Other sports

[mapperleywhite]

Football is my favourite sport. In my life I've attempted to play the game, got marked 10/10 for refereeing a game once, and am passionate about Leeds United and England.

But my enjoyment of other sports varies from seasonal indulgence to total incomprehension.

I'll give you an example of the latter: Formula 1. I mean what's the point of watching some cars drive round the same course for a couple of hours?

After football, the next closest is test cricket. Now I know the Aussie members on here are going to sledge me, but I'm taking a longer term perspective .

And then comes rugby. Six nations/World Cup. Sorry all you League aficionados, but I grew up in the shadow of Twickenham, but with fond memories of Eddie Waring's commentaries on Saturday afternoon Grandstand.

The Olympics are over-hyped and are often poiticized. (Sochi as a prelude to a confrontation in Ukraine). My attention faded when Rebecca didn't get gold in Beijing.

American sports I've experienced first hand. Have a certain enjoyment/understanding of basketball having lived in Houston when the Rockets won the NBA with Olajuwon the main man.

Squash and badminton are sports to play.

Golf (puts on tin helmet)

So would be interested in member's views and motivations about other sports

[Barlow Boy]

I'll watch most sports to be honest MW.

Leeds United first obviously, Rugby League (Castleford Tigers) second, and then pretty much a free for all.

Formula 1, Rugby Union, Snooker, Cricket along with any other sport you wish to mention.

[Mellor]

Cycling, the lead out train for a sprint after a full day on the road is the equivalent of a break away goal at football (breath taking, awesome) - someone breaking away on a climb leaves me in total awe of their fitness.

Rowing, nip and tuck excitement right to the line. I was born in a back to back terrace so I'm rough as owt but love this posh stuff, including the boat race.

RL - the scale of the hits, the skill in off loading whilst going to ground, playing through the pain barrier etc etc etc. Real men.

Test cricket - the ebb and flow of a game over 5 days mirrors life. 20/20 is just uncouth, money making slogging.

Top athletics - any event. Elite athletes.

Any sport where someone from Leeds is competing. Don't care what.

NFL and baseball are good.

Bad is horse racing. Mind numbingly boring. National Hunt jockeys very brave mindst. Greyhounds are great though. Old Elland Road Stadium a treat. Used to watch whippet racing on the 'clearings' in Miggy park with my owd fella as a kid. Proper working man's game.

[Deleted User 728]

Love football, obviously.
I played Sunday league and won one league winner's medal in about 22 years
That's it !
I was an average player in an average team but I loved every single minute of it. We still meet up every year on FA Cup Final day to watch the match, though the numbers have dwindled with people moving, etc.

I support Leeds United and England.
I also follow Lille (France), Orlando Pirates (South Africa), Hertha Berlin (Germany), AC Milan (Italy) as well as keeping an eye on Celtic, having been to all their grounds over the years and for various other friends/family reasons.

After that, there's not much really ...

Play ?
Used to play badminton and love it if it's 1 v 1 but find 2 v 2 way too leisurely.
Enjoy pool and snooker, but I'm not sure they're really sports. My dad won his work's national championship in the 60s when he was working for BRS (like Eddie Stobart today) and the prize was to play Joe Davis. Best of three. He took a frame off him. David was world champion at the time
My grandad played crown green bowls for England. I played once. I was crap but it was fun and a lot harder than it looks
I used to go bowling every week when I was younger and got into it but then girls and beer came along .. still enjoy it though don't play much.
I run. Not for very long or very far and it's purely for the exercise. I don't enjoy it particularly but I enjoy the feeling afterwards. Bit like watching Leeds, then
I cycle. I love it. But not when it's windy.

Watch ?
I quite enjoy golf if it's on TV, but only in the background if I'm play FM or something. Same with snooker. The sort of sports you can listen to and just look up if something exciting happens ...
I watched a season of speedway live when I worked in Poole for a year or so and absolutely loved it. The speed, the noise, the smell of the methanol, the fact they have one gear, do 80mph and have no brakes, the fights, then after when you see the riders limping off into the sunset because they've broken every bone in their body ... mesmerising.

No interest whatsoever ?
Cricket - I can understand the day out and the drinking and the getting out of the house thing but the actual mechanics involved ??
Fishing - see Cricket
F1 - procession. I don't care if they've changed the rules this season. What's the point ?
Olympics - The marathon's okay in the background, like with golf and snooker, but everything else just sends me to sleep. All of it. Winter, summer, track, field, able or disabled body ... besides which, rising above it all is the spectre of doping. What. Is. The. Point ?
Cycling - more drugs than the Olympics. Not interested.
Horses - I'm not a small girl, Irish or a knight of the round table.
Darts - not a sport, alright in the background but no interest really.
Boxing - it doesn't make you hard if you watch it (and I mean that in the fighty sense) and I don't like the machismo. Boring. Idiotic.

Hate with every bone in my body
Yachting - oh, I could go on all day about the way they dress, speak, act and generally lord it over anyone who doesn't have a boat but, hey, I've got a life. And I don't have any deck shoes. Shoot me if you ever see me on the river.
Egg chasing - it's organised violence. It's not big or clever. My mum could run with a ball and bend over to put it on the floor. It's an excuse for fat men to get together and act macho before drinking beer through one another's socks. Just ***k off. There aren't enough swear words in the world ...

[SiMamu]

Just football, to be honest. I just don't like other sports. I don't mind basketball and can see the appeal, but I've never thought - "oh, some basketball's on" and chosen to watch it. Football is the only sport that really perks the interest.

[Deleted User 728]

Mellor .. mate, I'm not deliberately going against you today ... it's just one of those freaky coincidences, I promise you

I forgot about US sports: I went to an NHL game and really enjoyed the experience of it. I used to quite like gridiron, but not really fussed. Basketball I saw live here as a kid but didn't get into the end-to-end side of it ... none of it moves me really. Baseball's the same. I wouldn't mind seeing a game live but I wouldn't go every week.

[CrisPeacock]

#1 Football- especially english football.
#2 Hockey- I support my local team Unia Oswiecim in the PLH and NYR in the NHL. I watch the NHL almost every night from 2 years RECOMMEND

I went to an NHL game and really enjoyed the experience of it.

wow- which game Rigger? when and where?
#3 Tennis...? not much... but I LOVE Australian Open!
#4 Big sporting events

I really don't like basketball and volleyball.

I almost forgot...I like curling

as well as keeping an eye on Celtic.

Interesting. I could swear that I've seen once a friendship scarf between Leeds and Celtic...or I had hallucinacions.
A few years ago I asked a Leeds fan, he sent me a sms "Celtic hmmm, maybe back in 60's. All rivals."
Interestingly I heard also about friendship between Leeds and...Rangers
What is the truth?

[Deleted User 1022]

Love many sports football being my favorite but i do have a passion for many others too and have tried a few over the years.

Cricket
Snooker
Rugby Union and League equally
Golf... Pitch and Putt mainly
Boxing

Being from Ireland and from Cork it wouldnt be fitting if i didnt love the Gaelic football and most of all the one game that i would love to see going global Hurling i suggest you guys do a bit of looking into the fabulous game of Hurling it truely is a magnificent sport, fast and exciting, i believe the Leeds irish community has a Hurling team or had but not sure if still exists.

[Deleted User 728]

Hey Crispy

The Celtic thing is mostly about religion. It's history as a club is bound up in its Irish roots, "celtic" being a term for scary, red-headed, mostly bearded warrior-folk from across the north of Europe, about half of whom are catholic and half are catholic-haters. They fight. A lot. With themselves and others who are not ginger.
(a bit simplified, but basically the truth)

There is a supposed link up with Rangers, you're right, but as Leeds - and indeed most English clubs - has very little to do with religion, it's not a particularly strong bond. The fact they knocked us out of Europe not so long ago means a whole generation of our fans don't much like the blue team in Glasgow anyway ...

I've been to see Celtic at Parkhead and abroad too. One of my mates supports them and he's been to Leeds with me a few times so we kinda follow each other's teams, you know. I saw them at the San Siro v Milan while Maldini was still playing, and that was something I'd always wanted to do. I had an Italian gf back in the day who "made me" a fan of them


As for the NHL, it was Nashville Predators v Chicago Blackhawks at the Nashville Arena, two days after the world rodeo championships had been held there, which I also saw. Amazing how quickly they turn around their venues for events over there. It would take months here and we'd probably have the wrong kind of ice anyway ..
Nashville were rubbish. Chicago were great. The fans were hilarious. The 'hawks were 3-0 for most of the game when finally the Preds got one back with about five minutes to go and the crowd went mental. It was obviously too late to salvage anything from the game as they'd been hopelessly outclassed, so one Chicago fan stood up and did a kind of mocking "country" dance, like Cleetus from The Simpsons, all the while singing "Yuk, don't break ma heart, yuk, ma achey breakey heart, yuk ... "
I was in stitches but it was only the timely intervention of a big, fat, black cop who stopped him from needing them !
The locals went mental again, but only for him, but when the policeman lazily got off his perch at the back of the stand and walked down the aisle, he just pointed at various sections of the crowd and said "Sit down", quite calmly ... and everyone did !
Over here, the seats would've been flying.
One cop.
1000 supporters.
Unreal.

Oh, we also got moaned at (there were three of us) because we were chatting when the national anthem came on before "kick off" or whatever it's called. Everyone else stopped talking and rose from their seats to stand to attention in respect throughout.
We apologised afterwards and said we were English so they laughed about it, but politely - and slightly menacingly, I thought - explained the custom in the United States of America.

On the cop thing, it was the deep south, remember, so it may have been most of the locals were just scared witless to see a black man with a gun round his (not insubstantial) waist

Yeehaw !

[cheffy007]

After the obvious of following the mighty whites my only other sport is golf. Don't play as much now as a 3 year old daughter takes up most of my spare time but still manage to play to a fairly decent 13 handicap.