I don't understand. If you don't like it, don't watch it, ignore the ads and leave football to its fans.
I like the WC, I watch it with my wife, we make bets, we support different teams, we have fun. It's wonderful that we can watch this tournament. My wife likes football too, she's quite into this game, she knows not only rules but also teams, their members, coaches and we often discuss results, events and we talk about football at least once per day.
And I like fashion as well. I like clothes and styles. I know something about the make-up. What color suites my wife better. We talk about things interesting to women in general with my wife too. It's so wonderful we don't restrict ourselves from any topic. Any person can have a hobby, can have a favourite thing.
Also, the World Cup might well be the only argument in favor the planet's division into countries.
Even if there weren't counties, there would still be areas. The World Cup would proceed as normal. America has the World* Series and super(nacho)bowl, after all.
I have never enjoyed a non-roleplay thread as much!
Just two biggies to throw back at you.
The origins of Rugby are kind of lost. I have worked in Rugby, the town the game is named after. The tales of kids sitting on footballs and ruining the spherical shape of the ball ruining any chance of a kick-a-round. Then being told "Well your stuffed. We got no more balls to play with" then a peed off pupil picking the ball up and running with it does sing true. Basically football is so awesome, it invented Rugby.
No football. No Rugby. That simple.
More reasons not to like football
* It gives fans a license to be as racist as all hell, and to beat up and even kill people from one of those evil, nasty lesser races that just beat your team.
Need to dispute this. West Brom. A team that plays near to my home town of Birmingham, was the first team to have a regular black squad member. Abuse was hurled regularly. It cannot be denied. But the West Brom fans became protective. You don't shout abuse at your own players. Cyril Regis inspired more players from different ethnic groups to play football. Clubs wanting success over politics took them in. Now racism in football, English football, is nearly dead and relegated to a few bigots who wanted the Nazis to win WWII. Many go farther, and say the end of mass racism in the terraces ended mass racism in the streets. Perhaps they are right. It was before my time. A statue is being built for those heroes. I am taking my daughter to see it when it goes up. You can read more about it here. http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-19077873
@Anduin, that's an interesting observation re: racism. It's my impression that racism in football is most common in countries with no or limited ethnic diversity such as Spain, Italy, the eastern European countries and possibly Argentina, but much less so in countries such as England, France, The Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia or Portugal. (This isn't saying that racism doesn't exist in other social contexts in those countries though.) I'm not sure about Asia btw, @bengoshi?
@Blackraven yeah. Racism is not acceptable in any form. In fact this forum and others like it, are great. I could be of any race or creed. We would still discuss things because we have the communality of the love for the game. (BG:EE spreads peace!) The net removes barriers.
Racism in the wider world, in part, stems from poverty and bad governance. A tribalism to protect your patch, because its all you have. So I am wary to wag fingers at other nations. It is easier to be generous to others if you are well fed, rich and happy. I think this needs to remembered.
Oh god I now feel absolutely awful about my comment on racial violence and even killing associated with football. My heartfelt sympathies and sorrow and my vast regret to those in Mpeketoni, Kenya.
In March, 2014, during their J. League match against Sagan Tosu at Saitama Stadium, some Urawa Reds fans hung a “Japanese only” banner over an entrance to the stands.
“Japanese only” has long been the exclusionary trope for Japan’s xenophobes. The phrase came to prominence in 1999 in the Otaru onsen case, which revolved around several public bathhouses in Otaru, Hokkaido, that refused entry to all “foreigners” based on their physical appearance (including this author, a naturalized Japanese). Later, exclusionary businesses nationwide copycatted and put up “Japanese only” signs of their own. “Japanese only” is in fact part of a social movement.
The upshot is, if you don’t “look Japanese,” you are not welcome. That’s where the racism comes in.
So, it seems even Japan is a subject to this plague. Not only in football, because there's a long history of outright racism — excluding, handicapping and bashing foreigners (even the naturalized “foreigners”) in, for example, sumo, baseball, hockey, rugby, figure skating, the Kokutai national sports festivals and the Ekiden long-distance races.
It may be connected with the fact that foreigners in Japan are simply not to be treated the same as Japanese. It is widely reported that as a foreigner you'll find it hard to settle in Japan, it will be hard to become a part of their society.
* I think all WAGS (wives and girlfriends) who get splashed all over the papers, and grab all the publicity they can get should be rounded up in a large bus, and driven over the cliffs of Dover.
The spell "Irina Shayk" acts like an ideal of beauty. Anyone seeing her under this spell has to make save vs. spell with +3 bonus or die, even if successfull victims of spell are permanently blinded until effect is dispelled. Spell doesn't affect only those who doesn't search "Irina Shayk WAG" in google.
@Anduin One day cricket is great - much more exciting than a full test match, and threfore much more fun to watch. The only time I went to a proper, 3 day test New Zealand were all out for 102. Ouch!
@bengoshi, I read your insights on racism in Japan with great interest. I take it you are easily recognized as non-Japanese? How long have you been in Japan for? Do you spend much time with expats? I'm sorry that it's been your fate so far not to be a fully accepted member of the society you live in. Again, I think this might have to do with the fact that ethinically Japan is relatively homegeneous, the influx of western and other foreigners in the past decades notwithstanding. As a white Northern European living in Colombia, my experience is almost the opposite of yours. People here are very hospitable. Tragically, racism seems to be directed not at foreigners from the US or Europe but rather at the nation's own people but in subtle ways. For example I have tall, white, European friends who have worked here as models in commercials (the father role among others), which is completely nonsensical if you take into account that they don't even look Colombian. And a few months back I accepted a pretty nice job at a University's language institute, and I still wonder whether I would have been offered that job had I been an equally qualified Colombian.
Now, I'm a kiwi, although I live in Australia now. I don't watch the WC because it's on at an insane hour in the morning. I wouldn't mind either way. When you live here it's sporting mad and you're always being bombarded with AFL, NRL, Union, Cricket and Tennis ad's anyway. Can't get away from it. Soccer here get's bugger all coverage because Australian's are pretty bad at it. They do like to let us know on the evening news how well they played. They didn't win. But played exceptionally... So I haven't figured out why we have never won anything...
It's like "Yea the Netherlands thought Australia played really well. Excellent ball control and good up front. While they thrashed the crap out of us." Nice to see they developed such a high opinion while grinding us into dust...
@Calonord I'm a kiwi as well, but I've lived in the UK for over 20 years. I always thought New Zealand was totally sports mad, and that it also made a point of saying how well it played whenever it lost. But then again when you have such a small population to recruit from, you are allowed to be proud of even a loss.
Comments
I like the WC, I watch it with my wife, we make bets, we support different teams, we have fun. It's wonderful that we can watch this tournament. My wife likes football too, she's quite into this game, she knows not only rules but also teams, their members, coaches and we often discuss results, events and we talk about football at least once per day.
And I like fashion as well. I like clothes and styles. I know something about the make-up. What color suites my wife better. We talk about things interesting to women in general with my wife too. It's so wonderful we don't restrict ourselves from any topic. Any person can have a hobby, can have a favourite thing.
*hehe, we say world...
I have never enjoyed a non-roleplay thread as much!
Just two biggies to throw back at you.
The origins of Rugby are kind of lost. I have worked in Rugby, the town the game is named after. The tales of kids sitting on footballs and ruining the spherical shape of the ball ruining any chance of a kick-a-round. Then being told "Well your stuffed. We got no more balls to play with" then a peed off pupil picking the ball up and running with it does sing true. Basically football is so awesome, it invented Rugby.
No football. No Rugby. That simple. Need to dispute this. West Brom. A team that plays near to my home town of Birmingham, was the first team to have a regular black squad member. Abuse was hurled regularly. It cannot be denied. But the West Brom fans became protective. You don't shout abuse at your own players. Cyril Regis inspired more players from different ethnic groups to play football. Clubs wanting success over politics took them in. Now racism in football, English football, is nearly dead and relegated to a few bigots who wanted the Nazis to win WWII. Many go farther, and say the end of mass racism in the terraces ended mass racism in the streets. Perhaps they are right. It was before my time. A statue is being built for those heroes. I am taking my daughter to see it when it goes up. You can read more about it here. http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-19077873
Racism in the wider world, in part, stems from poverty and bad governance. A tribalism to protect your patch, because its all you have. So I am wary to wag fingers at other nations. It is easier to be generous to others if you are well fed, rich and happy. I think this needs to remembered.
But we can still lead by example.
In March, 2014, during their J. League match against Sagan Tosu at Saitama Stadium, some Urawa Reds fans hung a “Japanese only” banner over an entrance to the stands.
“Japanese only” has long been the exclusionary trope for Japan’s xenophobes. The phrase came to prominence in 1999 in the Otaru onsen case, which revolved around several public bathhouses in Otaru, Hokkaido, that refused entry to all “foreigners” based on their physical appearance (including this author, a naturalized Japanese). Later, exclusionary businesses nationwide copycatted and put up “Japanese only” signs of their own. “Japanese only” is in fact part of a social movement.
The upshot is, if you don’t “look Japanese,” you are not welcome. That’s where the racism comes in.
So, it seems even Japan is a subject to this plague. Not only in football, because there's a long history of outright racism — excluding, handicapping and bashing foreigners (even the naturalized “foreigners”) in, for example, sumo, baseball, hockey, rugby, figure skating, the Kokutai national sports festivals and the Ekiden long-distance races.
It may be connected with the fact that foreigners in Japan are simply not to be treated the same as Japanese. It is widely reported that as a foreigner you'll find it hard to settle in Japan, it will be hard to become a part of their society.
YAW!
10 fire damage
Saying it here. Cricket is a whole new ball game... But its just not football...
As a white Northern European living in Colombia, my experience is almost the opposite of yours. People here are very hospitable. Tragically, racism seems to be directed not at foreigners from the US or Europe but rather at the nation's own people but in subtle ways. For example I have tall, white, European friends who have worked here as models in commercials (the father role among others), which is completely nonsensical if you take into account that they don't even look Colombian. And a few months back I accepted a pretty nice job at a University's language institute, and I still wonder whether I would have been offered that job had I been an equally qualified Colombian.