Monday 29 March 2010

Football or Rugby?




I have, since a young boy been a on and off supporter of the mighty Crystal Palace.
I remember going to every home match back in the late 70s when we were being built up by the press to be "the team of the 80s" needless to say we were not nor would be ever be .
Anyway over the years my intrest in football has wained and I have been lucky to have acted as host on numerous times at rugby matches intead , in fact it was about 10 years since I had been to a football match untill this weekend.

Now in all the times I have been to rugby , I can honestly say that those in the crowd have never been aggressive to the opposition players or fans nor felt the need to use every expletive in there vocabulary at every oppertunity.
I have never seen any crowd trouble or felt in any way threataned or intimidated.
I would happliy take my wife ( not that she would go) and small children.

Now let me contrast the above with the atmosphere at the Saturday match between palace and Cardiff.
Oh the joy of listening to a father and son in front of us , verbally abuse every opposition player and some of there own with as choice a range of Anglo Saxon language as you will ever hear.
The delight of watching the same guys getting violent with the seats in front
They seemed unable or incapable to control themselves.

I pick out these people but this was all around me.

Would I ever contemplate bringing my wife or a child ?

Not a chance

Will I go back ?

Possibly

But as a live sport it has lost me, I do not need the Aggro nor do I wish to hear swearing every second word.

Call mr a prude if you like but Rugby crowds are more civilized !!




- Posted using BlogPress

Somewhere in or around Brixton

3 comments:

  1. Well ive done rugby and football lately ,beleive me i was entirely different at both sports.

    Suppose it was a herd/gang thing, dunno why.
    Im a 50 year old profesional ffs.

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  2. I experienced a similar thing at the wonderful Emirates the week before last. Crowd was announced as 67,000, I reckoned 63 tho' were Gooners and the remainder, hapless 'Ammers.

    What happened to sportsmanship? The Gooners could do no wrong and the opposition no right.

    My reaction was 'why are so many football fans just gormless neanderthal mono-sylabic fuckwits??'

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