Hello, I was going to write a really long e-mail about my adventures over the weekend, but quite frankly it has been a bit dull, so I'm gonna talk about footie instead. Moving to the UK at the late age of 12 means that I was "one of those" who doesn't have a favourite football team. Being one of those isn't fun, if you can imagine. As you walk along the school corridor, you can almost hear the gossips and jeers "psst, this boy is 12 and he still hasn't got a favourite football team!" Everyday you go to school, the boys in the class will be showing off their cherished relationship with their teams - they'd wear their scarves, hats and even the full kit when they have PE lessons. Sometimes you feel that it is so fake - Paul's only supporting Liverpool so he can show off to his friends when they win; John's only supporting Newcastle because their kit is pretty; Harry's only supporting Arsenal because the first 4 letters spell out a rude word - their supportership isn't about passion, or commitment: it's about ownership, exhibitionism. You don't want that. But times are hard when you're "one of them". Everyday you can feel the weight of several cruise boats over your head - such is the peer pressure you get - when you see their eyes of joy, when your friends walk into school knowing their team had just gone top of the table. You'd hide in a corner, trying to forget, and convince yourself that having a favourite team isn't the most important thing in the world, but it's hard when people talk about it constantly. You feel especially hurt when, people don't treat their teams preciously, at the first moment of trouble, a moment of conflict or even just when routine becomes a chore - they jump the boat - "oh their new kit is not pretty anymore - I'm supporting Derby County instead". Yet, the football teams will just accept them with open arms, don't they ever question? "Why? So what makes me different from your old team? How do I know that, if I lose 3-0 to Bristol Rovers in the FA cup you won't dump me faster than a baby with no diapers?" You don't understand, but what can you do? It's none of your business how football fanclubs operate, or how other people choose their teams. You just keep on looking for the team for you. The summer I'm supporting Ecuador for the World Cup tho. KEN P.S.: CARSMILE wrote my name in captial letters (e.g. "KEN") several times in his e-mail, THANKS STEVE! P.S.S.: After the bowling fever last week I went bowling with my mate in Milton Keynes again last night, and I was pish.. um, yeah the floor was too slippery, and stuff.... _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+ +-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+ +-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+