These days, many men of all ages and their mothers follow the English Premier League religiously staying up at unearthly hours to watch the exciting game, called the 'beautiful game' by Pele and together with perhaps a billion faithful followers around the world week in week out who will follow everything to how the games were played, how each player performed, what the manager said before and after the game,the psyching taunts of the managers, the girlfriends,mistresses,wives,the taunts,the crimes like binge drinking and the racial abuse and beatings now and again.In short, the entire lives of all the actors on stage and off stage are studied under a microscope.
Do these fans have a) nothing else better to do ?? b) realise by paying the 40 - 50 British pounds to stand in the terraces,buy all the newspaper dailies with the goings on and all the fan stuff AND not to forget the pay per view of ESPN and now Mio TV that they are directly funding and indirectly approving of these young boys turned men who have the :
a) fat cat salaries, bonusses,transfer fees
b) lifestyles, fast cars and splashy suits with 3,000 pounds per night escorts
c) poor attitudes like faking injuries,football dives,theaterics
c) sometimes horrendous behaviour at nightspots everywhere
THESE FANS ARE BASICALLY FUNDING THESE SO CALLED 'STARS' LIVE OUT THEIR DREAMS AT THE EXPENSE OF THEIR OWN. HOW PATHETHIC.
Football fans are people who - in my opinion- wasting their hard earned sleep watching something which has NO CONSEQUENCE DIRECTLY to their daily lives except, perhaps, to make the small talk the next day with the like minded sleep deprived fans during their tea-break or lunch. If their team wins, its hooray good feeling for a couple of days, now lets get back to the serious business of work or taking care of family. If their team loses, then sometimes they feel lousy for a long time perhaps a week and everything appears bleak and without any meaning - PATHETIC !
In short, they are BORED WITH LIFE OR HAVE NO MEANING IN LIFE. -- GET A LIFE ! --
I am one who prefers to choose not to waste my time on this perennial circus and pursue and practice my own hobbies which - in my opinion have :
a) More predictable results (ie. less heartbreak when your team loses)
b) More Asian players where we have equal advantage
c) Less hullabaloo and circus feel about the whole industry ; in short,
d) Improve my feeling of self-worth and physical and mental health.
Hobbies and sports which are TRUE TO THEIR ORIGINAL INTENTIONS,to create a healthier and well rounded individual while at the same time,teach us values which have been inculcated in all societies :
a) respect for your opponent
b) play by the rules
c) honour the results and display good sportsmanship when losing
I am not saying don't watch EPL, the occasional game or even the weekly game on TV is good entertainment for many, but to watch every match or most matches on ESPN just because they paid for the channel is in my opinion ridiculous. There is much more to life than staying home and watching ESPN and especially that irritating female host whose name I won't mention. Some examples of hobbies or meaningful activities :
Sports
a) Badminton, Futsal, Karate, TKD, Muay Thai, Swimming,Running, Cycling,Triathalon,
Adventure Racing etc. - for the very fit
b) Gym, Tai Chi,Qi Gong, Ball Games, Golf, Walking - for the Less Fit and Middle
Aged
Self Improvement
a) Cooking, Bonsai, Gardening, Dancing,Toast Masters (making impromtu speeches),
Helping in Community
a) Charitable Organisations, Hospices,Old Folks Homes,Children's Foster Homes.
We need't do everything listed above, only one or two based on time constraint, and see the difference it makes in your life !
I am expecting the many angry responses from the EPL supporters out there.
1 comment:
Actually EPL has done me good. I started following Big League Soccer in 1969. That was what they were named in the TV programmes.
I was 12 yrs old (Pri Six). I picked up my geography because I loved to gather the world map to see where England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Rep of Ireland are located. I soon learned to find out all the capital cities of most countries, not only the UK ones. Next, I got to know what a continent is. Naturally, I scored high marks for Geography subject. I am proud of myself for such knowledge at that young age. Recently, I came across a middle-aged businessman; deep pocket with cash, but shallow in general knowledge. He has no idea where Los Angeles is located!
Those days, you'd only watch 1 live telecast a year (the FA cup in May). Big league soccer was an half hour TV highlights showing the previous week games. No live telecasts on Sat nite, we 'd listen to FM Radio for BBC live broadcast of results and match summary. In case, we don't get to listen to the full results ( radio no more battery lah!), we would wait for the Sunday Times to arrive in the morning. First thing, we did was to turn to the last page. On a small column usually on the right hand side, there were the results of 1st,2nd, 3rd and 4th divisions English soccer, including Scotland 1st & 2nd divison reults. I would then zero in to Manchester Utd.
I still love my EPL.
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