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Rev. Clarence Gentlefinger

Watching football

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Watching football always has been a shared experience, being part of a crowd, going through the same roller coaster of emotions as those round you. It''s also something which is part of the bigger match day experience - digging out the shit and scarf, walking the familiar route to the ground or pulling into the service station on away days full of anticipation, beers and banter before and after the game.

Compare this to waiting until one minute before kickoff, switching on an internet stream and sitting on your own for "the game". I can''t think of anything more tragic. It''s the absolute polar opposite of the genuine supporting experience. What do you do at half time? Flick through your e-mails?

What do you do if we score? Give the air a little silent fist pump?

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[quote user="Rev. Clarence Gentlefinger"]Watching football always has been a shared experience, being part of a crowd, going through the same roller coaster of emotions as those round you. It''s also something which is part of the bigger match day experience - digging out the shit and scarf, walking the familiar route to the ground or pulling into the service station on away days full of anticipation, beers and banter before and after the game.

Compare this to waiting until one minute before kickoff, switching on an internet stream and sitting on your own for "the game". I can''t think of anything more tragic. It''s the absolute polar opposite of the genuine supporting experience. What do you do at half time? Flick through your e-mails?

What do you do if we score? Give the air a little silent fist pump?[/quote]

You really are a sorry little person aren''t you? If you experienced some bad things as a child, you can get help you know.....you may even be made to feel "special"

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[quote user="Rev. Clarence Gentlefinger"]Watching football always has been a shared experience, being part of a crowd, going through the same roller coaster of emotions as those round you. It''s also something which is part of the bigger match day experience - digging out the shit and scarf, walking the familiar route to the ground or pulling into the service station on away days full of anticipation, beers and banter before and after the game.

Compare this to waiting until one minute before kickoff, switching on an internet stream and sitting on your own for "the game". I can''t think of anything more tragic. It''s the absolute polar opposite of the genuine supporting experience. What do you do at half time? Flick through your e-mails?

What do you do if we score? Give the air a little silent fist pump?[/quote]

Yes, I can see it now, Mungo filling his face with lager until one minute before kick off, then spent 45  minutes shouting abuse at the players before rushing off to get more pints down his neck before returning for more ritual abusing of the team, then shuffling off home to collapse in front of the telly and fall asleep the rest of the evening.   Wonderful.

Anyone that can''t or doesn''t want to go to the match can watch at home on a stream if they are lucky, can have the family around them, play with the kids before the match and at half time, have the wife and kids to celebrate or commiserate  with after the match, can spend the evening going out together and realise that life exists beyond Norwich City Football Club.   

Going to football CAN be a great experience for those that know how to enjoy it.  I think for some, though, especially cynical types like Mungo, it has become a chore that they talk up, but deep down don''t enjoy -  and  can''t break away from it.

 

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You missed out guzzling down a few more pins after the game.

Football should take over the entire day. It''s not something you do in between shopping, playing with kids and a prawn cocktail at the Berni Inn. That you don''t get that strips away your "real fan" veneer to expose the plastic beneath.

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The OP is making the basic mistake of assuming everybody is in the same situation as him.

 

I''ve put in my decades of regular attendance but this season will be the first for a long, long time when I have not been to a live match at the Carra.

 

I am disinclined to spend eight hours on the road just for ninety minutes of football. Usually there has been some family event in \Norwich and I combine that for the week-end if they can get me a ticket.

 

In recent years I have gone to a couple of London games but even then combine it with a couple of nights in a hotel andonr perhaps a show.

 

Now to my point, because I realise my own habits are not interesting. THis will be the first season that I have not gone to London (eg Palace over the New Year) and the reason I am disinclined is because of streams.

How many more like me have stopped the occasional game because they can watch a stream?

 

Streaming has changed the face of football and the sooner the FA/ PL appreciate this the better. Rather like pirate radio stations it will not go away and will eventually have to be made official with some credible cost structure so that the clubs benefit. Streaming is improving all the time and has been brilliant for me this season. Palace and Fulham have not had my financial input this season because of streams. Multiply this by quite a lot and it gets significant.

 

Make streaming official and legal and make a charge and then all are happy.

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I will be more detailed because this is an important topic and at least takes us away from worrying abot the precarious position our club finds it''s self in.

 

Streaming will eventually change things totally and forever.

Never before has it been possible to watch live games at the sacrosanct time of 3.00pm on a Saturday.

Never before has it been possible to watch your team''s every game home and away live in the comfort of the home.

At the moment they remain illegal, but all attempts to thwart them have failed and they prosper more and more as their product improves.

Like pirate radio they will not be beaten until a credible rival to them is legitimised.

Sooner rather than later the Premier/Football Leagues and the Television Companies will have to bite the bullet, accept that streams are here to stay and introduce a legitimate pay-per-view service for individual matches/clubs which will conceivably include games beyond those involving just Premiership teams.

I watch every single Norwich City game live now from my home in Kent. Totally inconceivable just a few years ago it has come about so quickly. I would welcome paying say £5-10 per game for an ''official'' version to avoid the niggles of current streaming and to support my club. It should be more perhaps, but make it too much and viewers will stick to their First Row or Wiziwig.

Attendances might suffer but the income for the clubs will probably increase as they benefit from their share of the subscriptions from their armchair supporters.

The match day experience will still be valued and available for the stalwarts and as an occasion (special) for irregulars. Physical support from either will likely be more discernible but ticket prices could well decrease as clubs benefit from an alternative income source.

It''s becoming a whole new ball-game.

Times change.

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Streaming will be gone if we go down won''t it?

 

Football on tv is very different from football from the stands. The advantage is you see the incidents clearer. And the replays. And you get a summariser telling you what you should be thinking. Football in the stands has advantages too. You see more than just following the ball. You are part of the game and can influence it as a supporter. And you can make your own mind up what you think about it.

 

My conclusion is football is better on tv if you''re a neutral but as a supporter you can''t support your team. I''m not meaning to offend anyone with this. I fully appreciate that I''m lucky to be able to go. But if I was reliant on streams at least half my enjoyment would be gone.

 

 

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Streaming will be gone if we go down won''t it?

[/quote]

That will  be a problem then for some of our resident '' experts'' on here. Looks like they will have to rely on a couple of minutes of the Football League Show. [:D]

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At the very most even the most ardent supporter watches just ninety minutes of live football a week .... at most.

 

The rest is from the screen. We pick our England team from what we see on the screen, we criticise them from what we have seen on  the screen. We judge other clubs, teams and players from the same source.

 

There are advantages from both but there is nothing really that can equal the match day experience.

 

However, it is not always possible or practical for so many of us.

 

This sneering at stream watches is quite trite IMO. It doesn''t bother me because as I said above I have put in my decades at Carrow Road. Now it is not feasible for me to attend much more yet I still feel fully equipped to comment on our various performances or those that play for the team.

 

Yes. One of the big disappointments about relegation is that there will be no streams. This also means you will be devoid of seeing away games unless you travel.

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I was being very careful not to sneer because I wouldn''t want to be in that position. I love my football days and the actual game, although the focal point, is not the only entertaining and enjoyable part. When I don''t go, which these days is most of the away days, I rarely even bother with the streams preferring to watch it on the wireless! Later I watch the extended highlights on sky. But I miss supporting the team!

 

 

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