Football

Getting Into Football When You’ve Spent Most of Your Life Avoiding Sports

There’s no doubt that football (or soccer) is one of the most popular sports in the world. There’s so much passion surrounding football and its culture, and it’s got a long and storied history that could easily take a lifetime to truly embrace and understand. There are epic rivalries, huge personalities and tense matches to fall in love with, making it one of the most engrossing sports that you can invest time into.

However, if you’ve spent most of your life avoiding sports, then it can actually be quite difficult to get into football. Trying to join conversations can be like learning a completely new language, and even picking a team to support can be challenging. So in this article, we’re going to talk about how you can get into the culture of football, especially if you’ve been avoiding sports for most of your life.

 

Why should I get into football?

First, it’s a good idea to reaffirm why you want to get into football. Did you recently watch a match that inspired you to learn more about the sport, or are you getting into it because your child is expressing an interest in playing football? Whatever the case is, start by realising why you’re interested in the sport in the first place.

 

Here are a couple of common reasons:

  • It’s a healthy sport to play that can keep you and your family fit
  • It’s a storied game with deep roots in many different cultures
  • It’s the perfect opportunity to find more common interests with your peers
  • It’s a good conversation starter
  • It’s a sport for all genders, not just men and boys!
  • You can support your favourite teams, whether it’s a local one or your country
  • To find a new hobby
  • To potentially start a new career choice

 

Having motivation behind your desire to get into football will make things a lot easier in the long run. Ask yourself why you’ve decided to try and get into football and you’ll find that things can get much easier. Without further ado, here are a couple of ways to help ease yourself into football culture if you’ve been avoiding sports for most of your life.

 

Interact with friends and family members that love football

Whether it’s a family member that enjoys watching football or some friends that make regular trips to the local pub to watch a game, there are likely many people in your life that enjoy football and can help you get into the culture. Expressing interest in someone’s hobby or passions is a great way to get them talking about it. Passionate football fans are very friendly when it comes to getting you involved in the sport, making it easy for you to learn all of the jargon, rules and other unique things about the game as a whole.

We suggest trying to bring up football in conversations or perhaps even ask for people with getting into the sport. If you don’t have any friends or family members that are interested in football, then you could try connecting with online communities such as message boards and forums. It can be a little daunting trying to mingle with long-time football fans, but you’ll find that they can be incredibly friendly and will be more than happy to initiate you into the culture.

 

Start reading up about the history of the football

You don’t need to have a deep understanding of the origins of football, but it can be a lot of fun to learn more about the team you support or even look up crazy statistics about the game. For example, learning about the biggest football transfers of all time can help you appreciate just how much money is poured into the sport and how valuable some players are. This goes to show that the skill level and reputation of some players is so high that it almost transcends common sense. This just goes to show the level of dedication and passion that some people have for the game.

The more you understand about the game, the more interesting it becomes. Learning about the backstory of your favourite teams is also a fantastic way to truly ingrain yourself into the culture of football, and looking back at past results and matches can be a good idea if your friends and family members regularly make references to past team encounters.

 

Play some football games to ease yourself in

If you’ve got a growing passion for football but want a fun and interesting way to learn the game and its players, why not consider playing a football game? FIFA is an incredibly popular football game that is available on virtually every modern console. It receives yearly iterations that update everything from the players and teams to the physics of the ball, making it an incredibly realistic yet accessible experience. However, FIFA isn’t the only football game to consider, especially if you’re not so much interested in controlling individual characters.

Another fantastic example of a football game that can help ease you into the sport is Football Manager. This game is played from the perspective of a manager and has you leading your own team. You’ll pick which players to field, create your own team with transfers and essentially create your own fantasy league. This is an excellent choice for people that want a deeper understanding of what happens in the background instead of focusing on the players themselves. A more convenient alternative to Football Manager would be a fantasy football game which relies on real-world results to help you create a powerful dream team.

There are countless ways to get into football. Whether you’re looking to learn more about the game and its players in great detail, or if you want to enjoy a video game iteration of football to have a fun yet educational experience, it’s never been easier to immerse yourself in the world of football.

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