5 Months & 20 Posts Later...

Welcome back once again my followers to another helping of delicious unquenchable comedy, served with a side of thought provoking mayhem and a big dollop of immaturity to add flavour. I have to say I didn’t expect to be doing this blog for this long and I certainly didn’t have the foresight to have predicted that I would be making my 20^th post. In retrospect, I suppose this isn’t a surprise given that my Wednesday usually consists of arse scratching and sleeping. For this to be going into its fifth month is a big deal for me as the only other hobby that I have stuck with is football, so finding another avenue to occupy the time with is a welcome change, and one that I enjoy.

Well now, on with the reason why we are all here. I am very conflicted as to where I stand socially in society. One side of me, as I said in the previous paragraph, is a huge football fan. I love the banter, the camaraderie, the ecstasy and the devastation that it brings to my life. Another part of me is a huge nerd. I love to watch science fiction, read superhero comics, watch retro 80’s movies and regularly test my quotation/actor/actress knowledge with others. A jock and a nerd all rolled into one. The difficulty that I have with these two parts of me is the fact that although I feel completely comfortable in both social circles, I wouldn’t mix the two in a group situation. For instance, if I was in the pub after playing football on a Sunday and there is a game on the telly. Most of my team are deep in debate on a refereeing decision or throwing banter around about each other’s performance in the game previous. This would not be the ideal time to bring up whether or not any of them saw the season finale of Doctor Who. Nor would it be a good moment to ask if they thought the remake of Clash of the Titans did the original justice – a resounding no if you’re wondering. These are perfectly acceptable conversation starters in many social situations but I somehow feel uncomfortable sharing my thoughts on these subjects with my football team.

On the flipside, I have friends who have absolutely no interest in football whatsoever. Plus they are heterosexual to the best of my knowledge. Growing up I was completely unaware that there were such people who can be both but you live and learn I suppose. When I spend time with my non-football friends I still have a laugh and the conversation never dries up. I wouldn’t suddenly turn to one of them and ask if the influx of foreign ownership and billionaires buying their way to success is ruining our beautiful game. Nor would I fill a gap in conversation by quizzing them on their knowledge of football grounds, team nicknames and managers. This again would be perfectly acceptable conversation starters in many social situations but I would be hesitant to throw in this subject to my non- football friends.

I guess you just have to know your audience and adjust accordingly. I am passionate about both football and sci-fi. I love Star Trek, Star Wars, Back to the Future, Shaun of the Dead, Firefly, Ghostbusters...The list goes on. These kinds of films and TV series were what I was brought up on by my mum. When I say passionate I mean I watched them, enjoyed them and would wear T-shirts/buy merchandise. What I don’t mean when I say passionate is; dressing up as a Klingon for a convention, go to renaissance fairs or build a scale replica Millennium Falcon in my back garden. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone from this behaviour but it’s just not for me I’m afraid. I am extremely passionate about football. I love playing, supporting and managing the beautiful game. I was brought up watching Northampton Town with my dad. Every week we would jump in the car, visit my Nan who lived 10 minutes from the ground before taking our seats in the Alwyn Hargrave Stand to watch lower league football. What I don’t mean by extremely passionate is; starting a fight with rival fans, burning effigies of players who have left my club or committing suicide due to a defeat in a cup final. I suppose there are people who are so transfixed on their chosen hobby/lifestyle that they can’t differentiate between reality and fiction. I like to think that I have enough common sense to be philosophical in defeat rather than tearing the place up.  

With all that has been said I guess I am a jock and a nerd, but I am also neither of those. Mainly due to the fact that, although I love both criteria, I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed. I am a football fan but I’m not a Neanderthal alpha male who throws his weight around, listens to RnB/hip hop, wears his collar up and finishes every sentence with “you know what I mean?” Why are they asking if I know what they mean? Obviously they have difficulty understanding what most things mean so they need to find out if they are alone in this ignorance. I also don’t have a World of War craft account, tattoos of Ewoks or answer every other question in Klingon. Overall I suppose I am saying that I am average and proud of it. Thanks for reading, have a great week whatever your doing...