Sport chat - really boring?

[Rusty Nails]

I hate it when, in mixed groups, the women constantly talk about babies, or the best washing powder, or their feelings, or gender stereotyping.

 

[I like Skol]

or gender stereotyping.

Hilarious

 

[mudsticks]

I grew up in a mountaineering family that took little interest in team sports so apart from a summer interest in cycle racing I don't follow any team or sport or waste any of my life planted on the sofa watching them. This has put me at a disadvantage all through my life because when blokes gather the banter often turns to footeh, rugby or cricket and I'm excluded. My friends and colleagues in South Africa have learned that there's no point in gassing about sport as I'm clueless although they did introduce me to François Pienaar who I thought a nice chap. My boss is a loud, boorish alpha male type who is openly scornful of cyclists and hates them taking up road space so he and I inhabit different planets. Gotta go to SA with him in April, which is going to be awkward.

I have always harboured a suspicion that a lot of blokes banter about sport because they actually don't know much else and it's safe ground for teasing, probing and finding out more about each other without venturing into areas of conversation that might demonstrate, heaven forbid, sensitivity or compassion towards others.

Do other cyclists see this as a handicap or do they just get on with their own relationships and ignore the excluding banter? How do the woman of this parish deal with it?

Oh come on Globalti, it's just a pose on your part.

You know, full well, that many, or most (?) of the sentient women of the Parish will gravitate towards the company of the guys who don't 'talk sport'.

Nice try though

Yup folks can get dull, going on, about all sorts of stuff,

Obsessiveness over topics can be used as a bonding exercise getting to know each other - but whilst staying on safer - 'small talk' ground.

But at the same time, it can also be used as an exclusionary tactic as well -
i'm completely uninterested in soap operas, 'celebrity' gossip, dieting for weight loss, make-up, dogs (Edit- or washing powder - except its environmental impact) for example, but comprehend that others find them fascinating..

Self awareness, and the feelings of others should be present in a decent conversation.
Listening is a very useful, but underrated skill.

i pity any guy caught up against his will in 'footie chat' and if feeling generous, will work out a tactic to 'spring' him from the torture..

But then he's stuck with me, and although completely uninterested in teams sport, i can analyse, and obsess over the fine detail of just about anything else - including, mountain going, cycling, food and farming, travel, ecology, yoga, etymology, psychology, politics, sex, and religion ( but not necessarily all those things all at the same time)

 

[Globalti]

Great! When do we meet for a pint?

 

[mudsticks]

Great! When do we meet for a pint?

i'll have to consult my diary.

There's a lot of folks, seemingly need rescuing from tedium

in the meantime why not play 'spot the shelter'

 

[Globalti]

Well that's either a glacial erratic or a faded Vango Force 10 beside the water but your photo is too fuzzy to be sure.

 

[mudsticks]

Well that's either a glacial erratic or a faded Vango Force 10 beside the water but your photo is too fuzzy to be sure.

Aha guess the shelter time..
A much funner game.

Fuzziness for stealth.

It's an American tent .. But shh, don't tell the others.

 

[nickyboy]

I like watching team sports

But blokes talking about them is so that they have something to fill the silences with other than important stuff that they really should be talking about. It's why one of the most popular forms of corporate entertaining is watching sport. It gives blokes something to talk about

 

[cyberknight]

I'm still waiting for the workplace to .o e shift pattern for the tdf,they can do it when we have no hope in the footie world cup and know we have Bob hope of winning that

 

[sheddy]

Monday mornings in the office was always tiresome.
You would think that they had actually played in the match.
WE scored, MY team, etc etc

 

[vickster]

I'm still waiting for the workplace to .o e shift pattern for the tdf,they can do it when we have no hope in the footie world cup and know we have Bob hope of winning that

I’d far rather talk about football than pro cycling! Fortunately, no one I know has any interest in the latter

 

[Jody]

Football, what's that?

Some game where people have to pay £1000's a year to follow. They can get out the house on a weekend and get larruped with their mates, whilst shouting obscenities at the people who they are making multi millionaires.

Can't stand it myself but each to their own.

 

[Brandane]

Football, rugby, and other team sports may well make for boring pub chat. However, it pains me to admit it, but CYCLE bores are 10 times worse . My eyes glaze over at the very mention of how far/fast a particular cyclist has managed to go. Then there's the weight weenies chuntering on about how many grammes they can shave from their bike.... FFS, STFU and go and ride the thing . Cycling IMHO at least, is a good participation sport but torture as a spectator event, or for pub talk. .

 

[roadrash]

im with the op on this one , when the football chat starts and someone says to me what do you think, I reply " I don't do football or rugby"suddenly everyone looks at me like im a martian just landed from mars, they just cant understand it.

 

[Pale Rider]

im with the op on this one , when the football chat starts and someone says to me what do you think, I reply " I don't do football or rugby"suddenly everyone looks at me like im a martian just landed from mars, they just cant understand it.

Do you have a television?