[Closed] Wall to wall wendyball

Off out for a ride

Lucky you. I am having a coffee break then it is back to Hot Wheels

Where did the beautiful summer of sport go?

Football [i]is[/i] still a sport you know... It's actually an immensely popular sport, just one that a minority seem to think is trendy to not like, and then complain on the internet about it. Not really a surprise then that the BBC cater for the majority and broadcast it when it's on, is it?

TMS will be on R4LW if you want to listen to "proper" sport

oh, thank GOD somebody's dared to say it at last !

Too long you've all suffered so bravely in absolute silence while that nasty football carried on but finally someone's broken out.

Well done, rogerthecat, not just for your bravery but also your originality in choice of thread.

Now they know you don't like it I'm sure it'll stop.

Edit: "Wendy"ball - Brilliant !!

I went to loads of nasty Olympic football. Over 70000 other people also saw team GB in Cardiff that night

a minority seem to think is trendy to not like, and then complain on the internet about it. Not really a surprise then that the BBC cater for the majority and broadcast it when it's on, is it?

My beef is that it is all consuming, as if every other sport stops when footy season starts, there are a large number of people who participate in other sports who get just the teensy bit frustrated. Will be interesting to see how much coverage cycling gets in the mainstream media now the premiership is cranking into full gear. It's not as if we are any good at it, look at recent Olympic performance and international matches, whereas in other sports we have excelled during the summer, most of which will be cast back into obscurity now footy is back. I don't want Wendyball to stop being covered, just some variety, keep encouraging the kids who have talent but not for football.

Oh, and help to spread sponsorship cash around.

Reet am off - sure I'll have been flamed out of existence by all the terrace hooligans on here by the time I get back. 😉

Personally I'm glad its back, going to be a great season.

COYI

Although I like football I do agree with you .Football dominates the sports news on 5 live, Sky sports news and talk b***ocks (sorry sport).Its as if other sports dont exist

I'm not a big football fan, but I just don't get this "wendyball" business. What is it all about? Apologies if it's already been dealt with.

Don't get me started on "lympics". Grrr

The sport reporter on the BBC breakfast sofa half an hour ago actuallly said[i] "my life has a purpose again"[/i] in reference to the football being on again. We've just had the LONDON OLYMPICS you ignorant, narrow minded bell end.

I agree with the sentiment posted further up the thread. Football is a sport, but in the UK it's so frequently treated like it's the only one we have. A sports reporter for the public service broadcaster's flagship news show just confirmed this mindset.

I dislike football, but I don't resent people's enjoyment of football. In fact I'm jealous of it in the same way I'm jealous of those who can find entertainment by watching X Factor. Life must be much more satisfying.

I'm always surprised by those so committed to defending the beautiful game from the meek, jaded and bitter voices of the three of us who hate it. You needn't worry guys, you've so comprehensively won, you have every news bulletin and newspaper, every billboard, every TV, every day, night and day, match of the day. So why not be secure enough to just allow us our impotent moans? Open a can of Fosters, turn your wall mounted plasmas over to one of the football channels, put your feet up and simply drown out our timid exasperation with the roar from the stands.

Did I miss some kind of memo stating that it is now hilarious to use the term 'wendyball' on the internet instead of 'football'?

Genuinely, can someone explain where this has come from??

Football's ace anyway so no complaints here.

+1,000,000 rogerthecat and video above 😆

Genuinely, can someone explain where this has come from??

The innate need in some to demonstrate their superiority as a method of compensation for something they feel is lacking...whatever hat may be.

I think the [i]wendyball[/i] term came from the fact that at the highest level the game seems to be played by men who cannot but help themselves from falling dramatically to the ground and rolling around clutching [insert body part] demonstratively like a bunch of girlies [[i]wendys[/i]]. Totally derogatory to actual girls of course who play the game with much less drama.

I enjoy football but would agree that all other sports get totally, but unecessarily, pushed into the sidelines by the British media's love affair of it.

Possibly pics such as this?

[img] [/img]

or this:

[img] [/img]

Ride was so good going out again after lunch, have called 5 Live but they won't cover it! 😀

toys19 - Member

I think it's called wendyball because it's effen gay.
Posted 7 minutes ago # Report-Post

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1057323,00.html

Will be interesting to see how much coverage cycling gets in the mainstream media now the premiership is cranking into full gear. It's not as if we are any good at it

I would imagine that the relative coverage of coverage of Football and Cycling will be fair in relation to the size of the crowds each sport pulls in.

Barclays premiership sales for 2011/2012 season were roughly 15,000,000 tickets.
Then there are all the other leagues too.

What would be the statistics for ticket sales to live cycling events (other than the Olympics, as I haven't counted those in the football stats)

I think that after the Olympics and the conduct of the large proportion of the athletes there, the attitudes and actions of some footballers are now shown to be wanting slightly. The amount of money they earn (fairly obscene in my opinion at the top level) and their conduct is just so far removed from the athletes that have been filling our TVs for the past few weeks. Contrast the US relay runner who's leg broke half way through his section and who carried on running, with the footballers who fall over when someone looks at them funny.

That's not to say that all footballers are like that of course, but the actions of the few outweigh the actions of the many I think. That and the fact that when the season starts, it's totally inescapable.

but the actions of the few outweigh the actions of the many I think.

To be fair, if that's the case, why don't the "actions of the few" People at the Olympics who failed drug tests "outweigh the many" who didn't.

When you realise football is entertainment rather than sport it all makes sense

I like football. I like it even more when it irritates morons.

Specialist media coverage is available for the minority sports though, especially through the net if you know what you're looking for.

I'd agree that the changes in football to make it more of a non contact sport haven't made it better. I remember how many top quality last ditch tackles you used to get in a match. I'd like to see sanctions against players faking injuries, especially head contact. Might be hard to implement though.

im not a football fan.
and i understand why peeps get annoyed at the almost blanket coverage in the media while most other sports hardly get a mention.
but . . . the reporters are reporting on the sport that the vast majority of people want to hear.
in other countries they report on different sports, when i was in canada the majority of sports news was ice hockey with 'soccer' barely getting a mention.
mainstream media deals with mainstream sports innit.

When you realise football is entertainment rather than sport it all makes sense

Erm...

No, no...I'm pretty sure it's a sport.

That's not to say that all footballers are like that of course, but the actions of the few outweigh the actions of the many I think.

I disagree with that point in so much as the verbal abuse of referees and officials by players and managers, clearly visible cheating and off pitch incidents are proportionally higher, or they are reported more frequently, than other sports.

Drug cheating in any sport is just that, cheating.

@NealGlover - the reason that there is a disproportionate watching of football is partly due to a self fulfilling cycle, because it completely overwhelms everything else there is little opportunity for people to realise that they can go and watch other sports. Football has so much power now it will be hard for other sports to gain profile.

It's known as "wendyball" because tediousthugmoron****violentsycophantball takes too long to type.

@NealGlover - the reason that there is a disproportionate watching of football is partly due to a self fulfilling cycle, because it completely overwhelms everything else there is little opportunity for people to realise that they can go and watch other sports. Football has so much power now it will be hard for other sports to gain profile.

So whats the answer ?

Stop letting people listen to/watch football, even though so many want to.

And force them to find other things to watch.

If I want to watch some professional cycling this weekend, where do I need to go ?

I believe that the swear filters on this very site in the old days (when it was mostly fields) substituted wendyball for football.

I'm with the game for gentlemen played by thugs camp.

To be fair, if that's the case, why don't the "actions of the few" People at the Olympics who failed drug tests "outweigh the many" who didn't.

Maybe down to the media coverage? If a footballer cheats on his wife and the tabloids get hold of it then it's seemingly everywhere. When they take out injunctions to prevent it, it just gets worse. I haven't seen the same level of exposure given to the Olympic cheats.

Don't get me wrong, none of this actively annoys me. If people want to watch it (and they clearly do) then fine, I'm not going to campaign against it. Instead I'll watch the new Cycle Show that ITV4 have got going.

EDIT

Drug cheating in any sport is just that, cheating.

I absolutely agree. It is possibly one of my favourite things ever that drug cheating in professional cycling seems to be on its way out.

this thread's just great.

if you want to know about dishonesty in sport, look no further than the rampant drug abuse involved in cycling, athletics, swimming and weight lifting.

holding up the olympics as a beacon of purity against football is just laughable.

tm!!

Hullllooooo. Long time bruv.

I believe that the swear filters on this very site in the old days (when it was mostly fields) substituted wendyball for football.

I was more trying to mention the apparent attitude of the athletes rather than whether people in sports are cheating and if so how much.

Stop letting people listen to/watch football, even though so many want to.

And force them to find other things to watch.

Am assuming that is comedic irony. Balance is what is needed, more coverage of other sports on an ongoing basis. not 2 weeks every 4 years of lots of sports at which we excel, then the remaining time being football.

If I want to watch some professional cycling this weekend, where do I need to go ?

No idea, strange that, R5 Live didn't cover it this morning, but we did get a full fixture list for football.

No idea, strange that, R5 Live didn't cover it this morning, but we did get a full fixture list for football.

That's probably because more people are interested though ?

*waves at dd*

That's probably because more people are interested though ?

Yes, you are correct. Most likely because they have not had chance to watch, understand and enjoy other sports because football dominates everything - school sports, local sports, radio sports coverage, tv sports coverage, etc.

My point is that if we expose people to a wider variety of sports we may well find some hidden talents. Kate Walsh (Team GB Women's Captn) swapped to hockey after being refused progress in football, from all reports she was a reasonably good footballer but has made an exceptional hockey player and the captain of her national side. I am sure that there are more examples.

So you think that the Massive interest in football, is caused by the coverage it gets,

Rather than the coverage being a response to the interest that's already there ?

(genuine question)

Pro road cycling may not be held in high regard because the top level racing is free to watch for joe public, unlike the cheese rolling (thanks scaredypants) which costs a fortune for a season ticket or a Sky package.
Our mass media and Joe Public don't value free stuff as it can't be any good otherwise it would cost a fortune.

There is so much whinging from anti footballists. There is a lot of talk today as its the 1st day of the football season, so fairly big sporting news. Radio 5 spend a large chunk of their budget securing the rights to live commentary of the premier league, so hardly a surprise they will be promoting what's on their station. Take a look at what sport is on TV right now and you'll see there is pretty much something for everyone.

SS1 - Test cricket
SS2 - Championship football
SS3 - Currie cup Rugby
SS4 - Sport unlimited followed by Tennis
Eurosport - Moto GP

Edit: Cycling is on the up. Hence the fact that ITV showed live coverage of the final weekend of the TDF on ITV 1 and they are now showing the Vuelta.

It's as if the haters are more obsessed with the game than the fans. Such a cruel cruel irony for them that they have to seek out what they hate.

It used to annoy me with all the footie chat at work that I couldn't be part of.
Now I'm just genuinely jealous of not having any interest in such a well catered for spectator sport.

For footie fans it must be the same feeling I get at the start of an F1 race....but every week and some weekdays too!

Lucky gits!

Gonna try again to get into it, but know I'll have to go through the cringing "fast show" character phase.

Not interested in football, and I do get annoyed by how omnipresent it is, and also the assumption in much of the media that all blokes love it- advertising especially ("While you're watching the game with the lads, she's..." etc etc.)

But you can't really escape or begrudge the fact that an awful lot of people do like it, really really like it, so it's not too surprising that it's on the TV all the time.

So you think that the Massive interest in football, is caused by the coverage it gets,

Rather than the coverage being a response to the interest that's already there ?

No, as I said previously it is self perpetuating the more coverage the more interest because there is little else available - but that's not a bad thing if it does not exclude other sports from public sector broadcasting (SS** is irrelevant if you can't afford Sky).

I don't hate football, but I do hate what it has become and its suffocating dominance.

Can a footy aficionado answer this one - has the season got longer? I may be mistaken but I seem to remember it starting in Autumn rather than August.

My point is that if we expose people to a wider variety of sports we may well find some hidden talents. Kate Walsh (Team GB Women's Captn) swapped to hockey after being refused progress in football, from all reports she was a reasonably good footballer but has made an exceptional hockey player and the captain of her national side. I am sure that there are more examples.

Well the BBC coverage of the Olympics was pretty comprehensive. They'll get some decent stats from that about demand for various sports and that will influence future programming. Anyone know what the stats are like?

I'm pretty much completely ambivalent about fussball, rugby, cricket, tennis and horse racing.
I don't worry about this at all and I do pity all those who seem to get so worked up about.
Wanders off.