- Dec 8, 2004
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- #41
2. Are you a real Emperor?
Yes.
2. Are you a real Emperor?
I have to say that this is one of the best posts I have ever seen on SC. Very very well put and I wish I could ”winner” this a hundred times.
Thanks for a great post.
if Spurs ever do actually win a big trophy I might find it to be a huge anti-climax. Say we’d won the Champions League - none of my close friends support Spurs, so once the immediate euphoria had passed and I’d sent a few excited texts to my dad, I’d have walked back out into the real world where nothing had changed, and no one else would really have cared. Bit depressing really.
Interesting point. Do you feel this is because of the tribalism of following a club and as such, you'd not feel like there was much of a tribe around you to celebrate with? Or maybe because it's not a consequential or personal achievement? I'm guessing the answer is a mix of those but in any case, why do you personally like to follow spurs? Are the temporary highs and lows a fun and different thing to engage in for a laugh when the games are on?
I think this is really important if football negatively affects you. I care little for it too, listen to a podcast or two but the whole sky narrative, and annoying banter. I'm happy to talk football with anyone, but in a relaxed genuine manner, not to get one up over work colleagues.Great thread and some great replies in here.
I really like football as a sport to play, I like watching games as a social activity with friends and I love supporting Spurs and being invested in our games.
I’m completely disinterested in the media circus that comes with the sport, the politics, VAR, transfer rumours, clickbait headlines, unoriginal “banter” from other fans or (generally speaking), the players/managers as individuals.
Football, purely from a sporting perspective, is fantastic to watch when you are invested in a particular team, and you experience highs and lows watching a game that you don’t always get in other sports. However, as an wider institution I much prefer cricket and tennis, which both feel far less superficial to me.
As a result, I get emotionally invested during a Spurs game, but win or lose it doesn’t massively affect my mood once the final whistle goes.
Someone raised an interesting point earlier in the thread about football ultimately being inconsequential, and it has occurred to me that if Spurs ever do actually win a big trophy I might find it to be a huge anti-climax. Say we’d won the Champions League - none of my close friends support Spurs, so once the immediate euphoria had passed and I’d sent a few excited texts to my dad, I’d have walked back out into the real world where nothing had changed, and no one else would really have cared. Bit depressing really.
I think this is really important if football negatively affects you. I care little for it too, listen to a podcast or two but the whole sky narrative, and annoying banter. I'm happy to talk football with anyone, but in a relaxed genuine manner, not to get one up over work colleagues.
The media narrative around football has been a bad thing for football as a whole and turns football into some sort of horrible soap opera, it's designed to package football and intentionally play with emotions for engagement, and has very little to do with the ritualised experience of football. I would say if you are struggling, just getting yourself away from that can improve your mood immeasurably.
I have been feeling quite low today because of yesterday – much more than from any other game in the past year. I’m still fuming from the lack of passion, desire, commitment etc shown by the players against our main rival. Whether it’s because of tactics or something else I’ll leave for another discussion at another day but I’m just so, so disappointed. I feel really let down.I have to admit I'm not too bothered about the result from a 'how much is this bothering me standpoint'. I know, but more importantly, feel, that we are better than Bumenal and have a brighter future than them in the longer term. We are still somehow in with a shout of top 4 in the league. Crazy results flying about at the moment. We're in with a shot at the trophies as well.
Bragging rights for me personally don't bother me too much as Bumenal know they are a laughing stock and we've had a 'we've got bigger fish to fry' ethos for a few years now despite not winning the actual trophies and for me, that matters more than the unfortunate lack of trophies in a cash injected system which our club is proudly not part of through sinister means. As explained in other posts, I don't even really dislike them as much as teams like Chelsea and worst of all Liverpool etc so derby day actually feels like more of a fun rivalry than a darker one against aforementioned detestable clubs which really get my back up more than I really ought to allow it to.
For today at least, I feel fine and kinda just lament our manager (which I realise is just my personal opinion and it is not fact that he is definitely a bad manager in various respects). The performance was woeful which bother me more than the result but we might yet win a few things with him and overall as I say, long term, we look fine (bar Covid really screwing us) and I have a strong faith in the manager not staying with us for too much longer, rightly or wrongly. So... I feel OK.....
Though if this was after a Liverpool match, I'd be fuming if I'm being honest.
Hope you lot are coping well after yesterday. I know it's easy to say it's just a game but I know very well how it can affect some of us more than others and there's no shame in admitting it.
Disappointment became disillusionment on Sunday.
I won't be watching tomorrow night either. I just don't need the mood that it puts me in.
I would have cancelled my Now TV contract already if it wasn't for kids wanting the F1.
The run to the champions league final was such a roller coaster. From almost being out at the group stage with one point. To clinching it with a draw in Barcelona. My first champions league away game. To the penalty save against Man City in the first leg. And the Llorente “handball” and the 95th minute VAR goal disallowed in the second leg. Then the semi final. I still find myself going back to that moment and getting that rush of emotion when Moura scored. And then the final. I don’t even remember the game. And I haven’t watched it since. I just feel immense pain about it. I believed we would win it. I thought it was ours after the run we had to get there. And after 1 minute. We new the dream had died. It was the biggest football sucker punch I had ever felt. We’ve had some shit to deal with in our time. But that broke me. I couldn’t even watch football for a while. My love for had died a little that night. But I can’t stay away from Spurs. They are my constant. I love watching us win. I’m obsessed with what is happening in and around th club. I want us to win a major trophy. I want us to do it the right way. I want to celebrate with my 14 year old son. And go down Tottenham high street watching the parade. It’s got to happen. Because if I get to my death bed. And I’ve never seen us win the league. My dying breath will be..... Bollocks to you spurs.
I explored this idea by following NFL and NHL- to large extent I follow the sport not a team (but have some plastic affiliations) - I really enjoyed learning the sports, rules, tactics and people/stories. But, like a gambler for fun rather than money. It means more when its spurs so the highs are unparalleled to the CL semi-final night. There really aren't lows on the US sports for me, I enjoy the ride much more. Far safer than CL final night.I have to say there have been absolutely fantastic replies on this thread and I'm sure they'll go a long way to helping a few of us out. I'm glad now that I submitted it.
I suppose a question sort of arises, if we love the game, we should logically not support a club but just enjoy the sport as neutrals; it's the safest stance from a mental health perspective. However, we lose an angle to attach ourselves to the sport and would probably feel more distant from it if we did. Also for those using it as an outlet for emotion, that kinda goes too. I suppose then when weighing it up, as with everything in life, it's about balance. Enjoy the attachment to spurs as a point of interest and 'a bit of fun' but remember to enjoy the sport and game itself. On top of that, don't make it too big a part of your life in making it your religion/identity.
I've oversimplified but this is a reflection on some of the replies I'm seeing here and is easier said than done. Admittedly, I kinda already feel this way and I think I'm in a healthy spot. Just wish the CL final didn't bother me as much as it does. It feels like a bad and lifelong investment gone wrong.