Atheist Ireland Forum

I was truelly amazed that the Irish support so many English teams. You didn't see that in Scotland or Wales, I really had to get used to that. My wife had a Tshirt with:

"I support 2 teams; Scotland and whe ever is playing England"

I didn't say 'most'. I said a 'a lot of'. Try listening to off the ball on newstalk 7pm weeknights. They claim the topic is sport but 70% of what they talk about is soccer. On the very rare occasion that they mention cricket, a wrath of text messages come in complaining that they're covering british sports, and remindng the presenters that they don't cover Irish sports in England.

This also happens from time to time when they dare to talk about Rugby.

I do listen to 'off the ball' and I would have to disagree with you. If anyone made that sort of assertion the presenters would usually take the piss out of them.

I wouldn't go so far as 70% Biped, you have the Football Show with Eoin and Ken from 9-10 in a 3 hour show. However, they do talk a bit of soccer in the other 2 hours of the show from 7-9, plus you have the once weekly talk with Gilesy that goes on for half an hour, so it kind of adds up to 45-50% at times. During the Summer months it declines a bit with the GAA, unless of course you have a World Cup or Euro Championship, which occur every 2 years! But yes, soccer is the biggie, not too bothered about it though, I think it's a terrific show.

Going back to the Celtic matter, Celtic has its roots in a Catholic tradition, but a few of my friends from Scotalnd and Ireland who are Celtic fans are atheist, and don't consider it an issue. Indeed Celtic have a history about being blind to religion, some of their greatest players, Larsson, Dalglish, Lambert etc were not Catholic. The great Jock Stein, also a protestant, once famously stated that he would sign a teenage protestant player over a Catholic any day, because Rangers would never sign a Catholic player so they would end up playing for Celtic anyway, and this he duly practiced!

Anyway, this thread reminded of this vid on youtube, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUXhW3JC9Zw

I'd say Germany and England.

I support Bohemians here and Leeds in England.

I choose my teams based on their financial irresponsibility.

I don't support any teams. Nil, nada, niente...
(for the sake of all those whose brows have just wrinkled in confusion...)

When I was 7 all the dad's on the street decided to set up a football team for the kids. We had a player from Shamrock Rovers on the road so he became our coach.

The very first training session was on a Saturday afternoon at the same time that the original Batman film (the one with Adam West hanging off a helicopter with a rubber shark chewing on his leg) was showing on BBC1. It was 1977, we'd just got our first colour telly and I was not impressed to be missing it. (Strike one against football)

I'm right handed, and left footed. The coach wouldn't let me use my left foot because he thought that was just plain wrong. So I was shit at playing and ended up spending many wet Sundays as a substitute hanging round in fields watching a game I was quickly growing to despise. (Strike two...)

On Saturday evenings I'd have to listen to about half an hour of the most boring commentator on Earth saying things like:

Leeds United 1 (...pause...) West Bromwich Albion nil
Queens Park Rangers 3 (...pause...) Scunthorpe United 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWY2Bs2VYJs
(This is how it really was! from: Not The Nine O'Clock News)

In the days before fancy things like graphics, music or multi-toned commentators it was like listening to a roll call of the dead. And I had to sit through it all so that I could bag the telly for the Pink Panther show afterwards. (Strike Three..!)

But don't get me wrong, I don't dislike football. That's too soft a word. Make no mistake: I hate it! (I would have put that in bold type, but I don't want to rile people too much... )

Welcome manuforti_87!

I support Bayern Munich, the German National Team, the USMNT; I'm a bit of a Real Madrid fan, and I support Arsenal on behalf of my boyfriend. (And I think I like them best out of all the English teams, anyway.)

I do support the Irish football team, but it's hard... seeing as they haven't made a tournament since... 2002? And they're so eager and enthusiastic... but just not that good.

This question is as loaded as the one in the Census.