Annoying Monday morning soccer conversations

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Originally Posted by Dodge

Yep, scousers and mancs might despise day trippers there to support Liverpool/Man U (complete with kit, scarf etc etc) but as I'm just there to have a few beers and watch a bit of ball they treat me far better than they do my Liverpool/Man u supporting mates. It actually ****es my mates off that I can swap stories about bus breaking down and last minute equalisers and being kept behind while home fans throw ****e at us.

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Best advice I could give anyone (over 7 yrs of age) is to never, ever wear one of those jesters hats to Anfield ! saw some guy get (verbally) slaughtered by the crowd around him for same "crime" recently (difficult to feel sorry for him either mind you).

Not sure how they would react to Leprechaun outfits :rolleyes:

Most real fans have many memories of crap trips in crap conditions, getting lost in East Belfast (jeez was that fun) or getting stuck in the middle of nowhere (to see a LSC game), than we have of glorious days out - its what makes the good times enjoyable*.


* this is a standard excuse to be used to justify our condition.

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Originally Posted by marinobohs

Most real fans have many memories of... getting stuck in the middle of nowhere

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Ah, the days when Kilkenny were in the league.

Another annoying conversation many of you may relate to is the "There's a lad playing for the local junior side that is twice as good as anyone at the local LOI club". I always ask why they haven't asked for a trial and the response is usually that the guy wouldn't be bothered with the travelling or some such. Never mind the fact he playing in a crap league and would prefer to remain the main man locally than actually prove he's good enough for senior football. Or maybe he knows he wouldn't cut it. Although in fairness these statements rarely come from players but just muppets looking for another excuse about supporting senior football.

On the conversation above- I spent a few days selling Harps draw tickets door to door years ago. It was demoralising in general but the interesting part was that every single house I went to where the people were English or Scottish they knew exactly who Harps were, bought a ticket and wished us well. They had an automatic affinity to the local club that is rarely seen among Irish people.

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Originally Posted by Mr A

Another annoying conversation many of you may relate to is the "There's a lad playing for the local junior side that is twice as good as anyone at the local LOI club".

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Which of course explains the excellent record non-league sides have against senior clubs in the FAI Cup.

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Originally Posted by John83

I'm published in combinatorics

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I think we were there in the Intertoto a few years back.

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Originally Posted by Schumi

Ah, the days when Kilkenny were in the league.

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i was thinking more along the lines of that walk from Foster's Avenue.... *shudders*

;) ;)

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Originally Posted by SkStu

i was thinking more along the lines of that walk from Foster's Avenue.... *shudders*

;) ;)

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Yes, that 100 yard walk which takes one from a wealthy suburb of Dublin to the middle of nowhere in dozens, even tens of seconds. :p

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Originally Posted by Mr A

On the conversation above- I spent a few days selling Harps draw tickets door to door years ago. It was demoralising in general but the interesting part was that every single house I went to where the people were English or Scottish they knew exactly who Harps were, bought a ticket and wished us well. They had an automatic affinity to the local club that is rarely seen among Irish people.

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As I've said in other threads, I got into Bray through my Dad, who is from Stoke. To him, getting out and watching your local side is just something you do!

Clearly what we need is some sort of exchange program where we transfer our barstoolers for proper English football people. Although I'm not sure Liverpool could cope with the stress of 1.5 million Irish immigrants.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

It's their way of standing out from the crowd I'd say. But to do this, it seems you still have to support an English team.

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Not really Stu. I still get quizzical looks. and most certainly stand out from the crowd like a sore thumb.
I remember back in August my lil bro's (Slowly and surely introducing him to the wonders and beauty of supporting Shels) club Beech Park got to play against Ballyfermot United in Richmond Park at half time of the 71st meeting of Pats and Sligo this season. Anyway during the first half Sligo had some sort of a attack coming down the left hand side and I started cheering on Joey Ndo. My brothers mates (all 8 and 9 yo) were cheering on Pats and thought I was mad.
Anyway to make a long story boring, I was asked who did I support and I said Shels. They then said ah no really, I said Shels. No but who are your main team, I said Shels. All looked at me like a I had 10 heads. I then turned it around and rather cruelly asked who they supported (Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea predictably. No Man U surprisingly.) and then commented on their lack of Scouse/London accents. All of them to a boy cowered in their seats.
I was unreasonably smug. :)

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Originally Posted by Schumi

Ah, the days when Kilkenny were in the league.

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Or the hellish experience of a November night seeking out Station Road with no map and only a vague recollection of directions. Great ground and great soup mind. I treasure my Kildare County mug.

Heading to Edinburgh in a couple of weeks to a gig and the GF doesn't realise that she's coming to see Hibs and St Johnstone as a bonus. :)

I am a sport obsessive and will next to near go and watch whatever the locals are into and get stuck in and ask questions and learn and then some team will crawl under my skin and that's it. Eg. Maple Leafs, Carlton.

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Originally Posted by Dodge

Woodquay, you need to move jobs. For their safety as much as anything else.

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If it wasn't for this feckin recession, I probably would. As for local fans in England hating the daytrippers, I wss said dyatripper in Old Trafford a few years ago, about 10 minutes into the game two lads a couple of rows in front of me and clearly sozzled, got in a bit of a row with each other, each accusing the other of being blow-ins, pushing and shoving before both took off their tops to reveal their copious amount of tattoos, proving they were Mancs. I didn't open my mouth for the rest of the game

I had one last thursday during playing astro with lads from the job.

Tipperary lad: Did ya see the back of the sun (if it wasnt bad enough he was from Tipperary but he reads the sun, and a man u fan) should have really been put down haha
Me: No
TL: yeah they were saying a pub is the ideal local to watch a match, and laughed.
Me: So, TL, did ya go to the All Ireland Final?
TL: Yeah
Me: So you are saying that it would have been better to watch that match in the pub rather than go to the game in croker.

He didnt know what to say.

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Originally Posted by Mr A

I spent a few days selling Harps draw tickets door to door years ago. It was demoralising in general but the interesting part was that every single house I went to where the people were English or Scottish they knew exactly who Harps were, bought a ticket and wished us well. They had an automatic affinity to the local club that is rarely seen among Irish people.

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Same happened meself. Heard the English accent at the doors and were suprised when they more than happy to buy a ticket of us and have a chat about the club. More and more english accents at LOI grounds it seems and Rovers have some english fans that will travel over for games too. Standing on terraces, good banter, hardcore fans, decent prices - everthing they have lost at their highest levels.

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Originally Posted by BonnieShels

Anyway to make a long story boring, I was asked who did I support and I said Shels. They then said ah no really, I said Shels. No but who are your main team, I said Shels. All looked at me like a I had 10 heads. I then turned it around and rather cruelly asked who they supported (Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea predictably. No Man U surprisingly.) and then commented on their lack of Scouse/London accents. All of them to a boy cowered in their seats.

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Remember going into Ireland v Brazil in Lansdowne Road a few years ago; start of 2004, cos we'd just been relegated. Some kid - no idea why - was asking me who I supported.

Idiot kid - Who do you support?
Me - UCD
IK - No, who do you support in the Premiership?
Me - UCD
IK - UCD aren't in the Premiership
Me - Yes we a...ah ******.

Saw that bit in one of the tabloids danthesaint mentioned too. "A match isn't the same unless you're watching it with a big crowd" - well duh. Read on - "So watch it in your local pub". Just risible.

Actually to go mildly off topic, there's a serious debate raging amongst the smarter NFL fans in the US about whether watching a game in the stadium is better than at home. Compared to College Games (where no-one really argues staying at home is a better experience) there are the issues of stadium location (more likely to be in local equivalent of Abbotstown), and lack of atmosphere aside from a few stadia (unsurprisingly they are the more central located stadia). Obviously that doesn't apply to the pub one here too much but it's an interesting one in it's own right.

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Originally Posted by Aberdonian Stu

Actually to go mildly off topic, there's a serious debate raging amongst the smarter NFL fans in the US about whether watching a game in the stadium is better than at home. Compared to College Games (where no-one really argues staying at home is a better experience) there are the issues of stadium location (more likely to be in local equivalent of Abbotstown), and lack of atmosphere aside from a few stadia (unsurprisingly they are the more central located stadia). Obviously that doesn't apply to the pub one here too much but it's an interesting one in it's own right.

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american football is very technical and in grounds of 70/80 thousand it is impossible to know what is going on. saw some games in Meadowlands NJ where given the distance fom the pitch etc it was well nigh impossible to figure what was going on. TV with close ups and instant replays is probobly a far better vehicle for viewing american football.

In "soccer" (apols now for using the term but only to differenciate) this is not as abig an issue and it is easier to follow what is going on*. Also average american footie game takes about 3 hours - think 3 hours in most LOI grounds might be pushing it somewhat :(


* this does not apply to LOI refs.

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Originally Posted by marinobohs

american football is very technical and in grounds of 70/80 thousand it is impossible to know what is going on. saw some games in Meadowlands NJ where given the distance fom the pitch etc it was well nigh impossible to figure what was going on. TV with close ups and instant replays is probobly a far better vehicle for viewing american football.

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I'd totally disagree, but it would be way off-topic.

All Amercain football stadiums have big screens showing replays and the usual TV graphics (down & dostance etc). Most have announcers telling you what happened on each play.

The debate in America (and I'm not sure its all from the "smarter" NFL fans either) usually boils down to "Are you getting value for money spending $100-$300 surrounded by drunken yobs, in the cold, watching your crappy team compared to watching it on your HDTV complete with choice of games to watch (from NFL Sunday package) in comfort?"

Well there's that Dodge and all of those are valid but I think the drunken yobs and cold are generally more tolerable in grounds where there is likely to be a buzz, hence the college game (almost all on-campus in college towns) or more centrally located pro stadia tend to not have this debate as much.

Belfield Park used to be a bitch to get to. You'd almost think they located it there to discourage people...

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Originally Posted by Aberdonian Stu

Well there's that Dodge and all of those are valid but I think the drunken yobs and cold are generally more tolerable in grounds where there is likely to be a buzz, hence the college game (almost all on-campus in college towns) or more centrally located pro stadia tend to not have this debate as much.

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I'm not arguing that College and NFL are comparable. Different worlds IMO and nothing beats the Collega spectacle in huge Penn State or Michigan crowds (and many, many others). But thats kinda the point. People go to college games looking to get raucous, while many go to NFL for a variety of reasons (the sport/the experience/to be seen). I think only Green Bay (and New Orleans of late) could argue that their atmosphere is as fanatical as the NCAA games

Central grounds definitely help. Its far less daunting thinking you'll have to give up 4/5 hours getting in and out of the stadium

The atmosphere is the biggest convert factor I think. Think about how many decent games on the pitch were ruined by a lack of atmosphere. And think about how many games were improved in memory when the atmosphere rose.

http://foot.ie/threads/143613-Magner...ue-of-Football

This is turning into one of those discussions. Witness the fella near the bottom of page 2 who says he'd have no problem going to watch LOI so long as he wouldn't have to watch rubbish players like Keith Fahey! Some people are so far out of touch with reality it makes my head spin!

Ah, but wait til Monday...

The teuwl was talking to me today. Trying to explain the delicate little passing game that Dortmund used last night was hard. All contributed was "Man City were ****e".

had another discussion with a liverpool fan (who has never been to liverpool) today.

but was funny when i called over a dutch lad who supports Groningen in the dutch league, he was going mad at the liverpool fan saying how can you support a team when ya have never been there. I was cracking up laughing

Ireland is actually a joke among foreign football supporters because of this. Supporting a crap team they can respect, but glory hunting will earn you their lifelong contempt.

Also, gripe with barstoolers #298, when an Irish Man U "fan" boasts about how much of a die hard fan they are because they still worship one of the richest and most successful clubs in the world, even though some people call them a glory hunter. World's smallest violin, anyone?

one of the lads facebook status' earlier on, thought was funny

I saw a group on Facebook saying 'Manchester United is my Religion, Old Trafford is my Church'.

I'm a Christian and I never go to my Church either.

Heard a bloke I know the other day going on about 'Mackem scum'. As far as I'm aware, he's never been to Sunderland, he doesn't know anyone from Sunderland . . .
This is apparently to do with his occasionally wearing a Newcastle shirt.
Of course, being able to throw terms like 'Mackem' around also demonstrates a high level of knowledge and sophistication.
Speaking of Sunderland, I wonder have Oxfam managed yet to shift all those shirts they were inundated with after the whole Keane thing went pear-shaped?

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Originally Posted by Fivesilver

Speaking of Sunderland, I wonder have Oxfam managed yet to shift all those shirts they were inundated with after the whole Keane thing went pear-shaped?

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I felt particulary sorry for the poor staff of Boylesports who used to cringe for having to wear the Sunderland replica shirt every Saturday at work.

A mate of mine is an outsourced cameraman for Sky Sports. He's a fan of both the Blues and Liverpool. When he met Jeff Stelling (the king of English football), you can guess which impressed Stelling more. He knew the Blues were successful in the 60s and 70s, played United and Celtic in the European Cup and even that Bobby Charlton played for us. Far more interested than he would have been in a conversation with a 'die-hard' Liverpool fan who'd been to Anfield a few times.

I get the feeling Hartlepool's finest isn't all that interested in the Premier League despite presenting a show that's focused on it. He always seems to get so excited about announcing the latest updates from Cowdenbeath or Hayes & Yeading.

Top chairman Hayes and Yeading has - he's written about our promotion challenge on more than one occasion this season in his programme notes. That's the real reason Jeff cares about H&Y - he knows the Blues connection!

Because, as we all know, Jeff is a glory hunter. He's turns up at the RSC twice or three times a year for the glamour games with Wexford and Limerick, wearing all the gear and him hardly in from Luton 20 minutes. With his fancy travel agent ticket in the expensive seats with all the other blow-ins from London and England generally. Apparently he is a pain in the hole at the Sky studios on a Saturday morning if the Blues win, coming in wearing his Blues scarf talking about how "we" thumped Salthill and how "we" are going to get back on top of the table and how worried he is about how "we" are going to do in the big game with Monaghan. And apparently it's worse if they lose: he'd be moaning for hours on end. Dirty glory hunter, and he living within a half hour of Chelsea, but no, they are not good enough for him to watch. No, he'd choose to spend over 4 hours getting to Waterford for some flashy tie with Finn Harps rather than get in his car and drive to Stamford Bridge.

I hear the locals in Waterford hate all the daytrippers from Hartlepool and Middlesbrough. It's embarrassing - English fans are a laughing stock in this country.

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Originally Posted by Bluebeard

Top chairman Hayes and Yeading has - he's written about our promotion challenge on more than one occasion this season in his programme notes. That's the real reason Jeff cares about H&Y - he knows the Blues connection!

Because, as we all know, Jeff is a glory hunter. He's turns up at the RSC twice or three times a year for the glamour games with Wexford and Limerick, wearing all the gear and him hardly in from Luton 20 minutes. With his fancy travel agent ticket in the expensive seats with all the other blow-ins from London and England generally. Apparently he is a pain in the hole at the Sky studios on a Saturday morning if the Blues win, coming in wearing his Blues scarf talking about how "we" thumped Salthill and how "we" are going to get back on top of the table and how worried he is about how "we" are going to do in the big game with Monaghan. And apparently it's worse if they lose: he'd be moaning for hours on end. Dirty glory hunter, and he living within a half hour of Chelsea, but no, they are not good enough for him to watch. No, he'd choose to spend over 4 hours getting to Waterford for some flashy tie with Finn Harps rather than get in his car and drive to Stamford Bridge.

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:D:D:D

Out working with a client, got the "Any plans for the weekend? question.

I was like "Naw, football season is over to be honest I dunno what I'll be doing with my weekends for the next few months"

"What season"

"League of Ireland"

"Right, and you'd got to games would you"

"Yeah, we'll I don't get to every home game with living in Dublin but I missed less than half a dozen home and away"

"Jees, sure it is just so much easier to watch them on TV"

Cure rolly eyes.

Yeah, thats one of the follow up questions I nearly alawys get with these types

"So, you go to all the games then?"

Its like they're astounded that not only do we have an interest in it, and not only do we go to home games, but we actually travel around the country to see games.

When I respond positively, the answer I usually get with raised eyebrows is "jaysus"

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Originally Posted by Dodge

Yeah, thats one of the follow up questions I nearly alawys get with these types

"So, you go to all the games then?"

Its like they're astounded that not only do we have an interest in it, and not only do we go to home games, but we actually travel around the country to see games.

When I respond positively, the answer I usually get with raised eyebrows is "jaysus"

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thats just them realising that there's something not quite right with you Dodge. ;) ;) I think we've all been there!

It's fun to have one of these threads once every few months so we can all have a good rant and a moan. I'm going to London in a couple of weeks for a 'barstooler' weekend with thischarmingman. I might pretend to be a die hard Fulham, QPR, Leyton Orient (or whatever club we choose to visit) for the day and see how it goes. Maybe RTÉ will pick it up and turn it into as series... 'The Other Side of the Barstool'.

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Originally Posted by holidaysong

It's fun to have one of these threads once every few months so we can all have a good rant and a moan. I'm going to London in a couple of weeks for a 'barstooler' weekend with thischarmingman. I might pretend to be a die hard Fulham, QPR, Leyton Orient (or whatever club we choose to visit) for the day and see how it goes. Maybe RTÉ will pick it up and turn it into as series... 'The Other Side of the Barstool'.

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That sounds like a party game for 4 men of a certain persuasion :laugh: