What is the attraction of football?

At one time I thought football was indeed 'the beautiful game' but since watching the Olympics and seeing people literally sweat blood in other sports where monetary gain is only for the select few in their chosen sport the rest of the time (such as cycling or athletics) I have turned off football almost completely. At the moment Manchester City are playing Borusia Dortmund in the Champions League on telly and I really couldn't care less who wins. There is a massive gulf between the 'haves' and 'have nots.' For example, I live in Carlisle and Carlisle United FC's squad cost £60,000 so there is absolutely no way they will win anything, ever, unless a very rich person comes along to buy the club. That usually involves someone coming in from another country, something else I disapprove of. Currently, my heroes are the cyclists Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish and I am more interested in their sport than football. The training they have to go through is brutal for a start!

My boyfriend loves football so much. He understands all the terms, the rules, and he sometimes said that the players are playing well or not. Whenever I accompany him watching the game on TV, I try to watch it with all of my heart. But, I always get bored after a while.. I just don't get it. I also get confused when he show me the goals collection clips, and he said like 'oh look at that! look at the way he kicked the ball! what a beautiful goal!' and I was just like 'hah? isn't he a pro? all pros can do that kick, right?' I really don't understand football at all. Forgive me my boyfriend :*

I completely agree with you! I might watch a World Soccer match on television, but otherwise football leaves me completely cold! By football I mean all varieties, be it American or Australian, Rugby, or whatever, they are just too violent and loud for my liking!

Ooops, sorry, I like football. I'm not a fanatic about it but I do like to watch it if there is a favorite team that I like. I did not like it when I didn't understand it, like the downs. Then it was all boring to me. I use to watch it with a bunch of friends and everyone would cheer for their favorite team and even bet money on their favorite teams. I guess you can say it was almost like a party every Sunday and everyone would just have fun, enjoying each others company, watching the game. Then, during halftime we would all eat whatever was made, which could have been hot dogs, chili, pizza, etc. I wouldn't even try to convert you but if you don't understand the game and all the rules and how its played, it would be very boring. If you do understand all this and just don't like it, that's fine too as everyone has their recreation.

You take on it is interesting. I think it is a sort of right of passage and a way for men to connect. Maybe it is a tribal and primitive thing and men don't even really realize it. It is very much like a religious rite. It has been going on since Roman days.

I'm with you! If there is a beautiful sport than it must surely be iceskating? My husband is an avid football fan but I can't complain because he gets his ironing done during the game. I grew up with my father watching a lot of football as well and I think my mother has a point about it. She didn't have a problem with him sacked out on the couch but rather the background noise of constant yelling and cheering.

What grown men running around the field, hugging and kissing when they get a goal, acting stupid and showing off to their fans, kicking a piece of sewn leather around and getting paid extortionate amount of money for doing so? Yeah been asking myself that for years just what is the attraction, I hate football. Mainly because of my father and football for him is related to drinking, oh and football and brings out the worst in some people, the hooliganism, the violence and did I mention the crazy money they get paid, even more than highly qualified doctors who just save people for a living instead of kicking a piece of leather around the field!

I think I would expand this to be all team sports. I think your characterizations of religion, and of tribalism are right on the money. Individual sports are more inspiring, but I do not really follow them either. Of course some people wonder why I am online so much, maybe it is my religion and I belong to the tribe of MyLot.

beats me, I don't watch football, and couldn't care less about it. My son and I have our own tv so we don't have to fight for stations.

I have been asking this for years... I mean, the only way you can tell where the ball is, is to find the biggest pile of bodies and the ball will be under there! It can go for hours and hardly move more than a foot and there are so many players all over the place, you can't watch everything or everyone! I don't see it either. "tribal"..that sure does sum it up! That and "pointless"!

I can't see the attraction in football at all as it's something which bores me to tears. I do agree with you that it's almost become like a religious rite.

I'd like to think that here in North America, although we see the same tribal and primitive adulation, the fans are not as fanatics as say, European fans when it comes to football. Or any sports for that matter. I still think that the 'attraction' (to any sport) is the escape from the regular, mundane lives that we live. I am guilty of it! For a few hours on a certain day, we forget our daily troubles, and we are brought into this roller coaster of emotions with the teams that we root for. That is attraction for me anyway. And it's not football for me, but another sport.

Hi, Football is considered very exciting game all over the world. In India our favorite game is cricket. This game is played for the whole day and taste matches are palyed for 5 days and then we get the result. Foot game is played only for some and we get the result of the game. My wife also get irritated when I watch cricket match for whole day.

I do enjoy watching football. (My boyfriend hates it, really atypical :P) I consider myself a fan of one football team and of the national team. I don't watch all the games, lately I barely watch some, but only for reasons of time. I find watching football as an entartainment activity, I mean without any other value (like watching movies, that also entartain you, but also improve your knowledge) and there are not many people who have so much time. I can't say why football it's so popular and not other team sports like handball or basketball. But I empatyze with a team sport being so popular. They can be seen as a way to gain a simbolical power for the space you relate with (neighborhood, city, country). And this is realized through unity. Every football lover have a place in the equation, players are just representants. The victory belongs to all, because they supported, they were there, they believed in the team when the team was down etc. But defeats have specific guys to blame: the coach, the goal keeper, the owner of the team etc. Football solves certain important needs for people, like the need to belong. It's similar to politics I guess, with the advantage that it can't dissapoint you. It's touchy to support something no matter what, to make "sacrifices" like get hoarse because you screamed during all the game for your team, like being "humiliated" because your team lost at a big difference. It's related to power, and people crave to feel it, but avoid to experience it in things that actually matter. This doesn't actually matter, it's just a game of power. And what is also so entertaining, maybe more than in other sport, what I personally enjoy the most are the never ending conversations about football and about a game. There are a lot of things that contribute for a certain score, and there are not true or wrong answers. So you can argue that it was the couch's fault, because he fighted with a player and didn't put him into the game, or that was because the players didn't run enough. Anyway, there are a lot of things to take into consideration.