It's not such a bad thing to step back and see how others see you. Nothing here makes me think. "it's not really like that".
And our American cousins have come a long way since the 80s - i still have my cutting from the same paper from those days which reported how Millwall had beaten Sheffield. "on Wednesday"
Amusing to see it from a US perspective. I've been lucky enough to see all the major sports in the US and the only one that came close in atmosphere to football was Ice Hockey. I still enjoyed all the others and baseball is fantastic and not comparable in any way.
RULE NO. 2: Fans are prejudiced on behalf of their players to the point where, if a player were to jump up and down on the bloodied corpse of an opponent during a match, the fans would accuse the opponent of faking it.
“I have only had 11 beers so far,” he said. “I met my mates at a bar at 8 in the morning and had a bacon and egg sandwich and four pints of cider,” cider being an alcoholic drink here. “On the train, I had a few more. Then I had six in a bar when I got here, and a couple at halftime.”
Except for his addition problems, James did not seem drunk at all. “I don’t like to be uncontrollable or not know what I’m doing,” he said. “I have my limit.”
anguspodgorny The last two paragraphs exemplifies the contrast between Real Football and the Americanized version with the same name, where women in short skirts try their best to add excitement to interminable waits, for yet another 40 seconds of set plays.
mobBrooklyn Apparently you've never been to Selhurst Park to see Crystal Palace play. Depending on how the Championship playoff game goes this weekend, the "Crystals" may become a fixture of EPL broadcasts next year. [Sigh]
Though I "get it", the start of the piece telling you it is not like the old days, and then the entire article being about how threatening and tribal it is don't quite match up. I read it as a typical American sports journalist feeling threatened by "soccer" doing his best to turn people away from the game, as they are want to do in the worst "protectionist" manner that those covering "traditional" American sports love to do.
Though I "get it", the start of the piece telling you it is not like the old days, and then the entire article being about how threatening and tribal it is don't quite match up. I read it as a typical American sports journalist feeling threatened by "soccer" doing his best to turn people away from the game, as they are want to do in the worst "protectionist" manner that those covering "traditional" American sports love to do.
I think it's best to take the article with a pinch of salt - though it's engagingly written. As for the 'traditional' American sports, Dino Zoff once said they are not really sports at all, merely light entertainment. Before the game - baseball, basketball, whatever - the punters rock up at the stadium, drop their tailgates in the car park and consume a vast picnic lunch. Zoff said no-one could ever do that before watching a real sport - like football - because their stomach would be knotted from all the excitement and anticipation....
As I said, I "get it" VF, but to my eyes there is a subtext which is all about American journos not being able to take the heat from a real sport
Agree with you entirely, Algarve. The Americans' inability to take the heat from a real sport ties in with their childish fear of the unknown and their all-consuming paranoia. If it's outside their comfort zone, someone might get hurt! Diddums.
If you are on Twitter, you have got to follow 'Soccer Guy' which is a parody of an American football fan. Quite possibly the funniest parody account I know on there!
Millwall (team motto: “No One Likes Us, We Don’t Care,” sung to the tune of Rod Stewart’s “Sailing”)......Love that, completely ruins any kind of hardcore hooligan 'rep' when you start bringing Rod Stewart into the discussion!
I was taken to see the Boston Red Sox play Baseball when I was out there on business last year and I spent the whole time in a similar kind of confusion as the yanks probably are when they come over here.
I was baffled at seeing the visiting team supporters (Baltimore) just wandering around with the rest of the home crowd with no abuse whatsoever. Plus there would be a bloke in a bright yellow shirt and silly hat who would come round throwing peanuts and things about. So, so weird.
And it's true, a lot of them do just sit there and eat and not really seem engaged. We turned up 30 minutes after it had started and nobody seemed to care, infact it had been planned!
I have been educating my colleague about English Football (he knew absolutely nothing about it a year ago) and now he wants to come and visit me when Charlton play Millwall at The Den next season. Should be a shock to the system for him!
I was taken to see the Boston Red Sox play Baseball when I was out there on business last year and I spent the whole time in a similar kind of confusion as the yanks probably are when they come over here.
I was baffled at seeing the visiting team supporters (Baltimore) just wandering around with the rest of the home crowd with no abuse whatsoever. Plus there would be a bloke in a bright yellow shirt and silly hat who would come round throwing peanuts and things about. So, so weird.
And it's true, a lot of them do just sit there and eat and not really seem engaged. We turned up 30 minutes after it had started and nobody seemed to care, infact it had been planned!
I have been educating my colleague about English Football (he knew absolutely nothing about it a year ago) and now he wants to come and visit me when Charlton play Millwall at The Den next season. Should be a shock to the system for him!
An English mate of mine has emigrated to Milwaukee and goes to American Football games not for the sport but for the absurd spectacle of it all. He saw the Green Bay Packers at home in Wisconsin, which is a dairy-farming state, and there were helicopters dropping whole cheeses into the crowd. That, and everyone dressed up as mascots in silly costumes, LOUD music pumped through the tannoy during the game, punters devouring vast quantities of horrible food.... Utterly bonkers.
If you are on Twitter, you have got to follow 'Soccer Guy' which is a parody of an American football fan. Quite possibly the funniest parody account I know on there!
Cheers for that Tom, there's some great lines on there...
"Well, London Arsenal lead their tie which means Whitespurs need a goalshot. Dempsey's goalshot attempt is blocked by Jan The Tongan."
I was taken to see the Boston Red Sox play Baseball when I was out there on business last year and I spent the whole time in a similar kind of confusion as the yanks probably are when they come over here.
I was baffled at seeing the visiting team supporters (Baltimore) just wandering around with the rest of the home crowd with no abuse whatsoever. Plus there would be a bloke in a bright yellow shirt and silly hat who would come round throwing peanuts and things about. So, so weird.
And it's true, a lot of them do just sit there and eat and not really seem engaged. We turned up 30 minutes after it had started and nobody seemed to care, infact it had been planned!
I have been educating my colleague about English Football (he knew absolutely nothing about it a year ago) and now he wants to come and visit me when Charlton play Millwall at The Den next season. Should be a shock to the system for him!
An English mate of mine has emigrated to Milwaukee and goes to American Football games not for the sport but for the absurd spectacle of it all. He saw the Green Bay Packers at home in Wisconsin, which is a dairy-farming state, and there were helicopters dropping whole cheeses into the crowd. That, and everyone dressed up as mascots in silly costumes, LOUD music pumped through the tannoy during the game, punters devouring vast quantities of horrible food.... Utterly bonkers.
Aah - The Cheeseheads - nothing beats them for looking really silly.
Comments
And our American cousins have come a long way since the 80s - i still have my cutting from the same paper from those days which reported how Millwall had beaten Sheffield. "on Wednesday"
LOL and..............?
“I have only had 11 beers so far,” he said. “I met my mates at a bar at 8 in the morning and had a bacon and egg sandwich and four pints of cider,” cider being an alcoholic drink here. “On the train, I had a few more. Then I had six in a bar when I got here, and a couple at halftime.”
Except for his addition problems, James did not seem drunk at all. “I don’t like to be uncontrollable or not know what I’m doing,” he said. “I have my limit.”
What is that?
“I have no idea,” he said.
I think the Trust should campaign for Cotton Candy and Dippin’ Dots! ;-)
anguspodgorny
The last two paragraphs exemplifies the contrast between Real Football and the Americanized version with the same name, where women in short skirts try their best to add excitement to interminable waits, for yet another 40 seconds of set plays.
mobBrooklyn
Apparently you've never been to Selhurst Park to see Crystal Palace play. Depending on how the Championship playoff game goes this weekend, the "Crystals" may become a fixture of EPL broadcasts next year. [Sigh]
lol
Millwall (team motto: “No One Likes Us, We Don’t Care,” sung to the tune of Rod Stewart’s “Sailing”)......Love that, completely ruins any kind of hardcore hooligan 'rep' when you start bringing Rod Stewart into the discussion!
Can imagine a load of pissed up Geordie blokes giving an interview to an American woman. Suprised she understood a word.
I was baffled at seeing the visiting team supporters (Baltimore) just wandering around with the rest of the home crowd with no abuse whatsoever. Plus there would be a bloke in a bright yellow shirt and silly hat who would come round throwing peanuts and things about. So, so weird.
And it's true, a lot of them do just sit there and eat and not really seem engaged. We turned up 30 minutes after it had started and nobody seemed to care, infact it had been planned!
I have been educating my colleague about English Football (he knew absolutely nothing about it a year ago) and now he wants to come and visit me when Charlton play Millwall at The Den next season. Should be a shock to the system for him!
It energized the crowd, but not in the way it was supposed to: the fans all chanted the word “prostitutes” until the cheerleaders left.
"Well, London Arsenal lead their tie which means Whitespurs need a goalshot. Dempsey's goalshot attempt is blocked by Jan The Tongan."