Why do we even bother?

[tomtheblade]

My friend, you need some words from the late, great Alan Watts:

My contention is that existence, the physical universe, is basically playful. There is no necessity for it whatsoever. It isn't going anywhere, it doesn't have some destination that it ought to arrive at. In music, one doesn't make the end of a composition the point of a composition. If that were so then the best conductors would be those who played fastest. And there would be composers who wrote only finales, and people would go to concerts just to hear one crashing chord, because that's the end.

In a dance, you don't aim at a particular spot in the room, that you should arrive at. The whole point of dancing is the dance.

And so it is with football*





*this bit by me not by Alan Watts

 

[PokerBlade]

 

[Cerberus Blade]

For those old enough to remember a zoologist called Desmond Morris (used to present Zoo Time) wrote a controversial book “The Soccer Tribe” claiming it was our basic human tribal instincts.

I was going to reply with something similar. It’s a form of tribalism.

Ever since Man first set foot on this earth we have been quick to form social groups. Because it’s more comforting and secure than feeling alone.

Social groups evolve though. At first everyone is nice to each other because we want to get on and be part of the group. But people soon take sides and dismiss others who they don’t feel comfortable with. Cliques form and the group breaks up. Only to reform somewhere else where the process starts over again.

I fell into the Sheffield United tribe when I went to secondary school. I had no influence on me from family, they never went to a football match in their lives. But I became interested in the Sheffield tribalism and after a few visits to watch both clubs decided the Blades were my tribe. They were just better at football and I enjoyed it more.

I had my foreskin removed in Bri and Irene’s off licence on Shoreham Street and replaced with a red and white bobble hat, and that was it. I was a Blade for life.

 

[Numpty's Dusty Ruts.]

A sense of belonging.
Being part of a tribe.
The singing.
The unrestrained swearing.
The beer.
The fear.
The ridiculous joy and pain, often in the same moment.
Red is the best colour.
The routine.
Feeling your heart burst and sink, often in the same moment.
The utter and total irrationality of it.
Being bathed in the most amazing communal glow, at the best of times.
Being "in the same boat", at the worst.
Those times when absolutely nothing else matters.
Sheffield. United.
Says it all.

 

[Agreasychipbutty]

What else can you support that will allow you to get away with kidney punching people and tipping over wheelchairs? Everyone needs a hobby.