By the time I was eight years old I was getting immersed into football's weird parallel universe, but while my older kid is now that age, I'm unbothered whether he obsesses to the same extent.
Be relieved. They can spend their lives doing other things. Better things? Maybe, maybe not. But I do sometimes envy people like your ex living in wonderful ignorance of the whole football shebang. The 15 years I lived in the US, I felt that way about most sports there - major league and, especially, college. Football and cricket are more than time-consuming enough for essentially meaningless pastimes. Incidentally, my daughters are into football - both playing and watching - but it doesn't possess them, and you won't find them on the away terraces at Rochdale on a wet November night. I hope that if I'd had a son, they would have steered themselves in a similar direction, and felt no pressure or compulsion to watch an Estonian first division game attended by 50 people just because we were spending a long weekend in Tallin...
Same here Ian....my kids one of each flavour 14 and 13 have no real interest in any sport nevermind football and I cannot understand it. When I was your kids age I used to tape radio 2 for the football for midweek matches..... anyways thanks for yours and Ed's podcast another Ian
My 2 girls come to games now but only the last three or so years have they some interest. Like yours they don't watch the full 90 mins, the youngest likes being a timekeeper though.
It's never fussed me either whether they like the game or not, i want them to find their own ways and enjoyment.
Be relieved. They can spend their lives doing other things. Better things? Maybe, maybe not. But I do sometimes envy people like your ex living in wonderful ignorance of the whole football shebang. The 15 years I lived in the US, I felt that way about most sports there - major league and, especially, college. Football and cricket are more than time-consuming enough for essentially meaningless pastimes. Incidentally, my daughters are into football - both playing and watching - but it doesn't possess them, and you won't find them on the away terraces at Rochdale on a wet November night. I hope that if I'd had a son, they would have steered themselves in a similar direction, and felt no pressure or compulsion to watch an Estonian first division game attended by 50 people just because we were spending a long weekend in Tallin...
Same here Ian....my kids one of each flavour 14 and 13 have no real interest in any sport nevermind football and I cannot understand it. When I was your kids age I used to tape radio 2 for the football for midweek matches..... anyways thanks for yours and Ed's podcast another Ian
My 2 girls come to games now but only the last three or so years have they some interest. Like yours they don't watch the full 90 mins, the youngest likes being a timekeeper though.
It's never fussed me either whether they like the game or not, i want them to find their own ways and enjoyment.