Football. I hate football. I hated it from the outset at the age of eight and I loathed it with a vengeance every time I was forced out onto the field twice a week for the next ten years. My visceral loathing for this sport has not abated during adulthood.
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have pledged action after receiving a powerful open letter from England’s Lionesses demanding more football lessons for girls at school, following their stunning Euro 2022 victory at the weekend.
Right. So bad enough that boys are forced to do it, they now want to force girls to do it. Assuming that because they like it, every girl in the country will emulate them.
But both contenders for the next Conservative Party leader fell short of fully committing to the letter’s main requests, which were that girls get two hours of PE lessons each week and that every schoolgirl in the country is given the same amount of access to football as boys.
The letter was supported by a host of famous faces, including football stars Rio Ferdinand, Jordan Henderson and Jesse Lingard, who retweeted the missive using the hashtag #Letgirlsplay.
How about, just enjoying the moment of the win and leaving the rest of the world alone. It is not up to the state to force children to play sports. A significant amount of boys don’t want to play this game, so it’s a fair bet that the same applies to the girls. If they want to do it, there are plenty of extra curricula opportunities. Otherwise, leave children alone to enjoy whatever activities take their interest.
Winning a tournament doesn’t give you the right to force your particular pleasure onto others. So, er fuck off.
What is it with people? They think that they can tell others what to do and want the government to do the forcing for them. Again, fuck off.
Oh, and winning a football match does not make you a hero. Using it in this manner debases the word.
“My visceral loathing for this sport has not abated during adulthood.”
Me too. It’s Interesting that the effects of this kind of aversion therapy last a lifetime. You might think that both of us should be over it by now, but here I am still harbouring fierce resentment for stuff that happened fifty years ago. My anger over it resurfaced a few years ago when they started with the team building crap at my workplace. It was satisfying to be in a position to be able to tell them to get stuffed.
That’s the difference. As an adult, you can tell them where to get off. As a child, you are forced to endure it.
My children were into sports at school.
Son football, daughter netball.
They loved it.
Sorry meant to add I loathed sport ?
Sorry meant to add I loathed sport ?
I really shouldn’t have that last glass of wine…soz LR.
Nice greyhound avatar – have you rwhomed some ex-racers? got two myself, lovely dogs
Hic.
Y’know, I love football, so perhaps can give a little perspective here to people that don’t. Never been particularly good at it, but enjoyed the sport as a participant, and some of my most sublime moments were as part of a crowd in a packed stadium as the atmosphere reached a crescendo. I can appreciate the media frenzy as they try to build up the women’s sport to the men’s level, and go a little overboard. But really? A few years ago, there was a tournament in France that had massive audiences and the same sort of hype. THIS was the turning point, the US Winners demanded equal pay as the men. I noticed the next English game, I think it was a local ‘Derby’ between Spurs and Arsenal. 660 people turned up.
No matter how much they push it, women just don’t want it. They go to see the men’s game, and perhaps want to watch it in the same way I have a passing interest in womens beach volleyball. Perhaps the exposing of the sports bra in the winning goal might change perspectives, but only to get more MEN to watch it. Astute lady that…
Great win for the England team but let’s not forget, they weren’t “diverse” enough. Not diverse enough for the BBC and the twitterati obviously.
Yes, I did notice that from the racist BBC.
I never minded sport at school, it was great to escape from the classroom. Wasn’t any good at it, but do think opportunity for those that want to participate should be available. It does count both ways. Often boys don’t get the opportunity to play hockey also has there ever been mens netball teams. There might be, but I’ve only seen women play. There are so many sports out there that people are unaware off. In the commonwealth games they have 3×3 basketball. England have mens teams, women’s teams in both able bodied and wheelchair. It’s a quick game, doesn’t need a lot of space. Maybe schoools should push different types of sporting activity. Some will never like sports but others have maybe not found one to suit them. Also there are groups of children who have looked on maths and English with the same dread as others look on sports.
Worse experience I had was playing hockey in the snow with a biting wind, but our team was winning.
This seems to be a total non-issue from my experience. I also loath football, however my eldest daughter loves it and has more opportunities to train and play than she has time for. There are several girls leagues round here, both inter school and non-school clubs.
I’d rather watch ‘re-runs of “Open All Hours” than a televised sports programme. As for taking part, many years ago, was cajoled into a mixed sex hockey match. Running around was never my forte, never mind running around bent over. The only interesting part was when a young lady was hit in her groin by the hockey ball. I have never seen so many people queuing up to ‘kiss it better’.
Don’t normally watch professional football because:
a. I find it boring.
b. Can’t stand watching all the big girls rolling around pretending to be injured.
Watched the lionesses and still thought it was boring but there were less big girls rolling around pretending to be. Injured.
“Maybe schoools should push different types of sporting activity. Some will never like sports but others have maybe not found one to suit them.”
I agree up to a point. I hated games at school because they didn’t do anything that I liked. Once I left school I took up karate, later I enjoyed doing triathlons. The problem is that schools really don’t have the resources to cater for everyone. It would probably be better for them to butt out altogether and let those who want to do sports in their own time.
“Also there are groups of children who have looked on maths and English with the same dread as others look on sports.”
Maths and English are essential life skills. Doing activities that keep you in shape is beneficial but many people manage without doing anything. That said, my brother is four years younger than me but he looks as though he’s at least four years older.
At my former comprehensive, girls have been expected to play both football and rugby for some years now. As to the two hours a week of PE, isn’t there already a legal requirement for schools to do a certain number of hours of sport? I seem to remember having games three times per week back in the 80’s (and hating every second).
Thinking about what I said about resources, if there has to be school sports, maybe they should finish lessons mid morning on Friday and have sports clubs come in to provide the lessons? I always enjoyed swimming but on the weekend I would just go swimming. I didn’t even know that swimming clubs, where you could learn to swim properly, were a thing. With hindsight, after having spent time with professional swimming coaches, I can see that the standard of coaching at school was criminally bad, regular PE teachers just winging it basically. What a difference it would have made if I could have spent Friday afternoons with a proper ASA swimming coach.
I watched the game, it was ok but its only interest is that women were playing because the level is quite poor.
Any decent U18 boy side would wipe the floor with them, so let’s not pretend it’s a great sporting feat.
It also confirms that sunak and truss are a pair of twats.
At my School it was Rugby Union in winter and cricket or athletics in summer. Soccer never got a look in. We had tennis courts and an Eton Fives court (it was NOT Eton I must stress). I also hated effing Rugby but I did play it for my house. It was the build you see. Second row thug.