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Post by Jessica on Jun 29, 2021 4:01:09 GMT
As I have hinted at before, I am a big sports fan! I support Tottenham Hotspur and the USA National team in soccer, but also love my hometown Kansas City Royals (baseball), Kansas City Chiefs (football), Sporting KC and my alma mater Missouri State University Bears!
Also, fun reveal about me......I am actually a coach as my full time job in real life!
What about you all? Any of you sports fans?
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Post by Lily on Jun 29, 2021 11:34:33 GMT
I feel that it's going to be you and me on this one Jess I am an armchair soccer fan. I have been a Liverpool fan since the late '70s, and also follow my hometown team, Reading, and my Scottish friends' team, Dundee Utd. I also support the England national teams. There is a big match on tonight in Euro 2020 against our historic rival Germany. A rivalry that the Germans do far better in than us. Normally putting us out of tournaments via penalty shoot-outs Hope that doesn't happen tonight. I also support the England national cricket team. I listen to test matches on the radio when they play at home against other nations. These last 6+ hours each day for 5 days. The pull there is the twists and turns that happen in the match and how the advantage can see-saw between the two teams. Though that's my favourite format of the game, I do like the other two international formats too, the one-day internationals and 20/20. For those that haven't seen cricket before, or found it boring when they did. The 20/20 format is a good place to start. These matches only last about 4-5 hours. They are very high scoring with action with almost every ball. The best 20/20 tournament is the Indian Premier League (IPL). Cricket is far and away the most popular sport in India, and the top stars in the IPL earn a great deal of money. I also watch a bit of snooker too. If you don't know what that is, it's similar to pool, but is played on a bigger table, and has a bit more to it than just potting balls. Ronnie O'Sullivan is my favourite player. He is been playing at the top of the game for about 25 years now. He is the most naturally gifted player the game has ever had. Here's him scoring the fastest ever maximum break, a 147, way back in 1997. The game is quite big here in the UK, and is popular in China and parts of SE Asia too. Fastest ever 147Apart from that I avidly watch the Summer Olympics when it's on, following Team GB. Not sure if they should be having it this year though with Covid still so prevalent.
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Post by Maria on Jun 29, 2021 13:51:06 GMT
For a brief time in the late 90s I tried to get into football, during which I supported Tottenham. I did even go to a couple of their games. I'm not sure whether I tried to get into it in some sort of attempt to fit in with boys, or whether it was because I then felt justified in collecting the sticker album collection lol. As much as anything, I think it was that macho "laddish" culture that surrounded football and sports like it that put me off. Which... obviously makes sense now!
I was always more into racket sports. Tennis and badminton mainly, although a little bit of squash too. Also mountain biking, I used to bike everywhere. Then in my late teens, my joints decided that they no longer wished to work properly, which made any kind of running about agonisingly painful. So no more racket sports. I then played a bit of golf (using a cart, rather than walking up and down the hills), continued trying to bike (though nowhere near as much as before) and played a bit of pool and darts for that competitive element. Then I moved away, so was no longer anywhere near those that I used to play pool and darts with, and a couple of years later an accident messed up my back and gave me chronic pain syndrome, which put paid to pretty much everything else too!
About the only sporting fixture that I actually watch with any regularity is the Super Bowl (if you can call once per year regular). Bit random, but go figure!
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Post by Maria on Jun 30, 2021 9:41:42 GMT
So we did end up watching the England game yesterday. I asked my daughter if she'd like to, as a lot of her school friends would be watching it, and she said yes. I think our running commentary would have made you both weep though š
"Yes, that's good. Oh wait, they're going the other way, no it's not." "What's he doing? Is that fair?" "I'm not sure, but it didn't look very kind did it." "Who's the player in blue" "The referee" "Why is he dressed as a football player?" "err... because if he was dressed as a crab it would be really difficult to run?" "I like the rainbow VW banner. That's very colourful and pretty"
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Post by Lily on Jun 30, 2021 10:06:00 GMT
That's funny. Dressed as a crab, lol. It sounds like a nice memory to have with your daughter though.
My experience yesterday was feeling that the whole maleness of it all wasn't what I wanted to deal with at the moment. There were far too many shots of "passionate" male England fans. I'm definitely in a "I hate all men" phase at the moment. So I watched the game with the commentary down low, while playing music sung by female vocalists, mostly Kpop or Jpop, just to dilute the testosterone-filled atmosphere.
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Post by Maria on Jun 30, 2021 10:16:36 GMT
I know what you mean. It was like, in case you aren't sure how you should feel about your national team being currently in the lead, here are some shots of how other people are feeling to use as a guide... Then near the end they showed some shots of the German crowd and there was a little girl crying My daughter said "I kind of want Germany to win now," which I thought was lovely. That making someone she'd never met happy meant more to her than being able to say "we won".
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Post by Lily on Jun 30, 2021 11:18:53 GMT
It just looked so aggressive. Of course I know supporting a team is tribal, but to see it so plainly on the crowd's faces was too much. Obviously I'm in a space now where I notice all these things more. It's that they don't look happy to be in the lead, it's something else, perhaps a reinforced sense of superiority, or "F**k you!" to the opposition fans.
I notice that little girl with her dad thinking "Poor kid", and that her distress is there for all the world to see, and thinking that there'd be some a**holes thinking its funny.
... and they wonder why more women don't go to football matches.
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Post by Jessica on Jun 30, 2021 15:57:52 GMT
I feel that it's going to be you and me on this one Jess I am an armchair soccer fan. I have been a Liverpool fan since the late '70s, and also follow my hometown team, Reading, and my Scottish friends' team, Dundee Utd. I also support the England national teams. There is a big match on tonight in Euro 2020 against our historic rival Germany. A rivalry that the Germans do far better in than us. Normally putting us out of tournaments via penalty shoot-outs Hope that doesn't happen tonight. I also support the England national cricket team. I listen to test matches on the radio when they play at home against other nations. These last 6+ hours each day for 5 days. The pull there is the twists and turns that happen in the match and how the advantage can see-saw between the two teams. Though that's my favourite format of the game, I do like the other two international formats too, the one-day internationals and 20/20. For those that haven't seen cricket before, or found it boring when they did. The 20/20 format is a good place to start. These matches only last about 4-5 hours. They are very high scoring with action with almost every ball. The best 20/20 tournament is the Indian Premier League (IPL). Cricket is far and away the most popular sport in India, and the top stars in the IPL earn a great deal of money. I also watch a bit of snooker too. If you don't know what that is, it's similar to pool, but is played on a bigger table, and has a bit more to it than just potting balls. Ronnie O'Sullivan is my favourite player. He is been playing at the top of the game for about 25 years now. He is the most naturally gifted player the game has ever had. Here's him scoring the fastest ever maximum break, a 147, way back in 1997. The game is quite big here in the UK, and is popular in China and parts of SE Asia too. Fastest ever 147Apart from that I avidly watch the Summer Olympics when it's on, following Team GB. Not sure if they should be having it this year though with Covid still so prevalent. I was happy to see England beat Germany although I didn't get to watch it. Harry Kane scored, and he is still technically on Tottenham Hotspur for now! That is a tough draw for the round of 16. Germany is technically the land of my heritage, my great-great-great grandparents came over to America from Germany. But I like the English team because I follow the Premier League more than any other (along with MLS). I am excited for the Gold Cup, which is the North American version of the Euros, starting in mid-July. Although I hear the US isn't going to field its strongest team, and will go with mostly domestic based players so we'll see. They played the North American Nations League finals last month and the US played Mexico and that was where they both fielded their strongest teams. The US actually won 3-2 in extra time and it was an incredible game. If you like soccer you should check out the highlights, it was really something. Obviously I am excited to see the women's team compete in the Olympics, that is always a big deal for them and probably will be the sporting highlight of the summer since my baseball Royals are a hot mess. I follow a lot of sports. Too many, my wife might say, but I have never gotten into cricket. I had a member of my staff at work once who was from Austrailia and she tried to explain it to me once and we even watch a little. But I could never quite get into it unfortunately. I wish I could because it seems like it has a great international scene and is similar to baseball. But I've never been able to figure it out. I have heard of snooker but had no idea what it really was until you told me about it just now.
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Post by Jessica on Jun 30, 2021 15:59:25 GMT
For a brief time in the late 90s I tried to get into football, during which I supported Tottenham. I did even go to a couple of their games. I'm not sure whether I tried to get into it in some sort of attempt to fit in with boys, or whether it was because I then felt justified in collecting the sticker album collection lol. As much as anything, I think it was that macho "laddish" culture that surrounded football and sports like it that put me off. Which... obviously makes sense now! I was always more into racket sports. Tennis and badminton mainly, although a little bit of squash too. Also mountain biking, I used to bike everywhere. Then in my late teens, my joints decided that they no longer wished to work properly, which made any kind of running about agonisingly painful. So no more racket sports. I then played a bit of golf (using a cart, rather than walking up and down the hills), continued trying to bike (though nowhere near as much as before) and played a bit of pool and darts for that competitive element. Then I moved away, so was no longer anywhere near those that I used to play pool and darts with, and a couple of years later an accident messed up my back and gave me chronic pain syndrome, which put paid to pretty much everything else too! About the only sporting fixture that I actually watch with any regularity is the Super Bowl (if you can call once per year regular). Bit random, but go figure! I have never been to the UK, but I did get to see Tottenham once when they went on a tour of the US! I still have the flag they handed out at the game hanging on the wall in my office! Why the Super Bowl? It is a huge event here in the US obviously, but is it big in the UK?
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Post by Jessica on Jun 30, 2021 16:01:15 GMT
That's funny. Dressed as a crab, lol. It sounds like a nice memory to have with your daughter though. My experience yesterday was feeling that the whole maleness of it all wasn't what I wanted to deal with at the moment. There were far too many shots of "passionate" male England fans. I'm definitely in a "I hate all men" phase at the moment. So I watched the game with the commentary down low, while playing music sung by female vocalists, mostly Kpop or Jpop, just to dilute the testosterone-filled atmosphere. Worri-Mei I think it is a safe bet that you are the only person in the entire world who watched the game that way hahahaha! Certainly the only biological male, which I would say is something you should be proud of!
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Post by Jessica on Jun 30, 2021 16:02:42 GMT
I know what you mean. It was like, in case you aren't sure how you should feel about your national team being currently in the lead, here are some shots of how other people are feeling to use as a guide... Then near the end they showed some shots of the German crowd and there was a little girl crying My daughter said "I kind of want Germany to win now," which I thought was lovely. That making someone she'd never met happy meant more to her than being able to say "we won". I have been used as that little girl before on TV. I have been the crying kid they show (when I was a kid) haha.
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Post by Jessica on Jun 30, 2021 16:06:18 GMT
It just looked so aggressive. Of course I know supporting a team is tribal, but to see it so plainly on the crowd's faces was too much. Obviously I'm in a space now where I notice all these things more. It's that they don't look happy to be in the lead, it's something else, perhaps a reinforced sense of superiority, or "F**k you!" to the opposition fans. I notice that little girl with her dad thinking "Poor kid", and that her distress is there for all the world to see, and thinking that there'd be some a**holes thinking its funny. ... and they wonder why more women don't go to football matches. Haha, I gotta say I get it and I understand it and I am one of them. I am a diehard sports fan and a coach. And if I met a genie tomorrow and he could turn me into a woman on the outside, I would still be aggressive and tribal and crazy sports fan! If you all could see the video of my reaction when the Royals won the World Series in 2015 you all might not believe I am actually a woman on the inside anymore haha. I screamed and yelled and opened the door and ran outside and yelled and ran back inside and yelled at my friend filming me and cursed and scream and yelled some more haha! Watching sports definitely brings out the manly side in me for sure! Perhaps I will come on here when I am watching a big game sometime and some of you can get to know the James side of me a little better haha! I promise he would still be a perfect gentleman.
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Post by Lily on Jun 30, 2021 16:31:12 GMT
As I know how sports crazy you are I wouldn't have expected you to be otherwise.
I think it's all about where I am at the moment, I think everthing that's been going on has really taken my focus away from sport at the moement. Last night I would've normally been not so much unlike you, England beating Germany is a really big deal. I remember all the pain of previous defeats, it's just not where my head is at currently.
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Post by Maria on Jun 30, 2021 17:27:18 GMT
Not as big as in the US, but there are still those of us who tune in. Two of the 5 "main" TV channels show it, too. I'm not sure what got me into really. I used to watch the highlights with my dad when I was young, then had nothing to do with it for a few years. At university some of the campus bars used to stay open late on Super Bowl night so that students who wanted to could watch it communally, so I always used to go to that. Then when I left university, I kept watching it and a few of the people that I used to watch it with and I would discuss the game on FB or Twitter, or those sorts of places. That social aspect has fallen away now, but I still watch it. Probably because it is the only thing like it that I watch - once per year makes it a special event and something to look forwards to.
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Post by Maria on Jun 30, 2021 17:30:38 GMT
It just looked so aggressive. Of course I know supporting a team is tribal, but to see it so plainly on the crowd's faces was too much. Obviously I'm in a space now where I notice all these things more. It's that they don't look happy to be in the lead, it's something else, perhaps a reinforced sense of superiority, or "F**k you!" to the opposition fans. I notice that little girl with her dad thinking "Poor kid", and that her distress is there for all the world to see, and thinking that there'd be some a**holes thinking its funny. ... and they wonder why more women don't go to football matches. Haha, I gotta say I get it and I understand it and I am one of them. I am a diehard sports fan and a coach. And if I met a genie tomorrow and he could turn me into a woman on the outside, I would still be aggressive and tribal and crazy sports fan! If you all could see the video of my reaction when the Royals won the World Series in 2015 you all might not believe I am actually a woman on the inside anymore haha. I screamed and yelled and opened the door and ran outside and yelled and ran back inside and yelled at my friend filming me and cursed and scream and yelled some more haha! Watching sports definitely brings out the manly side in me for sure! Perhaps I will come on here when I am watching a big game sometime and some of you can get to know the James side of me a little better haha! I promise he would still be a perfect gentleman. I mean having never seen you go mad when your team wins, I wouldn't like to make any assumptions, but England fans do have an unfortunate (though earned) stereotype of not just being energetic, but violent with their reactions. Your team won - smash things and hurt people. Your team lost - smash things and hurt people I wonder if it's that over-aggressive reaction that we both saw last night, as opposed to just people getting very excited and loud about it.
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