Comments on: How I Became a Soccer Fan

By: funkybrownchick

funkybrownchick — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:05:41 +0000

Ah, European racism. Yeah, you're right; even as a fan, I know the "beautiful game" is not immune to ugly moments. In Spain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwpO-nnFY9g http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7225523.stm and elsewhere.

By: The Girl

The Girl — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:00:43 +0000

It swings both ways: I recall watching a television interview with Whoopi Goldberg (I think it was on British television’s BBC One’s ‘Film’ programme) where she said she almost fainted from shock the first time she visited Scotland because she saw a person of colour speak with a thick Glaswegian accent.

Still, saying that, most Brits *are* quite stupid (I’m allowed to say that: I *am* one) and if you add alcohol to the mix, well, you might as well say you’re from Timbucktoo, because they still won’t grasp what you’re going on about, sadly.

Also: I’m pretty sure I’m the only Brit to fucking hate football/soccer. And pubs. And men with the English flag painted on their face. Reminds me too much of Britain’s racist past, see: something many Brits refuse to acknowledge even now (see Liverpool or any major port town and the slave trade). Depressing, but true.

By: funkybrownchick

funkybrownchick — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 05:59:22 +0000

@ Andy: Yes, write a post about it. I wanna hear that story.

@ lamesabassman: :)

By: lamesabassman......

lamesabassman...... — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:35:07 +0000

that’s so open….. yeah… England is cool like that….. as a traveling musician…
the world has been my study hall….. learning how to play when as a kid in
Barbados on holiday from Bklyn-NYC…. it’s a game that’s not for the timid… for
unlike cricket….. you are going full tilt and time doesnt stand still … for no one..
now…. that sounds like a work piece in progress….. a bird from the States comes
to Land’s End…. to start over…. a rebirth….. to see if you can make it anywhere..
having lived in London and France … for a long while… one feels at one with the
Force… blending with the soft parade…. having one’s speech give one away to
where they are from… and how you flow…. when I start to miss it…. I dive in
once more…. just to see if I still got it….
PS: can we have just a little more of your musings…. love…
be a sweet and give us a lark….

lamesabassman….. still playin’ after all these years….

By: Andy

Andy — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:34:34 +0000

You know I ain’t got NUTHIN’ but luv for ya, but…yeah. The reasons you love football are the reasons I hate it (the obnoxious fans, the distraction from everything else, the thinly-veiled nationalism).

The only thing I can compare my hatred of football and football fans to is my hatred of hockey and hockey fans back home in the USA.

Oh, and yeah, your description of the typical “study abroad” student is pretty much, word for word, how I would describe my time “when I lived in England.”

I came close, though, to doing what you did. I was burned out on school. I was on the verge of graduation. The idea of spending a career the way I’d just spent an internship made me nauseous.

So I had everything in place to travel to, live in and work in England. Then life suddenly happened that year. Maybe I’ll write a post in my own blog about it…

Cheers.

By: funkybrownchick

funkybrownchick — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:17:33 +0000

@ Kelly: Thanks for keeping it a secret! :)

@ Darwin: Oh, I’m all about the premierships now. Man United! :) I’m a fan. I used to skip the national games, but my friend “Bro” is sucking me into it.

@ Aka “Paul”: Love it! :) That sooo would have made for a funny story. Unfortunately, no beer brawls were had.

@ Jen Love: Sounds like fun.

@ Carolina Pereira: Yeah, I kept it up for a while because it was new and exciting. The thrill wore off after a while and I settled into a fashion industry job. The pay was better, and the workplace was less noisy. :)

@ Desiree: YES!!! My plan to single-handedly convert the US to a soccer-loving nation is working!! ;)

@ don: I *LOVE* my Canadian readers!!! :)

@ Pegs: Yeah, the Dutch years were later. My love of the sport started off in jolly ol’ England.

By: Pegs

Pegs — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 14:31:08 +0000

Love this post. I figured you picked up “the habit” in The Netherlands, but little did I know.

By: don

don — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:55:39 +0000

Great stuff. I’m a Canadian and spent time in that neighborhood when I was close to your age.. A long time ago, mind. Great part of town. And yes, Europeans, Brits most of all think Americans are all white..

By: Desiree

Desiree — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:23:35 +0000

OK.

You’ve made me want to check it out.

By: Carolina Pereira

Carolina Pereira — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:26:57 +0000

working at a pub seems fun ;)

one of my goals in life is to live some time in london. and then move to the suburbs :D

football, or soccer, is the most famous sport for us portuguese. i like t, but i’m not fanatic.

don’t like beckam. at first yes. he’s gorgeous. but then i realized he’s a jerk. looks aren’t everything, even for an eye candy thing :P