Unpopular Opinions You Hold

[BenTheFox]

59 minutes ago, The Blur said:

 

That grinds my gears good and proper when people slag off sports as boring but in the reality they have not really made the time to understand the rules or to have played it or watched it enough to appreciate the finesse.  

I can appreciate the skill level whilst still finding something dull to watch. Just like I can listen to a twenty-five minute prog-rock song, acknowledge the complexity and sophistication in the arrangement and at the same time never want to listen to it again. 

Edited 5 March 2021 by BenTheFox

[The Blur]

1 hour ago, BenTheFox said:

I can appreciate the skill level whilst still finding something dull to watch. Just like I can listen to a twenty-five minute prog-rock song, acknowledge the complexity and sophistication in the arrangement and at the same time never want to listen to it again. 

 

I was referring to people who did not really bother to actually think about the finesse involved before branding a sport as boring.   For an example people think snooker is boring becuase they think it is just all about potting balls but they did not realise that there is a huge tactical side involved in planning ahead nor watched it enough to appreciate an average shot to a casual viewer is actually a very skilled shot.   

 

Of course it is possible for people who have enough knowledge about sports to still to find them boring-  I do not like snooker despite using them as an example above lol.  My post were mostly aimed at fickle people- the types who rolled their eyes and compain in an over the top manner about sports while not really having watched them properly to understand them.    You do have a point although,  this can be applicable in some extent in other mediums.  

Edited 5 March 2021 by The Blur

[Nalis]

8 minutes ago, The Blur said:

 

I was referring to people who did not really bother to actually think about the finesse involved before branding a sport as boring.   For an example people think snooker is boring becuase they think it is just all about potting balls but they did not realise that there is a huge tactical side involved in planning ahead nor watched it enough to appreciate an average shot to a casual viewer is actually a very skilled shot.   

 

Of course it is possible for people who have enough knowledge about sports to still to find them boring-  I do not like snooker despite using them as an example above lol.  My post were mostly aimed at fickle people- the types who rolled their eyes and compain in an over the top manner about sports while not really having watched them properly to understand them.    You do have a point although,  this can be applicable in some extent in other mediums.  

Agreed to the appreciation of skill. Saying that, I still think dressage is a biggest pile of w ank ever. A 'sport' invented for posh twats who werent good enough at polo or showjumping.

Edited 5 March 2021 by Nalis

[String fellow]

Any sport gets boring if the same people or teams win all the while, Lewis Hamilton and Celtic/Rangers being random examples. Why anyone bothers to watch Scottish football, when everyone knows that either Celtic or Rangers will prevail over every other team, is beyond me.  

[Corky]

4 hours ago, RonnieTodger said:

Did any match-going fan really want VAR to come in? It's bad enough when you watch on TV, but remember how shit it was in the stands too.

It seemed to be the pundits and managers that were calling for it. 

 

I remember Braga's second goal being ever so slightly offside and I couldn't give a shit. 

 

Fans have ultimately been proved right. It will never improve football as a spectacle. Sure, you might get 50% more correct decisions, but it's simply not worth the damage that it's doing. We'll hear the same tired apologist excuses for it, as if it one day won't be shit.

 

"It's the humans operating VAR!" - That's what VAR is. No one doubts that cameras work.

"It's fine in Germany and Spain" - It isn't.

"Refs need to use the monitors" - Now they do and it's still shit.

"The offside and handball rules are stupid, not VAR" - Those rules have been changed to suit VAR. VAR is dictating the laws of the game.

 

Teams can get relegated and win titles through the help of poor officiating, without VAR, but that happens anyway. Aston Villa stayed up because of a hawk-eye mistake. Man United steamrolled into the top 4 with countless nonsense penalties that VAR didn't stop.

Fans only ever wanted it when decisions went against them. Same as clubs.

 

Unfortunately we're stuck with it and the endless debate.

[Fox92]

4 hours ago, RonnieTodger said:

Did any match-going fan really want VAR to come in? It's bad enough when you watch on TV, but remember how shit it was in the stands too.

It seemed to be the pundits and managers that were calling for it. 

 

I remember Braga's second goal being ever so slightly offside and I couldn't give a shit. 

 

Fans have ultimately been proved right. It will never improve football as a spectacle. Sure, you might get 50% more correct decisions, but it's simply not worth the damage that it's doing. We'll hear the same tired apologist excuses for it, as if it one day won't be shit.

 

"It's the humans operating VAR!" - That's what VAR is. No one doubts that cameras work.

"It's fine in Germany and Spain" - It isn't.

"Refs need to use the monitors" - Now they do and it's still shit.

"The offside and handball rules are stupid, not VAR" - Those rules have been changed to suit VAR. VAR is dictating the laws of the game.

 

Teams can get relegated and win titles through the help of poor officiating, without VAR, but that happens anyway. Aston Villa stayed up because of a hawk-eye mistake. Man United steamrolled into the top 4 with countless nonsense penalties that VAR didn't stop.

Agree with all that.

 

The bold point is exactly how I feel. A poor referee decision doesn't relegate a team, for example. A team is relegated because they've been shit over the season.

People talk about Villa's hawkeye mistake as if VAR hadn't fvcked them over during the season anyway. Bournemouth didn't go down because of a hawkeye mistake, they went down because they were shit for 38 games.

 

Doesn't help that fans jeer each other. Either you want it or you don't. If you don't want VAR then don't cheer when a favour goes your way.

 

As a match going fan I don't want it, takes a lot out of what going to games actually is.

[BenTheFox]

What I find hilarious about football is that we're so precise in ruling goals out because someone's nipple might be offside yet will only add 1 minute stoppage time onto a first-half that included an injury and a long VAR check. 

Edited 5 March 2021 by BenTheFox

[Chrysalis]

I hold too many of them.

[String fellow]

On the question of off-sides, perhaps players should all be fitted with a transponder somewhere about their person, which provides continuous data streams on their exact GPS coordinates. This could then provide instant decisions on off-sides, just as we already have technology for instant decisions on whether or not the ball has crossed the goal-line.   

[Parafox]

1 hour ago, String fellow said:

On the question of off-sides, perhaps players should all be fitted with a transponder somewhere about their person, which provides continuous data streams on their exact GPS coordinates. This could then provide instant decisions on off-sides, just as we already have technology for instant decisions on whether or not the ball has crossed the goal-line.   

They'd have to have a transponder on their feet, ankles, fingers, elbows, ears, noses, gelled-up hair...

[String fellow]

15 hours ago, Parafox said:

They'd have to have a transponder on their feet, ankles, fingers, elbows, ears, noses, gelled-up hair...

This technology and a simple rule change would get over the absurd issue of which bodily part of the attacker is ahead of which bodily part of the last defender, by using fixed reference points on each player. Maybe the players could all have two tracking devices, one fitted inside each boot. So if the leading foot of the attacker is ahead of the trailing foot of the last defender when the ball is played, that would immediately provide the off-side decision. Tbh, who'd be a linesman? Not me. Apart from needing the eyesight of a hawk, you also need a crystal ball to predict a couple of seconds into the future, to know who the pass is going to be received by when it's initially made!

Edited 6 March 2021 by String fellow

[Koke]

I'm all for pubs opening again and people socialising but I've never been a fan of the drinking culture in this country (and in Eurooe/USA_ in general). Its entirely possible to have a great time without drinking beer or other alcoholic drinks. The obsession with alcohol is strange to me.

[peach0000]

14 minutes ago, Koke said:

I'm all for pubs opening again and people socialising but I've never been a fan of the drinking culture in this country (and in Eurooe/USA_ in general). Its entirely possible to have a great time without drinking beer or other alcoholic drinks. The obsession with alcohol is strange to me.

Totally agree. The drinking culture around football confuses me as well. I don’t get it. The only time I’ve drank before a football match it ruined the experience for me.

[StanSP]

50 minutes ago, Koke said:

I'm all for pubs opening again and people socialising but I've never been a fan of the drinking culture in this country (and in Eurooe/USA_ in general). Its entirely possible to have a great time without drinking beer or other alcoholic drinks. The obsession with alcohol is strange to me.

It's the obsession to get absolutely obliterated in this country by some people as opposed to erasing alcohol. You can have a happy medium and go out for a good few drinks without going too far and over your 'level'. 

[HighPeakFox]

2 minutes ago, StanSP said:

It's the obsession to get absolutely obliterated in this country by some people as opposed to erasing alcohol. You can have a happy medium and go out for a good few drinks without going too far and over your 'level'. 

I suspect it indicates a deeper level of unhappiness/lower expectations that getting abolutely plastered is considered a good time.

[StanSP]

10 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

I suspect it indicates a deeper level of unhappiness/lower expectations that getting abolutely plastered is considered a good time.

Once every now and then when you're younger perhaps is fine. I certainly did. But then you find that level where you should probably go home or end up embarrassing yourself/getting in to trouble. 

[Buce]

12 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

I suspect it indicates a deeper level of unhappiness/lower expectations that getting abolutely plastered is considered a good time.

 

1 minute ago, StanSP said:

Once every now and then when you're younger perhaps is fine. I certainly did. But then you find that level where you should probably go home or end up embarrassing yourself/getting in to trouble. 

 

Imagine a world in which alcohol had never been invented.

 

If someone then came along and started selling it, it would pretty soon be banned as a class 'a' drug.

[BenTheFox]

I like a drink but I must say I hate the feeling I get the next day, not just the physical effects but the anxiety that I get the following day after having drinking several beverages is so intense. 

Edited 6 March 2021 by BenTheFox

[bovril]

2 hours ago, Koke said:

I'm all for pubs opening again and people socialising but I've never been a fan of the drinking culture in this country (and in Eurooe/USA_ in general). Its entirely possible to have a great time without drinking beer or other alcoholic drinks. The obsession with alcohol is strange to me.

The drinking culture in the UK is pretty unique. I haven't been to the US but I don't imagine similar scenes in American towns. 

[peach0000]

48 minutes ago, bovril said:

The drinking culture in the UK is pretty unique. I haven't been to the US but I don't imagine similar scenes in American towns. 

From my experience of the USA that culture is pretty non-existent. Alcohol is drank in moderation. Like in most of Europe as well to be fair. New Orleans is possible the one exception.

[fuchsntf]

On 27/02/2021 at 18:44, The Bear said:

A cob is a thick round bread sandwich. Either crusty or soft. Bap is also acceptable. 

Bap is soft...Cobs are crusty...

[Paninistickers]

25 minutes ago, peach0000 said:

From my experience of the USA that culture is pretty non-existent. Alcohol is drank in moderation. Like in most of Europe as well to be fair. New Orleans is possible the one exception.

Funnily enough, I had the opposite experience. 

 

I didn't expect them to have a friday night culture like us either, but ive had weekend nights out in philly and Boston and it was remarkably similar. So.much so, I even chatted to some yanks about how surprised I was. They asked what did I expect. I replied (without irony) that I expected coke and burgers and milkshakes, an answer that brought about raucous laughter. 

[peach0000]

Just now, Paninistickers said:

Funnily enough, I had the opposite experience. 

 

I didn't expect them to have a friday night culture like us either, but ive had weekend nights out in philly and Boston and it was remarkably similar. So.much so, I even chatted to some yanks about how surprised I was. They asked what did I expect. I replied (without irony) that I expected coke and burgers and milkshakes, an answer that brought about raucous laughter. 

It might depend on the city. The USA is so massive I imagine it changes a lot between places. Philadelphia and Boston have a bit of a reputation for that kind of stuff as does New Orleans. It didn't really seam a thing in LA or NY for me though. (of course I could just have been oblivious to it)

[bovril]

3 hours ago, peach0000 said:

Totally agree. The drinking culture around football confuses me as well. I don’t get it. The only time I’ve drank before a football match it ruined the experience for me.

The away pubs are (were) probably my favourite part of football matches. But I'm getting to the point where I start to fall asleep in the 2nd half. 

[Paninistickers]

3 minutes ago, peach0000 said:

It might depend on the city. The USA is so massive I imagine it changes a lot between places. Philadelphia and Boston have a bit of a reputation for that kind of stuff as does New Orleans. It didn't really seam a thing in LA or NY for me though. (of course I could just have been oblivious to it)

Agree. I think east coast cities have that kind of colder north European edge