couple of hours to get out on quieter roads.

When the footy world cup is on, it a guaranteed few hours of totally deserted forest, and not a single soul in the way when MTBing 🙂

speaking of which, normally a thread or comment like this tends to occur around the footy world cup or euros or something, when *everyone* becomes a fan for 6 weeks. I know it's been and odd year, but I seem to have totally missed both cups for a change (they always seem to follow me around for some reason and are based wherever I move)

why the heck would anyone want to watch a sport where the average score is 0-0 ? And then decide the quality of the game on tackles and passes or something and not the actual goals scored? IMHO they should score it with 6 point 0's for the acting skills for those diving and those feigning near fatal injuries when an opponent trips them up!

Oh and just mentioning wendyball, so the fans can tick that one off the bingo card.

I agree it seems to be a opener when you meet new blokes

Imagine that? Someone trying to instigate a rapport with someone they’ve never met before, opting to initiate a conversation about a sport referred to as ‘the National game’ and watched by billions of people around the world.

Why on earth would they do that?

Maybe they should have gone for an opener about what wheel size they prefer?

Why on earth would they do that

Lack of imagination or anything interesting to talk about? 😉

But you are making that up aren’t you? I love football but don’t expect others to like it.

Really? You are questioning my honesty because you are projecting your views onto football fans you've never met but I have?

56 years old and it's happened to me countless times. "What! Really? You don't like it!", "But you must follow some team, where are you from" etc.

I was in the army for 23 years, posted to a new unit, going on a course etc. it was guaranteed I'd be asked within 5 minutes. I have genuinely been asked "what the **** is wrong with you"? or "are you some kind of (insert homophobic insult)" multiple times

It's happened twice this week FFS which is why I posted it. Your not expecting others to like it is commendable, rejecting someone else's experience out of hand because it's not the same as yours and calling them a liar is not.

There's football and there's football.

At the basic level it's a group of humans kicking a ball around. I love that level of it. I love the community spirit of a small club and the hope that fills you on a sunny afternoon. Don't bother going to many games (Stirling Albion is my local but may drop down a division to the Lowland league).

The media and what most of you take as "football" is a commercial enterprise that is of no interest to me, and many thousands of real football fans, whatsoever.

If anyone starts a conversation with "did you see the game last night" or anything along those lines I just say "No, because I think football is shit". Conversation swiftly moves to another subject.

I do however know what football is, have an understanding of the structure, the culture around it and so on but I still didn't know who that bloke was who couldn't lie to save his life.

I have no problems with people not liking football. I can take it or leave it.

I have a problem with people who do think it's a problem.

I also have a problem with people who make a fuss about how they don't like it, in the same way I have a problem with people who make a fuss about how they don't watch the news or don't follow politics. "Look at me, I know nothing about this subject...." isn't a great look.

I dont like football,dont like a lot if the culture that goes with it and find the amounts of money involved in a game abhorent. But I maintain a passing interest in Aston Villa just to enable me to have conversations with some kids at school.

IME I find there's a small group of men who will insist on telling you that they have no interest in football, and then stand back and expect you to be shocked and stunned by this revelation as if they are somehow superior beings or have had some special knowledge conferred upon them.  It's also my experience that people that tell you this are generally as dull as ****, as folk who think they're special tend to be.

So you don't like football?  Get over yourself, what do you want, a badge?

It's happened to me countless times. My first day in my first "proper" job, we all went off to the break room for morning brew. The football talk struck up straight away, someone asked me who my team was, I told them I don't follow football (I was tactful, didn't just say I can't ****ing stand it) and the look of disappointment spread like someone had farted. A few moment silence then they all just carried on and ignored me!! We got past it, I'm still there 20 years later!

There's a lot of things I don't like about it, but one thing that frustrates me and is happening right now whilst I type this is how much time is devoted to it on the news. It's not news, it's sport. There's sport channels for that. Or they'll bang on about something on the main news, then repeat it on the regional then MOTD will be on!!

"If you don't want to know the score, leave the room because MOTD follows this programme......" Just talk about it on there then FFS.

Edit - haha, should've read the previous post before submitting this, turns out I'm a right boring b4st4rd! Sorry everyone.👌

I have no interest in football but only best mate is really interested in it.
I don't mind it or take offence by it just not interested.

One night out, friend of friend was chatting about football reeling names and clubs out, I was being polite (rule #1) as the bloke was alright as just chatting. Mate jumped in saying I had no idea about any of the names mentioned 😆, other bloke looked bit confused then we changed subject and carried on.

On the other hand years ago when I worked in a factory the cleaner started talking about football and last night's game, said I don't follow football. He just stopped talking and walked away.

So for some it must be more than a game, bit like for some a bike is more than a way to get somewhere faster than walking.

Try explaining why your bike cost more than your car.

How the bloody hell did Gary Linekar end up on a £1.75 million salary to present MOTD, before the gender unequality uproar? 😮

How the bloody hell did Gary Linekar end up on a £1.75 million salary

He has a sports management company do his negotiations for him, who , y'know, are generally hard-arsed contract lawyers.

It’s also my experience that people that tell you this are generally as dull as ****, as folk who think they’re special tend to be.

😄 You've got me to an absolute tee, spot on! This is a cross I have to bear. You on the other hand, as is clear from your wise and incisive words are incredibly interesting 👍