cleavers said:
I couldn't give a damn about rugby, if you think rugby is so superior then I suggest you follow rugby, that's your choice.
Me ? I'm a football supporter, yes there are things I don't like about it, but there are far more things I can't stand about rugby, in fact there aren't many things I do like about rugby.
I and most other football fans prefer the passion of following their team, and "hating" their rivals, that doesn't mean we resort to violence.
I don't want to 'respect' useless referees, or 'respect' united, or any other club for that matter, I just want to support Manchester City Football Club.
And a small point, no thuggery in rugby ?? maybe not off the pitch, but on it ?? Maybe you should pay a little more attention.
I do, was at one great match today, passion has nothing to do with hating teams the way City/United do and nearly every other derby. I'm not just talking about violence off the pitch, just the thuggery and the crap you hear in the stands.
Football players many times hound out refs and surround them, shouting at him for whatever decision, (Barca and Drogba is a good example of this) no matter how wrong they are, that's a bit too much. While in rugby, it's much more controlled and the refs word is the refs word and if there is communication needed between the ref and the team, it comes through the captain.
You can support City all you want but is passion shit like people writting they hope Fergie dies and all that jazz. That's not passion that's ridiculous.
And a typical thugs on the pitch for rugby, much more controlled game, what's the saying, "Football is a gentlemen's game played by thugs and rugby is a thug's game played by gentlemen."
-- Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:45 pm --
Irish_Blue said:
City fans in Europe mixed freely with Schalke, Hamburg, Kobenhavn, etc. during last year's UEFA cup campaign. To be honest, I don't think there's a serious football rivalry in the world where fans mix before-or-after the game. Sad maybe but there you go.
Rugby is not a working-class sport and football is, by and large. I'm generalising here but violence is more likely to be used as a means of expression or means of resolving disputes the further down the social classes one goes - and I count myself as working class.
As cleaver says: you can't have been to a game in 20-years. Football is by-and-large - thankfully - a much safer day out today and very family orientated.
Rugby is the sport of Limerick, and there's nothing posh there, while rugby has been seen as a posh (of sorts) sport. But the passion's there. The supporters are there. Rugby is much more to the man on the street game here in Munster then football is.
We relate more to GAA and rugby, as we relate more to the players. While football? With their WAGS and their cars and their millions earned each year, couldn't be more distant from the people who follow it. Totally disconnected with the fans. Rugby isn't. Not here anyway.
I'm not saying there is violence at the games, not really, not anymore, thankfully that's stamped down a lot, I've only ever been to one game where I've seen violence and that was the Irish England game when the English fans were not too happy with the results. But to be fair, these thugs are never football fans, just people out to hurt everyone else and cause problems. Thankfully the police managed to form a circle as such stopping the Irish fans from responding, but I've never experienced anything in my life like that at games, and never want to again. You just don't find it here.
But it's what happens in the stands, the actions of the fans, like I said there's no respect. And it'd be an easier game to watch sometimes if you didn't have to listen to some of the shite that comes out of the stands. That's not passion like I said, it's just clowns trying to be heard and get attention.
