Overly passionate sports fans

lahalane

I know a lad who is really quiet and relaxed until Liverpool are playing, then he becomes a psychopath. Once he was at a house party after the nightclub and there was a United flag back at the house. He set it on fire in the sitting room as a 'joke'. He apologised to the owner of the flag when he was sober and offered to let him burn his Liverpool flag as payback??

As stupid and crazy as these kind of fans are, they amuse me (as long as I hear about the story rather than witness it). What are some of the stupidest things you've seen sports nuts do?

oldyouth

lahalane wrote: »

What are some of the stupidest things you've seen sports nuts do?

Follow Man United

RayM

I've never understood why they shout so much. Especially at television screens.

fasttalkerchat

Had an argument in a bar with someone claiming to be a Celtic fan who justified racism against a black rangers player because he said playing for rangers was worse than being a racist and its only done to put a player off.

Ava_e

Lamest thing I've seen, when in a bar an Ireland V England rugby match was on the big screen TV, O' Gara was going for a conversion kick and someone tried to shush everyone in the bar into silence (like they do in the actual stadium, so the kicker won't lose concentration). Goon.

Son Of A Vidic

oldyouth wrote: »

lahalane wrote: »

What are some of the stupidest things you've seen sports nuts do?

Follow Man United Liverpool

Obvious error there has been corrected.

Talib Fiasco

We were in the canteen at work one day during the summer on about transfers and general slagging each others clubs. One of the older lads, pure hard looking lad now starts to get a little heated when Liverpool were slagged. He proceeded to showing loads of tattoos with the crest and other stuff on him....very passionate like....that was fine we let him off. Then we resumed conversation and Liverpool were slagged again as well as every other club. By this stage the tattoo guy was nearly in tears and said he never respects or talks to United fans. He picked up his food and moved away. He was a complete helmet to work with too.

wazky

lahalane wrote: »

. What are some of the stupidest things you've seen sports nuts do?

Pay extortionate amount of money to watch footballers play (usually in England etc), when the players themselves couldn't give a toss and would rather be at home riding the brothers wife.

Il Trap

This pretty much sums it up.

Portlawslim

Heard a story about a complete Liverpool nut, while watching a Man utd v Liverpool game a they were showing fergie on the telly he actually spat on his own telly…

Vito Corleone

Grown men crying over Ferguson's retirement. Pathetic.

timthumbni

I used to be mad about football as a wean and then right up to early 20s. Then I started to realise that its actually quite a boring game to watch.

I know many people who still go if in a huff if their team loses. I keep telling them to wise up as Rooney, Gerard, lampard etc will pick themselves up when they see the weekly 150 grand dumping into their bank so why should they worry.

Its bad enough seeing petulant younger fans but when these huffers are in their late 20s, 30s etc then its a bit sad.

What's even funnier is seeing shinner bot types getting worked up over their man love for their British side whilst otherwise slagging anything English or British.

All in all football is just a game despite what some loser scouser manager said. Up Utd. Lol.

JamBur

So much homoeroticisim...

Zaph

Vito Corleone wrote: »

Grown men crying over Feguson's retirement. Pathetic.

Nothing pathetic about tears of joy.

As a Leeds fan it is my sworn duty to abhor all things Man U, although to be fair that just translates to a bit of banter with some of the lads in work, usually at my expense. However I have heard of one English Leeds fan who refuses to sit down at away matches if his seat is red, despite the fact that he could be at Middlesboro or Swindon. There's another who's a painter and he turns down any job where he's requested to paint something red. That's just ludicrous.

timthumbni

Portlawslim wrote: »

Heard a story about a complete Liverpool nut, while watching a Man utd v Liverpool game a they were showing fergie on the telly he actually spat on his own telly…

Lol. Have heard similar stories loads of times. Heard of supporters putting the boot straight through their own telly. Suspect this is normally whilst pished up in front of friends showing how uber they are.

P_1

Once you don't take things too seriously there's no harm done. For example, Tottanham and Dublin happen to be currently playing Arsenal and Kerry respectively. Now were both teams to win it will make me smile but I'm very sure I won't be despondent were they to lose.

Il Trap

timthumbni wrote: »

Its bad enough seeing petulant younger fans but when these huffers are in their late 20s, 30s etc then its a bit sad.

I remember driving down the main street of Dundalk on the afternoon that Man City won the Premier League. Outside a pub were a group of middle aged men all decked out in blue and white popping champagne bottles and dancing/celebrating in the street. Has to rank among the cringiest things I've ever witnessed.

Muise...

I love it when an overly passionate sports commentator goes off on a mad victory lap of a speech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqZTP8-8wIs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmSrQUG9HSE

Richard Hillman

These people use their chosen sports teams to compensate for the lack of meaning in other facets in their lives.

wazky

Richard Hillman wrote: »

These people use their chosen sports teams to compensate for the lack of meaning in other facets in their lives.

Like picking your boards username based on a soap character sports team?

oldyouth

Zaph wrote: »

There's another who's a painter and he turns down any job where he's requested to paint something red. That's just ludicrous.

I read his autobiography. He'll also paint white over anything red for free :P

FTA69

I never understood Irish people who actually cream themselves over English private limited companies in cities they have little connection with. I support Spurs, but to be fair I live in North London and if I'm going to invest myself in supporting a team I'll follow a local one. While I do get enjoyment from cheering them on and seeing them do well in the league, I certainly wouldn't p*ss myself with emotion over what is a money making exercise; especially one that I'm not strictly local to either.

GAA, on the other hand, is a different matter. That is the embodiment of local sporting achievement. The players are unpaid amateurs who come together to represent the place of their birth with pride. The players themselves make huge personal sacrifice for often little reward and behind them is an army of club players, volunteers, coaches etc who all pitch in year in and year out to contribute to games that are a national treasure. The importance of the GAA to local communities cannot be overestimated, similarly it promotes comradeship and physical exercise as well as providing a vital outlet for the youth.

There is no better feeling than following your club and county's progress throughout a championship, to sit with 80,000 other fans in a heaving Croke Park final, to see the best of the best from different parts of the country battle it out. When you see your county battle it's way to victory and lift the Sam Maguire cup for the first time in 20 years, it's impossible not to make an emotional investment in it. And to be honest, where's the harm in that?

Omackeral

I went to the pub last year for the Man U vs Liverpool game and I will never go again. I witnessed:

- Lads calling each other 'Manc Scum' and 'Scouse W*nkers'. These are boys who grew up together in West Dublin.

- Chanting in Mancunian and Scouse accents at the telly and at each other

- A United fan decked out in that Green and Gold protest scarf against 'foreign' owners and his mates thinking he was a dedicated lad for doing so.

- The coup de grace, though, was one fella squaring up to the ref (TV Screen in reality) and his mate holding him back going ''just leave it man''.

Never again.

mfceiling

Dylan Moran......

But look at the people who use their potential — who do actually give it everything... The Beckhams or Roy Keanes of this world. People charging! Running up and down the field, swearing and shouting at each other. Are they happy? No! They're destroying themselves! Who's happy? You! The fat fúcks watching them, with a beer can balanced on your ninth belly, roaring advice at the best athletes in the world. "YOU WÁNKER!"

Legs.Eleven

lahalane wrote: »

I know a lad who is really quiet and relaxed until Liverpool are playing, then he becomes a psychopath. Once he was at a house party after the nightclub and there was a United flag back at the house. He set it on fire in the sitting room as a 'joke'. He apologised to the owner of the flag when he was sober and offered to let him burn his Liverpool flag as payback??

As stupid and crazy as these kind of fans are, they amuse me (as long as I hear about the story rather than witness it). What are some of the stupidest things you've seen sports nuts do?

Hahahaha!!!

anncoates

David Stubbs sums it up for me:

"I feel that those who aren't fans of football, or some other sport, are genuinely missing out on a whole dimension of life's spectacle – the cathartic, masochistic, joyful experience of getting involved in and keyed up about something that really doesn't matter at all, yet churns you up and makes you scream and shout the way the truly important things in life fail to."

That said I find it a bit strange when people get keyed up so much about a random team with zero geographical connection to them and often a team they've never even been to watch.

ONeill2013

grown men training an under-8 girls gaelic football team and actually looking like they were enjoying it, that's my crazy experience.

AnonoBoy

ONeill2013 wrote: »

grown men training an under-8 girls gaelic football team and actually looking like they were enjoying it, that's my crazy experience.

And you've taken the thread in an entirely different direction in 5..... 4..... 3.... 2.....

Wattle

Zaph wrote: »

Nothing pathetic about tears of joy.

As a Leeds fan it is my sworn duty to abhor all things Man U, although to be fair that just translates to a bit of banter with some of the lads in work, usually at my expense. However I have heard of one English Leeds fan who refuses to sit down at away matches if his seat is red, despite the fact that he could be at Middlesboro or Swindon. There's another who's a painter and he turns down any job where he's requested to paint something red. That's just ludicrous.

I wouldn't worry too much about Man U if I were you. Short of you guys getting taken over by a billionaire or drawing us in one of the cups were not going to be playing you anytime soon.

demanufactured

Never understood the appeal of it all...
if I get asked "Who do you support lad?"
I usually respond "Myself and my wife".

Gob****es swooing over so called english football teams....then giving out about english people stealing our country blah blah blah

GorillaRising

anncoates wrote: »

That said I find it a bit strange when people get keyed up so much about a random team with zero geographical connection to them and often a team they've never even been to watch.

Well that's the thing - in most cases it's not just a random team.

People grow up with members of their family watching/going to games of certain clubs. You get involved, emotionally invested - as silly as it sounds and you care. Simple as that.

You could be talking about people who have followed a team for maybe 10 - 50 years of their lives.

Also, what's geography got to do with it? It's like saying I don't watch Breaking Bad because it's set in another country. What connection do I have to New Mexico?

As it happens I love Breaking Bad and I'd call someone a tool if they said it was rubbish having not even watched it. What I'm saying is, I'd defend as I would a player I liked for example.

The 'geography' thing is not a good argument. People's emotions are farther reaching than borders. I think you'd be cheating yourself if you let that stand in your way for some reason or another.

flas

GorillaRising wrote: »

Well that's the thing - in most cases it's not just a random team.

People grow up with members of their family watching/going to games of certain clubs. You get involved, emotionally invested - as silly as it sounds and you care. Simple as that.

You could be talking about people who have followed a team for maybe 10 - 50 years of their lives.

Also, what's geography got to do with it? It's like saying I don't watch Breaking Bad because it's set in another country. What connection do I have to New Mexico?

As it happens I love Breaking Bad and I'd call someone a tool if they said it was rubbish having not even watched it. What I'm saying is, I'd defend as I would a player I liked for example.

The 'geography' thing is not a good argument. People's emotions are farther reaching than borders. I think you'd be cheating yourself if you let that stand in your way for some reason or another.

but football is not a tv show,no matter how much sky are trying to make it so...

meoklmrk91

I wouldn't class myself as a sport fan, I watch hurling matches that my county is in and watch matches that Ireland play in, soccer usually, sometimes rugby. I'm sorry but I don't understand people who support English soccer clubs unless they live in England, a lot of people who get tattoos, spend money on jerseys have never even been to the city that the club they support is from and they would consider themselves diehard fans, I suppose it would be like someone from Leeds getting tattoos, wearing a jersey and sulking when Kerry looses in the all Ireland football final, I just find it a not odd, each to their own I suppose, it's a pity more people wouldn't support their local Irish soccer club.

On the note of OTT fans, my father once told me about a friend of his who wouldn't sleep for nights before a match his county was in because he was so worried about the outcome, he would cry and sulk for days if they lost and even had his vehicle donned in the county colours. Nothing wrong with enjoying sport but when something like a match effects your sleep or puts you in a mood because they lost then you really need to start re-evaluating your life.

timthumbni

GorillaRising wrote: »

Well that's the thing - in most cases it's not just a random team.

People grow up with members of their family watching/going to games of certain clubs. You get involved, emotionally invested - as silly as it sounds and you care. Simple as that.

You could be talking about people who have followed a team for maybe 10 - 50 years of their lives.

Also, what's geography got to do with it? It's like saying I don't watch Breaking Bad because it's set in another country. What connection do I have to New Mexico?

As it happens I love Breaking Bad and I'd call someone a tool if they said it was rubbish having not even watched it. What I'm saying is, I'd defend as I would a player I liked for example.

The 'geography' thing is not a good argument. People's emotions are farther reaching than borders. I think you'd be cheating yourself if you let that stand in your way for some reason or another.

Does breaking bad have its own set of hooligan fans running around beating the lamps out of random Trekkie fans though?

The Trekkies would deserve it right enough. Lol

You have actually reminded me the next B Bad episode is waiting for me on netflix. Happy days.

JoseJones

timthumbni wrote: »

Does breaking bad have its own set of hooligan fans running around beating the lamps out of random Trekkie fans though?

The Trekkies would deserve it right enough. Lol

You have actually reminded me the next B Bad episode is waiting for me on netflix. Happy days.

Where do I sign up?

MJ23

"us" and "we" from lads who have never even been to the country that their beloved team are from.
Idiot lemmings.

anncoates

GorillaRising wrote: »

Also, what's geography got to do with it?

Ask a supporter of the national football or Rugby team or a GAA supporter the same question.

I think it's only fanboys of the EPL and the likes that talk about it like buying a plasma TV or brand of jacks roll.

entropi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f27IqVo5-Oc

Lapin

Ava_e wrote: »

Lamest thing I've seen, when in a bar an Ireland V England rugby match was on the big screen TV, O' Gara was going for a conversion kick and someone tried to shush everyone in the bar into silence (like they do in the actual stadium, so the kicker won't lose concentration). Goon.

He must have just done it for the crack.

Wattle

anncoates wrote: »

Ask a supporter of the national football or Rugby team or a GAA supporter the same question.

Yeah but a lot of Irish soccer players play in England and elsewhere. Also Johnny Sexton now plays his rugby in France. Should we stop supporting these players just because they moved abroad?

anncoates

Wattle wrote: »

Should we stop supporting these players just because they moved abroad?

I supported Irish players abroad no matter who they played for when I was 12.

Had a duvet set and everything.

JoseJones

FTA69 wrote: »

I never understood Irish people who actually cream themselves over English private limited companies in cities they have little connection with. I support Spurs, but to be fair I live in North London and if I'm going to invest myself in supporting a team I'll follow a local one. While I do get enjoyment from cheering them on and seeing them do well in the league, I certainly wouldn't p*ss myself with emotion over what is a money making exercise; especially one that I'm not strictly local to either.

GAA, on the other hand, is a different matter. That is the embodiment of local sporting achievement. The players are unpaid amateurs who come together to represent the place of their birth with pride. The players themselves make huge personal sacrifice for often little reward and behind them is an army of club players, volunteers, coaches etc who all pitch in year in and year out to contribute to games that are a national treasure. The importance of the GAA to local communities cannot be overestimated, similarly it promotes comradeship and physical exercise as well as providing a vital outlet for the youth.

There is no better feeling than following your club and county's progress throughout a championship, to sit with 80,000 other fans in a heaving Croke Park final, to see the best of the best from different parts of the country battle it out. When you see your county battle it's way to victory and lift the Sam Maguire cup for the first time in 20 years, it's impossible not to make an emotional investment in it. And to be honest, where's the harm in that?

I agree with everything you said 100%.

I also live in the UK, I wonder if it's a case of appreciating it more when you move away.

I am a football fan but most football fans here really grate on me. The most annoying thing is when they refer to their club as "us" or "we". That's akin to me saying "us" when talking about Tesco or M&S because I do my shopping there.

dirkmeister

Lapin wrote: »

He must have just done it for the crack.

I've actually seen this happen in a pub in Limerick during a Heineken cup match, the scary thing is I think they were serious!

pharmaton

lahalane wrote: »

I know a lad who is really quiet and relaxed until Liverpool are playing, then he becomes a psychopath. Once he was at a house party after the nightclub and there was a United flag back at the house. He set it on fire in the sitting room as a 'joke'. He apologised to the owner of the flag when he was sober and offered to let him burn his Liverpool flag as payback??

As stupid and crazy as these kind of fans are, they amuse me (as long as I hear about the story rather than witness it). What are some of the stupidest things you've seen sports nuts do?

I know someone who fits this bill but there's no chance that he would have apologised or offered his flag as compensation, in fact he wouldn't have stayed in said house after seeing said flag and possibly burning it. Psycho head on him when there's a match on all the same, you see it and you realise "yeah, that person is capable of many many things and none of them are good", it's not a nice thing to witness at all..at all.

osarusan

JoseJones wrote: »

I am a football fan but most football fans here really grate on me. The most annoying thing is when they refer to their club as "us" or "we". That's akin to me saying "us" when talking about Tesco or M&S because I do my shopping there.

I have to say that I doubt very much you are a football fan, if you relate to your team in the same way you do to shopping at Tesco.

I'm a Limerick FC fan, have been for more than 20 years. I've called them 'we' and 'us' for years, because I'm part of them, and they are part of me. On matchdays, their victory is my victory. Our emotions are intertwined, and always will be.

And I'm nothing out of the ordinary. That is what every fan feels.

sure, stories about people setting fire to flags or kicking their own TV show that some people take it too far, but those people, in my experience, often just want to 'show' how much of a fan they are.

osarusan

dirkmeister wrote: »

I've actually seen this happen in a pub in Limerick during a Heineken cup match, the scary thing is I think they were serious!

I've seen it done too - one my friends just told the shusher, "he (O'Gara) can't f**king hear you."

Henlars67

Wattle wrote: »

Yeah but a lot of Irish soccer players play in England and elsewhere. Also Johnny Sexton now plays his rugby in France. Should we stop supporting these players just because they moved abroad?

I find that people generally support a club, not a player and they don't start supporting a different club when an Irish player they like signs for them.

JoseJones

osarusan wrote: »

I have to say that I doubt very much you are a football fan, if you relate to your team in the same way you do to shopping at Tesco.

I'm a Limerick FC fan, have been for more than 20 years. I've called them 'we' and 'us' for years, because I'm part of them, and they are part of me. On matchdays, their victory is my victory. Our emotions are intertwined, and always will be.

And I'm nothing out of the ordinary. That is what every fan feels.

I am absolutely a football fan . Who said I "have a team"?

I said most fans, and I was predominantly talking about fans of big English clubs. Local clubs and clubs which people have some connection to I would sort of put in the same category as GAA.

somefeen

I wouldnt be a mad sports fan myself probably the complete opposite.
But you can see why people get so passionate about it. I watch Ireland play whenever I can and its a ****ing rollercoaster. It gives people a rush, no harm in it.
The big clubs are of course just businesses, but they sell entertainment. Same as most musicians.
We don't have threads mocking people for getting passionate about a particular artists music, even though at the end of the day they are still just selling a product

token101

FTA69 wrote: »

I never understood Irish people who actually cream themselves over English private limited companies in cities they have little connection with.

It's got **** all to do with the city though. People grow up watching a sport/team because they are introduced to it by family/friends. Going with your dad to England on a bus at 6am to watch United is bound to give you a connection to a club, especially if the only connection you have to the GAA is having it enforced upon you in school.

FTA69 wrote: »

The players themselves make huge personal sacrifice for often little reward

Really? How many GAA players have gotten a job at home and abroad at the expense of others strictly because they're involved in the GAA?

Wompa1

The older I get the more I see how professional sports are just a product. Man Utd is Coca Cola and Liverpool is Pepsi. I wouldn't get upset if a friend of mine thought Pepsi was nicer.

I have seen Man U fans bad mouthing Rooney all summer for getting upset about not being the top man.

I have also seen Arsenal fans calling Robin Van Persie a mercenary. It's so stupid. These guys are employees of a company. Why should they have a loyalty to a club?

It's mad going to a pub in Galway and hearing a crowd of Irish chanting UNITED in that English accent U-NY-EH!

And the Irish with the Celtic jerseys who have something like "F**k the Huns" on the back. You're supporting a British club. If you are so anti-british, wear a feckin' Irish clubs jersey. Ya dink