I'm not sure if this applies to many people, but I believe the majority can agree that certain social norms are not followed naturally by everyone. These societal norms have a significant impact on how a demographic area is perceived. There will, however, always be black sheep.
I grew up in a suburban area in the city of Lagos. But the cities like Ikeja were never really too far away. But this did not matter, as everybody (maybe not) loved this one sport, football. As a result, you'll hear things like, "I'm going to watch ball tonight."
Football is practically a thing attributed to guys, the male homo sapiens. And this has basically become a stereotype for boys.
So now, it is something horrid to hear a guy say he does not watch football, or play football, or even give two nuts about it. The response is usually, "How you go be guy and you no dey watch ball?" This means, "How can you say you are a man and you do not watch football?"
Usually, I think to myself, "I did not come to the world with balls between my legs with soccer boots on my legs, and neither did I survive by watching football, so why should it matter that I do not feel enthusiastic about football like you?"
It is so surreal to me why people give so much enthusiasm to football and expect every other guy to be the same. I mean, I have other things that I care about too. It does not have to be football.
Don't get it twisted that I detest football. On the contrary, I find it interesting and entertaining sometimes. I have actually seen a few matches, usually the ones with the most tendency to be intense, like the Champions League finals. But, unless I see it on my Google news feed, I may not even be aware of the teams involved.
| Yeah, I actually subscribed to it, as the pressure got intense some time ago. The least I could do was know the games, if not the players. |
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It gets really absurd sometimes. I will not even be dishonest with myself. There are times when conversations surrounding football come up, and then I transform into an alien in the group. Heck, I did not even know when Erling Haaland left Dortmund for Manchester City. I am not even sure where Messi is at the moment.
Another funny thing is that I can actually play the football video games. My brother and I do that well. My brother is not all that into football, but he's way better than me.
So all those fantasy football leagues, sporty bet, "1000 odds" just do not apply to me. I will just leave the room for you if you bring up those conversations.
It is even worse for me when I see women so enthusiastic about football. And I am just left baffled. I then begin to wonder if I am doing something wrong. But I guess not. Society attaches a stereotype to men that simply states that if he does not enjoy football, he is half a man.
My only prayer on this matter is that my interview for a million-dollar lottery is not based on football. That would be terrible because I would be disqualified before even entering.
We are wired differently, and everyone has their own "thing." But this one thingβbeing crazy about footballβis one of the "one" things that is considered normal but I just cannot do.
Do you love football? If you do, justify in your comments why it is oxygen for you or some people. If you don't, you can share why.
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