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Anything to do with balls....

No seriously, back then for public entertainment, they used to feed christians to the lions...religion and fast food rolled into one...today we have organised sport. But the mechanics are the same. Pitch one group against another, fire up feelings of competition, team-spirit, nationalism, xenophobia, add alcohol, and voilà!...you have opium for the masses, ie soccer. He who controls a man's entertainment, controls the man....jmo

all i can say is go MAN UNITED

Im not that much in2 sports. but soccer has been in my blood with coming from a english family.

but the exteme of all sports is crazy, but it keeps most guys and girls entertained and out of trouble

HI Amaryllis

Well, I say give them all a ball each, sto them squabbling over one...

Yes, men and their football. The beautiful game.

I am pleased he likes football, means I can get him out from under my feet on Saturdays.

What is it with women who suddenly flare when football is on at the pub, and men want to go there and watch it withtheir mates, while we stay home and cook yummees for the return of the man who will be euphorious or dejected...

I have no idea what it is about football, maybe a man will come and explain.

I'm a golfer, much more civilised.

OK, are you really interested why people enjoy it?
Or is it simply that you find it an odd phenomenon and can't understand how something as a sport can be important?

I'm asking, because the number of times it's been brought up, usually by women, but not so few times by men, they have really not been interested to hear what the attraction is, they were more after a piss take.

This is from a news article I found........

Football helps the toughest men show their softer side, a survey suggests.
Two-thirds of men questioned by the Mental Health Foundation said football made it easier for them to share their feelings with other men.

And 76% of the 500 men who took part in the online survey said they would not be embarrassed to hug their friends while watching a game.

But although most men admitted getting upset during a match, 75% said they had never cried over a game.

Mental Health Foundation chief executive Dr Andrew McCulloch said: "It is encouraging that football makes it easier for men to talk about their feelings as, traditionally, men are far less likely than women to share their innermost thoughts.

"It is important that men feel able to express their emotions in whatever way they find most comfortable."

The survey of attitudes to the World Cup also shows men may not be as obsessed with football as is generally believed.

Almost two-thirds would happily miss England playing in the tournament to have sex and only 27% said they would bunk off work to watch a match.

And 86% said they would rather be at the birth of their first child than watch England play in the World Cup Final.

Watching the World Cup this year should also make men more active, with 70% believing that playing football is better than watching it and 34% planning to play more football because of the tournament.

However, 59% of respondents, aged between 18 and 70, said they expected to drink more alcohol because of the World Cup, which the charity warned could lead to anxiety and depressive thoughts.

Dr McCullogh said: 'Socialising and talking about your feelings are vital for good mental health and well being, as is exercise.

"It's uplifting to know that about a third of those questioned are planning to play more football because of the World Cup."

Northumbria University's head of psychology, Dr Sandy Wolfson, said: "Football does have positive effects on people's psychological well-being.

"It gives people a ready-made topic of conversation where opinions on team selection, strategy, and players' skills are enjoyable topics for debate.

"Many people have made good friends and even met their spouses through football."

Good one Ginger... Ineresting reading.

I'm still waiting for a man to come in and post their thoughts, it is an interesting question and I think Amaryllis is seriously interested.

Male bonding and football has gone hand in hand for many years. I think your article is a good one.

Enter men when you can. And I promise not to take the piss.

Sorry sommer but your gonna try and make some comparison between Brokeback mountain and mail bonding...Because of some flimsy piece of reporting that ginger found in some tabloid....

The OP asked...

Hey guys, I never, NEVER understood, for the life of me, why, oh WHY these things are SO important to you. So, WHY?

dunno

PLEASE enlighten me ..

Well she wanted to be enlightened...it's basically to enjoy a pint of beer or three in peace and quiet..nothing more or less..

For example a few weeks back there was a thread for the 'Brotherhood' and it said...No Wimmin..it was in undated with female posts...So when blokes go to football matches it just to get away from wimmin...Like why do wimmin love shopping...

Hi Lago!

Yes, but why football or soccer? There are other organized group games like basketball, baseball, volleyball, rugby, softball, for example. And they are equally macho games!

What makes football/soccer have such all-pervasive universal appeal that can always have different people from all over the planet come together to enjoy the game? Good god, even the Arabs are taking off their "pyjamas" and showing off their legs for a change!

Anyway, where are you? Where's your pic? Were you banned? Did you say too much boobies this time?

Not to me, but then again was brought up by women

Hello Sasseez!

Yeah, I know what you mean.. But some guys are really addicted to it.

When these guys are watching a football/soccer game, five naked Angelina Jolie's could be parading in person infront of the television and I bet not a single one of them would take their eyes off the screen..

Jeez

Possibly because it generates such passion. Ok, I can't answer why, but it does. Ask yourself, how many things in life can get you excited? Ok, ok, there is the obvious one, but there is definitely something in football that hits the buttons of those who fall under its spell.

Why football rather than other sports? Maybe because of its roots where guys who were used to hard physical labour played or watched it after a hard week at work. It could be used to get rid of all the tensions of the week.

Man tends to want to be part of a group. Supporting a particular team helps with that, I suppose. Shared highs and lows etc. On the male bonding thing, someone very macho once kissed me after our team won a championship, We do not talk of this. Ever. Ever, ever! Not ever! But it happened.

Sorry to disappoint but us wimmin like football too...so deal with it..

Go LIVERPOOL...

Good evening, Sommer,

So you play golf. I had a Dutch friend who does and he said his public speaking techniques have greatly improved due to his talking to himself while golfing. Anyway, he is no longer my friend.

Tennis is my favorite sport, not for playing, just a spectator. My sister played it very well, and I was always kilometers away watching the game. I'm always afraid the ball would hit me. Especially after pestering her. She was a bit like symbol..

Yeah, men and football.. I tell you. Great mystery.. I know a guy who just lost his job, his wife left him, and whose brother was dying in the hospital, and he's still smiling up to his ears because Manchester United won a championship game.

Could you imagine?

Hi Liakos!

I could emphatize with you. So was I. I was always surrounded by women. Too overly protected. My grandma, my mom, my sister, my aunt, even the dogs and cats were females. When I went to uni, I stayed in a ladies' dorm. So I never understood much about this male bonding thing.

Do you play any sports at all?

Hi Lillym,

I'm not surprised about that. I have an American friend who is divorcing his wife because all she did all day when they were still together was watching soccer and soccer reruns and when he finally did get her out of the house and they would stay in a hotel, she would still be watching it on television. He called himself a 'soccer widower'..

No kidding!

Where...to Old Trafford for a summer vaction...Admire the trpohy cabinet and who knows learn how to win at the academy

Hello Captain,

I don't really understand what you mean with 'piss take', sorry.

I do understand, though, that sport is important. But what makes me wonder is why football or soccer is for most - a passion, for some - a religion. Some people love it and some people find it a waste of time... all that screaming their lungs out and pulling their hairs and rolling on the ground and men jumping into each other's arms and kissing their heads and the audience standing up and down in unison. Quite strange!

And there are those players who spit at or kick another player instead of the ball. And all those hooligans. Mainly English they say. But why?

Here's the scenario: All these men wearing shorts and glossy shirts with numbers on them, chasing a ball around a field. All they need to do is kick a ball into a great big net to score a point. It looks so easy, but sometimes they can't even do that! And then they run around for hours and when the game is finished, there's no score! And when one time you thought there is a score because you see the ball went into the net, you wonder why nobody is cheering and then there is this guy in blue or something with a hand up in the sky. And they start all over again..

Anyway, I think it's an ultra-macho game. But do you think there could be a chance that there are also gay players? Women do play them, too, you know. I've seen a UK film like that.

Do you ever wonder why inspite of its popularity, it is not an Olympic game?

I can understand that at it's full.... I don't like football but would enjoy to see a good amount of women running after a ball...

Umm, and what game would that be, may I ask?

Anyway, I won't go running after a ball if there's a good amount of women running after it. They can all have it..

I want what is all mine.