Happy New Year Friends!
It’s been too long since my last post but a girl’s got to take a break(Please disregard this, I like to believe that y’all missed me). Yea, Enough of that, back to business!
If I remember correctly, I dropped a couple of questions in my last post and now I’m going to attempt answering them.
Please Note: I welcome constructive criticism (emphasis on constructive) but I’d like you to remember that this is my blog and I’m not trying to make money so if you’re gonna take offense at whatever I write below, I suggest you create your own blog so people can hear you out. Trust me people will read it. Moving On!
Why are we fans so concerned about winning? Why are bragging rights so important to us? What exactly do we gain by watching football? Why do we get pumped up, excited and anxious when watching our favourite teams? I actually researched this issue, All 105 pages of it, it is a very serious matter but i won’t bore you with my research findings although they’d help with my answers.
WHY ARE WE FANS SO CONCERNED ABOUT WINNING?
Many of us when asked this question usually respond in this manner “Win or Lose (insert team name) till I die”, but when will I ever hear someone say “It’s good for my ego?” Let’s face it, people are not that honest. Non-football fans look at us and think we’re just crazy, I mean we aint getting paid for this shit, neither do they know us at the football club we wanna die for but you guys would be fine, we don’t need you to understand us! Most fans are concerned with winning ‘cos they’ve placed a huge bet on the outcome of the match, nobody wants to lose money you know. As crazy as I am about football, I’ve never placed a bet on the outcome of any match – I’d like to keep my sanity, thank you very much! Other fans do it just so they can brag about it and diss fans of opposing teams. Why do I do it? I do it cos I attain a certain level of orgasm whenever my team wins and yep it’s good for my Ego. I mean I get to walk around with my head held up high, immunity to insults, well that’s until the next match.
WHY ARE BRAGGING RIGHTS SO IMPORTANT TO US?
Please I suggest that if you call yourself a football fan and you do not know the meaning of ‘bragging rights’ – why are you even a football fan? Please have a rethink will you?
“Omo, 19 league trophies and still counting, we are the best mehn< ----this might not be true at the moment but... They have the bragging rights!
“The Premiership is ours this season< -------this is because they are sitting on top of the table with their closest rivals two points behind but truth be told, they’re allowed....They have the bragging rights!
Match of The Day (Live Scores) 21st January 2007
Arsenal 2 – 1 Manchester United< -------this didn’t happen cos Arsenal is the best club but.....They have the bragging rights!
According to the dictionary of Paradox, Bragging rights can be defined as the right to freely say anything against any team you’ve come out tops against in recent times. Please and please, this does not permit you to dredge up old ish, that Chelsea FC flogged another team 4 years ago does not mean they are capable of doing it this year oh (if you don’t believe me, go and check the EPL table).
Anyways, ehen, why are bragging rights so important to us? I really can’t say why but it’s important oh, very very. I wanna be able to tell ann Arsenal fan “Upon all the complete passes your team made, na we still carry the 3 points”
I mean it feels good when I say to a Chelsea fan “You people spend so much money, yet you never win Champions League”
Why are bragging rights so important to you? *pause* (insert answer here) but permit me to answer the question- It is good for the ego. I don’t know about you but for every win my team gets against other teams, there’s this ‘James Bond feeling’, I get this ‘I-am-untouchable’ feeling. I could go on and on about the 1000 different types of feelings i get but the truth is, it’s all about the ego. Now if you use your bragging right against others just so you can feel good about yourself all the time then I’d suggest therapy for you (I’m good at that too)! Basically, when we brag about our teams, you might not admit it but it boosts the way we feel about ourselves, we get this ‘I’m smart enough to have picked a team like this’. We bask in the reflected glory of our team, which in turn makes us feel good about ourselves. The fact that you watch every football match shown by Super sports or ESPN does not make you a footballer (I know this cos I suck at it). I remember having a big fight with my mum when she said she was gonna pay for the 4500 naira DSTV subscription, I told her All or Nothing. I mean it’s either she pays for the full bouquet or not, what’s DSTV without football --->IMO Absolute Rubbish. What do I gain? It’s not like the players even notice me sef but I will say this- wait for it – its all about the ego. I’m pweety sure that y’all are getting irritated by my one-nation answer to all the questions but its the truth. And why is that, you may ask. Apart from the fact that I learn more about football whenever I watch or the fact that some of them players are HOT!!! The point is, I wanna be able to discuss and analyze the match with my fellow fans, and as a girl in a man’s world, I try harder cause automatically according to most guys, girls don’t know shit about football. This might be true in most cases but in my case? Do not test me! Every time I open my pretty little mouth to talk about football amidst guys, I get immense attention, I love attention and so my ego goes up a notch cos what’s going on in my head is “These boys are actually listening to me, they want to hear what I have to say” and bless their soul if I make sense, the next thing is they want to know more about me. At this point, I already feel on top of the world, for you to be accepted by fellow football fans, you need to be able to talk in football terms, if you can’t; your chances of being accepted are very slim. Everybody wants to feel accepted and once you’ve been accepted by fellow football fans, you get this sense of belonging which in turn leads to an ego boost. You see!!!
I CONCLUDE
My dearest football fans, whenever we act crazy cos of our fave teams, people look at us and can’t understand why. I know I have given a single answer to all these questions but think about it properly. When you watch, you expect a good result, if you get it, you have been handed bragging rights, you might not use it but you have the power, you choose whether you want to or not.
Football fanaticism is definitely not all about bragging rights but it does play a major role in ego-boosting.
Until next time,
Yours truly, paradox.
