I no longer get as emotional over football as I used to (which I think is a good thing), but other than that I still enjoy the game as much as I used to. Football has always been about money, it’s just that the sums were different before. When the Italian clubs were throwing their money around, when Real Madrid were initially building their galacticos, the game was about money back then as well. The only difference I see is there are less flair/magician type players in world football these days, much less than when I was growing up, but these things ebb and flow. Football is still great, it’s just United that are crap.
Thinking the unthinkable - not interested in football any more...
- Thread starter simonhch
- Start date
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Count me in. I've taken up tennis now, both playing and watching and in the winter I've got my dear ski jumping to be drawn into. Maybe it's temporary feeling but I seriously don't look forward to seeing us play. First time in my life.
I feel much the same as the OP for some slightly different reasons & have travelled a different path I think.
Utd decline has to be a factor - from around when Ronaldo went to Madrid but prefaced before that. CR7 extended my ''obsessive interest'' - if we call it that. I suppose Abramovich arriving & the first changes to the offside rule would be when I first started wondering.
If it wasn't Abramovich, it would have been someone else, and the offside definitely needed looking at.**
I still support Utd & I watch about half the games now, I think. If Utd were better, even just more entertaining, I would probably watch more.
I used to watch more of the other teams - now it's just the ''massive games'' - when I agree that they are massive.
I've seen Utd win everything & more. I've seen them be the best team for 15+ years, sometimes the best team by a country mile. Fantastic players & the best player in the World for a couple of seasons. So it's a bit all downhill from there.
But English football generally has got quite dull now, it's almost too technically proficient, the less good teams do nothing other than defend & might try & break a bit. Half the League won't even bother with that playing against the top sides, possibly because they can't & would just get dismantled by attackers who are now can't be kicked, struggle to be offside & now have VAR coming in to help their penalty count.
There's massive turnover in players, so it's all a bit 'faceless' outside of the top clubs.
International football outside of the tournaments is a bit shit.
**The other element of course, is that I'm just a miserable boring old fart who hasn't liked things changing from how it was when I used to play & go to games regularly.
Utd decline has to be a factor - from around when Ronaldo went to Madrid but prefaced before that. CR7 extended my ''obsessive interest'' - if we call it that. I suppose Abramovich arriving & the first changes to the offside rule would be when I first started wondering.
If it wasn't Abramovich, it would have been someone else, and the offside definitely needed looking at.**
I still support Utd & I watch about half the games now, I think. If Utd were better, even just more entertaining, I would probably watch more.
I used to watch more of the other teams - now it's just the ''massive games'' - when I agree that they are massive.
I've seen Utd win everything & more. I've seen them be the best team for 15+ years, sometimes the best team by a country mile. Fantastic players & the best player in the World for a couple of seasons. So it's a bit all downhill from there.
But English football generally has got quite dull now, it's almost too technically proficient, the less good teams do nothing other than defend & might try & break a bit. Half the League won't even bother with that playing against the top sides, possibly because they can't & would just get dismantled by attackers who are now can't be kicked, struggle to be offside & now have VAR coming in to help their penalty count.
There's massive turnover in players, so it's all a bit 'faceless' outside of the top clubs.
International football outside of the tournaments is a bit shit.
**The other element of course, is that I'm just a miserable boring old fart who hasn't liked things changing from how it was when I used to play & go to games regularly.
@simonhch I stumbled across you post by chance and happen to agree entirely with what you and other like-minded posters have said. I had exactly the same feelings about football, however I experienced this disillusionment approximately 10-12 years ago when Utd were still dominant under SAF. Thus my feelings have nothing to do with our current lack of success.
The amount of money in the game, the increasingly celebrity status of players, and the excessive coverage of player's off field antics and misdemeanours were all highly contributing factors towards my apathy for the game. However for me the biggest factor that influenced my opinion is something that will no doubt be extremely controversial on here, but I feel it needs to raised in what has so far been a very diplomatic and well rounded thread.
Essentially my biggest problem was with a certain core of football fans. I simply couldn't ignore or accept what I perceived to be an increasing level of vitriol and hatred towards opposition players. Has this level of player hatred always been there? Possibly, I honestly don't know. But what I do know, is that as I got older it was something I didn't want to be a part of. Next time you are watching a game on TV and see a close up of an opposing player taking a throw in or corner, or watch a reply of a goal in slow motion, just pay attention to the fans behind. The hatred, foul language, anger and obscene hand gestures by not only the (easily influenced) younger generation but middle aged men as well is something I find hard to understand and accept in the name of sport and entertainment.
So about 12 years ago I went to my first Premier Rugby match. As you are probably aware the supporters sit together, drink beer and appreciate the performances of players from both sides. "So go stay with your rugby" I hear people say, "Good riddance to you", and I get that. But unfortunately that is not the point. The point is that football, at it's heart is a beautiful game, an outstanding sport loved by many, but for a variety of reasons as outlined in this thread is rapidly starting to mirror all that is undesirable in the world today. Of course I will continue to watch football as I love the game, but I can't help but feel it could be so much better on a number of different levels.
The amount of money in the game, the increasingly celebrity status of players, and the excessive coverage of player's off field antics and misdemeanours were all highly contributing factors towards my apathy for the game. However for me the biggest factor that influenced my opinion is something that will no doubt be extremely controversial on here, but I feel it needs to raised in what has so far been a very diplomatic and well rounded thread.
Essentially my biggest problem was with a certain core of football fans. I simply couldn't ignore or accept what I perceived to be an increasing level of vitriol and hatred towards opposition players. Has this level of player hatred always been there? Possibly, I honestly don't know. But what I do know, is that as I got older it was something I didn't want to be a part of. Next time you are watching a game on TV and see a close up of an opposing player taking a throw in or corner, or watch a reply of a goal in slow motion, just pay attention to the fans behind. The hatred, foul language, anger and obscene hand gestures by not only the (easily influenced) younger generation but middle aged men as well is something I find hard to understand and accept in the name of sport and entertainment.
So about 12 years ago I went to my first Premier Rugby match. As you are probably aware the supporters sit together, drink beer and appreciate the performances of players from both sides. "So go stay with your rugby" I hear people say, "Good riddance to you", and I get that. But unfortunately that is not the point. The point is that football, at it's heart is a beautiful game, an outstanding sport loved by many, but for a variety of reasons as outlined in this thread is rapidly starting to mirror all that is undesirable in the world today. Of course I will continue to watch football as I love the game, but I can't help but feel it could be so much better on a number of different levels.
Me, too @Pogue Mahone.
I’ve been thinking back to the latter SAF era, and the old arguments about “What’s more important? Success and trophies or the style of football and our United heritage?” Posters complained and argued ad infinitum about how poor the football was - in a season when we won the league!!!
The right answer, of course, was both - We should play good football, play the United way, and win as well!
Ole seems to have to got it spot on. I’m leaning more and more that the “deadwood” we need to move on aren’t the easy scapegoats like Jones, Smalling and Young.
We need to move on Sanchez, Pogba, Lukaku, Matic, Darmian and Rojo. I don’t care if Lingard is a young kid that occasionally makes some poor decisions, I’m fairly certain SAF went into the Hacienda to fetch Giggsy
If you’re committed to the club and the project, fair play.
We do need some young, hungry (not necessarily all British - I’m sick of that narrative) players in, and if we can supplement them with some proven talent committed to the project do that as well
I wish I could
Who's your bruv mate, Derek Geary? (only player I could think of who's played for both Sheffield clubs in recent times so apologies if it isn't!).
I can understand the OP aswell. European leagues are generally more boring to me thant what they were like in 90s and early 00s. Not just premier league which was of course dominanted by a couple of clubs in those times but La Liga where you just to get teams like Depor, Real Sociedad, Valencia and Sevilla either win the league or go very close to winning it through being brilliantly coached and cheap signings. German and French leagues were also like this.
Now it's very much a closed shop across the board so I do wonder if we'll still even have these leagues in a decade with all the mention of CL reforms recently.
That and wages/transfers fees which are pretty much bonkers now and football has crossed too much into the entertainment/hype fest drama. Guess for others VAR will also take a bit of the enjoyment out.
Still though if there's a situation when you score 90th minute goal to beat a rival (think Ferdinand v Liverpool in 2005) those are the moments when all the youthful joy for the game comes flooding back and why we bother year in year out.
I can understand the OP aswell. European leagues are generally more boring to me thant what they were like in 90s and early 00s. Not just premier league which was of course dominanted by a couple of clubs in those times but La Liga where you just to get teams like Depor, Real Sociedad, Valencia and Sevilla either win the league or go very close to winning it through being brilliantly coached and cheap signings. German and French leagues were also like this.
Now it's very much a closed shop across the board so I do wonder if we'll still even have these leagues in a decade with all the mention of CL reforms recently.
That and wages/transfers fees which are pretty much bonkers now and football has crossed too much into the entertainment/hype fest drama. Guess for others VAR will also take a bit of the enjoyment out.
Still though if there's a situation when you score 90th minute goal to beat a rival (think Ferdinand v Liverpool in 2005) those are the moments when all the youthful joy for the game comes flooding back and why we bother year in year out.
I agree with quite a bit of what's said in the OP. Funnily enough, some of the best times I had watching United was the 1974-75 season, and maybe even the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons when we were absolute rubbish. We were mocked relentlessly by the dippers and the berties, we were laughed at and reviled by the likes of Brian Moore and Jimmy Hill, and we still turned up in our thousands, home and away, week after week. We lost Best, Law, and Charlton, we were getting turned over by Leeds, Palace, Liverpool, and Spurs, and it was an utter shambles of a club. But the players really appreciated the fans and they never let their heads drop, even when they were getting walloped.
The Doc instilled something into the club and it turned around and Old Trafford on a match day was a wall of noise. The Doc said the noise was so great that you didn't know if we were 3-0 up or 3-0 down. We filled away grounds with red and white, often taking two or more specials from Manchester plus coachloads from all over the land. Most games were pay at the gate so you could nearly always get in.
No sponsors, no corporate types, no selfies, no canned singing, no pre-game handshakes complete with umpteen mascots, and very few player/celebrities. It wasn't so bad. Youngsters today, if they could be transported back in time to watch a game live, might even enjoy it.
The Doc instilled something into the club and it turned around and Old Trafford on a match day was a wall of noise. The Doc said the noise was so great that you didn't know if we were 3-0 up or 3-0 down. We filled away grounds with red and white, often taking two or more specials from Manchester plus coachloads from all over the land. Most games were pay at the gate so you could nearly always get in.
No sponsors, no corporate types, no selfies, no canned singing, no pre-game handshakes complete with umpteen mascots, and very few player/celebrities. It wasn't so bad. Youngsters today, if they could be transported back in time to watch a game live, might even enjoy it.
My viewing has dropped considerably. That's partly because without Wenger holding it all together, and with all the dreary background changes, I'm not sure what current Arsenal is. Also I tend to lose interest in sports for a while and then get back into them.
But, yes, I think the opening post was very well put.
On the positive side, though, football is slowly chipping away at prejudices within in the game and the violence has very much diminished. Whatever you think about the current state of football, it's a lot better in many respects than it was, for example, in the eighties.
Then again, with the deaths of the Qatar World Cup you could say it's just sent its violence to faraway countries and people of whom we know nothing.
But, yes, I think the opening post was very well put.
On the positive side, though, football is slowly chipping away at prejudices within in the game and the violence has very much diminished. Whatever you think about the current state of football, it's a lot better in many respects than it was, for example, in the eighties.
Then again, with the deaths of the Qatar World Cup you could say it's just sent its violence to faraway countries and people of whom we know nothing.
Well put. I agree with this. I’ve cut down conciderably on the time I spend reading and thinking about football, mainly redcafe. Going to try to only watch the games, I started skipping pre-,and post-match talks years ago.
As soon as your team's start winning again you'll be back to loving it.
It's amazing how many scousers are suddenly loving football again after so many years.
It's amazing how many scousers are suddenly loving football again after so many years.
I'll always be interested. you can't overly invest yourself though sometimes, especially when you're in a predicament like ours. We need a change of direction at board level before we can expect to turn this decline around.
Next seasons expectations: win some, draw some, lose some, probably in near equal parts. Oh, and no trophies.
Next seasons expectations: win some, draw some, lose some, probably in near equal parts. Oh, and no trophies.
Its happening to me as well but the main reasons are
- we're shit
- Liverpool aren't shit
- my life got busier
I'm hopeful all three factors turn around and I can get back to loving the game as much as ever
As an aside, one thing that I prefer now is the post-match experience. The forums, the tweets, the memes, the piss-taking, the analysis. When big moments like PSG happen I can't wait to get cracking online.
- we're shit
- Liverpool aren't shit
- my life got busier
I'm hopeful all three factors turn around and I can get back to loving the game as much as ever
As an aside, one thing that I prefer now is the post-match experience. The forums, the tweets, the memes, the piss-taking, the analysis. When big moments like PSG happen I can't wait to get cracking online.
I cancelled my MUTV sub when I realized I really wasn't bothered about watching the tour.
I'm normally excited to see the new guys, or the youth players being given a chance, this time I can't drum up any interest.
Not sure how I'll be once the season starts.
I'm normally excited to see the new guys, or the youth players being given a chance, this time I can't drum up any interest.
Not sure how I'll be once the season starts.
Have you tried turning it off and then on again?
on a serious note, give yourself a break from social media in sports and in general, watch the game for enjoyment lay off the analysis. You will see it from a different perspective. There is too much noise in football these days, try to block that and give football another chance maybe you'l start enjoying the little things again.
This is at the root of it all.
I want to hear what Arsenal fans feel about football now.
How many of them still actively posting on redcafe? Rarely see them here anymore.
How many of them still actively posting on redcafe? Rarely see them here anymore.
That's understandable.
Maybe has to do with age? growing up? difficult to adept to the newer era?
Maybe not OP, but other fans finding it less interested in football may has to do with too much spending time with social media and these so called football news. It's too much bs for me, now and then there are good ones of course, but it's too toxic, misleading and "haywire", difficult to invest in something if those are what we get. Players exposure through social media are also difficult to follow, since it tend to feel empty and pretentious. Then there are those many football experts and dramas in news and programmes. Staying away and not investing too much time in those for me helps. Admittedly I hate more football when I join in the hate. After stepping back and staying away, only then I realize, what the heck did I do, that's so not healthy.
I find football in general now to be less interesting than before yes, but so far when it comes to United, there are still (albeit few but it's there) things to be excited about. Corporate levels in football are already dead to me, no hope. International football and European football (CL, EL and other leagues/clubs) are "dying" for me, it's just not interesting, lacking "heart" for me. One in a while, there are fun things happening, often short term only unfortunately. I have to admire some clubs eg. Ajax continue sticking to their ways, sort of, but for how long is worrying. Club football though specifically United and EPL are still interesting. EPL instead are much better for me compare to other leagues, the competitive level is much better now, although it lose the "strong characters" aspect of it which football in general are losing i.e. few players with strong characters today compare to before. After SAF, the decline to United are within expectations anyway, it's not too worse like the club totally killed its heart and soul -- there are still some aspects of the current United that feel like it's a United club.
The current club still have some essence of the United identity I grew to know. As long as they have that, I'll likely remain interested in club football. Once the club totally change though i.e. killing its heart and soul, I mean totally eradicate wanting to play good football or stop introducing interesting youths and getting interesting young players or totally change the whole thing eg. club name, stadium name to some bs sponsorship demands, only then I'll stop since it's totally dead.
Maybe has to do with age? growing up? difficult to adept to the newer era?
Maybe not OP, but other fans finding it less interested in football may has to do with too much spending time with social media and these so called football news. It's too much bs for me, now and then there are good ones of course, but it's too toxic, misleading and "haywire", difficult to invest in something if those are what we get. Players exposure through social media are also difficult to follow, since it tend to feel empty and pretentious. Then there are those many football experts and dramas in news and programmes. Staying away and not investing too much time in those for me helps. Admittedly I hate more football when I join in the hate. After stepping back and staying away, only then I realize, what the heck did I do, that's so not healthy.
I find football in general now to be less interesting than before yes, but so far when it comes to United, there are still (albeit few but it's there) things to be excited about. Corporate levels in football are already dead to me, no hope. International football and European football (CL, EL and other leagues/clubs) are "dying" for me, it's just not interesting, lacking "heart" for me. One in a while, there are fun things happening, often short term only unfortunately. I have to admire some clubs eg. Ajax continue sticking to their ways, sort of, but for how long is worrying. Club football though specifically United and EPL are still interesting. EPL instead are much better for me compare to other leagues, the competitive level is much better now, although it lose the "strong characters" aspect of it which football in general are losing i.e. few players with strong characters today compare to before. After SAF, the decline to United are within expectations anyway, it's not too worse like the club totally killed its heart and soul -- there are still some aspects of the current United that feel like it's a United club.
The current club still have some essence of the United identity I grew to know. As long as they have that, I'll likely remain interested in club football. Once the club totally change though i.e. killing its heart and soul, I mean totally eradicate wanting to play good football or stop introducing interesting youths and getting interesting young players or totally change the whole thing eg. club name, stadium name to some bs sponsorship demands, only then I'll stop since it's totally dead.
Modern Football has one big problem: To much BS. Leave this Social Media Stuff (Twitter, Instagram ...) away. Don´t listen to those "TV Experts". Don´t read news and don´t watch Sport News. Just watch the game and don´t act like a fanatic junkie.
Good post, OP. You bring up valid issues that are plaguing the modern game. Plus as we get older our priorities and viewpoints change. It’s not a good look to be a 40 year old getting pissed at the pub and acting like a hooligan.
I will say that when a person has no faith in their club leadership it tends to have a bigger effect on one’s interest that most would admit.
As an another poster said there have been so many magical moments in the game in the last 10 years.
It’s just that for the last 7 or so they haven’t really involved United.
Nothing beats the magic when one is young and has no adult responsibilities and one can simply spend time watching your favorite team/sport.
The dynamic always changes. Take some time to figure what you enjoy in sport.
For me it is watching phenoms in any sport when you can pick out the moments when you just know they are something special.
I felt the same way about cycling as you did about football and then Remco Evenepoel came along and it has renewed my interest dramatically.
The same will happen when United/(Your NT) has the next big thing in football.
I will say that when a person has no faith in their club leadership it tends to have a bigger effect on one’s interest that most would admit.
As an another poster said there have been so many magical moments in the game in the last 10 years.
It’s just that for the last 7 or so they haven’t really involved United.
Nothing beats the magic when one is young and has no adult responsibilities and one can simply spend time watching your favorite team/sport.
The dynamic always changes. Take some time to figure what you enjoy in sport.
For me it is watching phenoms in any sport when you can pick out the moments when you just know they are something special.
I felt the same way about cycling as you did about football and then Remco Evenepoel came along and it has renewed my interest dramatically.
The same will happen when United/(Your NT) has the next big thing in football.
Not necessarily referring to you or every case, but these threads usually pop up a lot more when we go through our rougher periods. There's obviously side cases, and for everyone inevitably itll mean less to you as you age compared to when you were a teen and had no real responsibilities.. At the end of the day, even if you try taking a break, true fans will still end up paying attention and check in regularly and stay up to date and pretty quickly go back to watching regularly. It's not like watching football is that big of a committment. Couple of hours a week. Just will inevitably take up less time thinking about it outside of games. Which is normal.
I was gonna ask that question too @simonhch
We are shit is the reason. I tried not to look at the cafe or United this summer because I was angry about this season. However as soon as i got wind of the Wan Bissaka transfer on twitter Ive somehow been pulled back in. Don't worry @simonhch when we get better and City get relegated you will love it again. My personal problem really is a selfish reason and its purely because we cant dominate. When you've grown up backing United in their golden years its kind of a harsh reality knowing you aren't at the top anymore and even worse when the bastards next door are contributing to it.
I'll go one further, it's been nice and I haven't missed football. I used to be miserable in the summers when the season was out, now I'm the opposite. One could blame it on United's fortunes, but I finally have a "local" team that I can watch on TV and attend, they are even successful (and annoying), yet I've watched about 10 minutes of their existence and couldn't care less even when family and friends are getting into the sport and enjoying it.
I blame rugby, I started watching in 2016 and I enjoy it.
football and sport by its very nature appeals to the tribal and visceral nature of our existence. It's why it resonates so well with others even if it is also a nod to the viler and instinctive qualities of humans. With much less of a need to engage in wars and battles to give that aspect of us some sort of catharsis, the only thing that comes remotely close to that feeling is sport. Of course i dont mean to say that that is exactly why everyone follows a sport but you get the idea i presume, the schadenfreude is quite an important component of fandom. It is not like going to the opera where you only appreciate the finer technical aspects of the performance.
My interest and passion for United has been pretty absent for some time. Football in general to be fair - too much money I guess. Turns it all ugly. There was a spark of hope and blossom when Solskjær went unbeaten but the end of the season kinda set it all back again.
I am however pretty excited for the forthcoming season. I'm actually quite happy with the lack of "superstar" signings from us. Hopefully we'll see lots of young guns with a passion and desire to push the club and badge forward. Obviously still hoping for one or two more signings and I'm a bit disappointed we haven't really sold anyone yet. Few odd contract extensions too.
This "underdog" approach and rebuild is refreshing though. I couldn't and can't stomach anymore "superstars".
I am however pretty excited for the forthcoming season. I'm actually quite happy with the lack of "superstar" signings from us. Hopefully we'll see lots of young guns with a passion and desire to push the club and badge forward. Obviously still hoping for one or two more signings and I'm a bit disappointed we haven't really sold anyone yet. Few odd contract extensions too.
This "underdog" approach and rebuild is refreshing though. I couldn't and can't stomach anymore "superstars".
I've always loved the actual game of football and always will because my time as a kid/teenager was spent mainly copying Henry and Ronaldo R9, and even Ruud but I was convinced I was better than him and still so think I am to be fair.
Football will always come first for me. United are just the club that are located the nearest to my family and are the club that ive been indoctrinated to support.
Ultimately we're all arguing about grown men getting paid millions to kick a ball around.
It's a sobering thought, even if you do play the game.
Football will always come first for me. United are just the club that are located the nearest to my family and are the club that ive been indoctrinated to support.
Ultimately we're all arguing about grown men getting paid millions to kick a ball around.
It's a sobering thought, even if you do play the game.
My first season was the 73-74 season(my username gives it away)and over the 70s and 80s the odd FA cup was our highlight.
But back then the feeling was that the players where our players but now they just feel like shortt term contractors.
More than a decade ago, one league game loss did hurt me for the whole week. Now whenever Utd lose, it barely hurts at all. I still have the interest and regularly follow the club's update, just don't have the same passion like years ago.
It could be due to our current state, or maybe I just got older and have other priorities.
It could be due to our current state, or maybe I just got older and have other priorities.
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Ouch. Fair play you bastard.
The one thing that spoilt that era was the violence. Any one remember the time Norwich had their ground modified and had to have a new roof after our visit?
I agree with the footballing side it was great, I hate the modern shit of mascots and handshakes before the game because cheating has never been so rife in today’s game. Shake hands afterwards ffs not before then trip over yourselves and demand a penalty and the sending off of an opponent for something he hasn’t done.
The soul has gone out of the modern game.
I agree, some of my best times going were when my brothers and I used to go in the 80s. Apart from the odd cup we didn’t win much but it didn’t matter. Maybe that’s the problem now? Too much pressure on out doing our rivals.
Squad turnover is so rapid nowadays that it's hard to feel anything much for the players - be that positive or negative. If you don't follow transfers like a hawk (which I used to and no longer do), you could quite easily see a player you know come off the bench for a team you had no idea he'd moved to. It really drives home how the players representing any given team are complete randomers with absolutely no connection the city they supposedly represent.
The part of OP which I most strongly agree with is about players not being able to relate to players any more. I mean I'm sure plenty of footballers from yesteryear were not nice people, that's not really the point. A lot of professional players now make it so obvious that they have their heads so far up their own arses. A combination of not being very bright, and being surrounded by sycophants from a young age due to their footballing ability, I guess. It's really embarrassing, and I just can't bring myself to give a solitary shit about these people no matter how good they are at football.
There's also the fact that I'm 28 now, and am older than most of the players!
I do still enjoy the sport a lot, perhaps moreso for different reasons than before. Football fan culture is just as awesome as ever, I plan on attending a few different games from around the world at stadiums known for their raucous atmospheres over the next couple years in fact. And don't get me wrong I would really enjoy it if United became a force again, but I'd never enjoy it half as much as 1999 or when we won the league in 2007.
The part of OP which I most strongly agree with is about players not being able to relate to players any more. I mean I'm sure plenty of footballers from yesteryear were not nice people, that's not really the point. A lot of professional players now make it so obvious that they have their heads so far up their own arses. A combination of not being very bright, and being surrounded by sycophants from a young age due to their footballing ability, I guess. It's really embarrassing, and I just can't bring myself to give a solitary shit about these people no matter how good they are at football.
There's also the fact that I'm 28 now, and am older than most of the players!
I do still enjoy the sport a lot, perhaps moreso for different reasons than before. Football fan culture is just as awesome as ever, I plan on attending a few different games from around the world at stadiums known for their raucous atmospheres over the next couple years in fact. And don't get me wrong I would really enjoy it if United became a force again, but I'd never enjoy it half as much as 1999 or when we won the league in 2007.
There was a fair bit of violence in the mid 60s too. Maybe that was an extension of the mod/rocker thing, but I remember skins turning up in huge numbers in about 1968 home and away. Some clubs did attempt to introduce a bit of modernism into the game back then. Stoke employed cheerleaders. We went down there and they ran towards the United end waving their pom-poms to be greeted by a sustained chant of "prostitutes, you're just prostitutes" followed by a hail of missiles. West Ham had some bloke dressed up as a giant matchbox and he was pelted until he ran back along the track towards the tunnel. Even the West Ham fans joined in.
I remember our chairman - John Smith - of the 70's & 80's giving a rare newspaper interview with his thoughts on football at the time (late 70's I think it was). He stated he felt that if Manchester United ever got it right, then they'd take some stopping. I chuckled when I read it as we were fast becoming a dominant European force, whilst United seemed to go from debacle to another. Turns out that Smith wasn't only a great chairman, but a tremendous visionary too. Interestingly enough, I've been in the position you were for the past 20 odd years. Supporting my side when other clubs, especially Manchester United under Ferguson, have been far more successful. & just like you, my love for football, & LFC, has never diminished during that time. The thrill of the chase can quite often be more exciting than winning the actually chase. As disappointing as 2014 was for us in the league, it was a hugely enjoyable experience, even though the ending wasn't quite what we'd hoped for. It's those sort of seasons that keep us coming back for more. Hope should always spring eternal in the hearts of football supporters regardless of who you support. Hope is all we have at the start of a brand new season. But when that hope starts to manifest itself as expectation, it's then that the whole thing starts to fall apart. & I think that's where a lot of United fans are at the moment. The thing is though, Manchester United will be successful again in respect of major trophies. Only thing we don't know is how long it will take. So what I'd say to all those who've 'fallen out of love' with football because of - supposed - other reasons than United not being top dogs any more. Things can change very, very, quickly in football. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. When we won our last league title in 1990 Manchester United (under Ferguson) finished in 13th place with a paltry 48 points. A mere 3 years later we finished 6th & United finished as champions with 84 points (over a 42 game season). In 2016 we finished 8th in the league (under Klopp) with just 60 points. Again, just a mere 3 years later we finish runners-up with a massive 97 points, & are crowned champions of Europe. So how will you guys feel if a little bit of history repeats itself ? United get it right again & you're back on top. Imagine coming back to this forum proclaiming your undying love for the club, only to have people bumping this thread showing how much 'out of love' you actually are. Just enjoy the ride everyone. You need to experience the low points to really, really, fully appreciate the high ones.
Now that sounds funny. Cheerleaders
More power to you.
Total stereotyping horseshit, I've looked at Southeast Asian fans for example and their collectivist nature makes them far "better" in all the ways we ourselves assess the quality of a fan.
I get less passionate about football as time goes by, but not due the reasons mentioned in the OP. I think it's just aging, the older I get, the less passionate I am about anything in general.
Well I completely disagree with that, to the point of calling it nonsense.