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Shots not heard aroud the world

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    Shots not heard aroud the world

    Not all games are on free TV here, and so to watch Germany-Sweden I hurried over to a nearby hotel for the second half. Alongside one other guy who was equally engrossed, I watched THAT winner go in.

    Meanwhile people were checking in/out, or working at reception, and paying no more attention than if it was an infomercial or wallpaper music video. "You fools!" I wanted to shout. "Don't you know what just happened? On a screen right in front of you!" (I then grabbed them by the shoulders and have been arrested ... well no, I just slinked out).

    This happens a lot. Bars, airport lounges, places where games - and sporting history - are shown, and the oblivious carry on regardless. The TV news later will show people celebrating or weeping, and never shows people ignoring. It's as if they all have real lives. Idiots.
    Last edited by tee rex; 23-06-2018, 20:57.

    #2
    I saw two different dismantlings, by Arsenal, on Leeds. Both times in the airport. And, no-one to tell it to.

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      #3
      I met four local friends for a drink tonight. They wanted to cycle to a pub three miles away setting off at 8pm. I pointed out that it would still be half time so I’d get a taxi and see them a little after 9pm.

      When I bounded in to the pub still pumped from the high octane drama of the game they admitted they’d tried and failed to see the closing stages on their phones. These are regular match-going football fans and they still make these kind of schoolboy errors, it’s tragic.
      Last edited by Ray de Galles; 23-06-2018, 23:24.

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        #4
        The stated TV audience for the England-Tunisia game was 18.3 million with another 3 million online streams, which is the highest UK TV audience of 2018. That means, based on England's population alone, 31.7 million people didn't watch that particular match. It's easy for Football fans to forget that just as many, possibly a majority, think that the sport is a stupid and boring thing and vary from not caring that much to not giving a flying one.

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          #5
          This has been happening all this World Cup. Spain-Portugal coincided with a mate's stag do. As he is rugby, it isn't too much of a surprise. However, when I got to the pub - in the half-time break - they were all out in the beer garden. I, of course, got them to move inside.

          Obviously, the wedding the next day was on four game Saturday although I managed to watch two of them.

          I usually get pissed off about England supporters who only watch the England games but it will be interesting tomorrow as the PTA at the school I work at are having a fete at exactly the same time the England match is on. I am running a stall but may put the game on in my classroom.

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            #6
            My own leaving do on Monday coincided with England v Tunisia. Nobody really gave that much of a toss, although the party was kept in touch with the score by the Brazilian woman in our team, who was in turn receiving updates from her brother in Brazil.

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              #7
              We were on the A1 travelling back to the North East during the England game and it was on in the service station at Wetherby. Only a couple of people seemed bothered although the facilities weren't particularly packed anyway.

              In non football instances, there was the royal wedding when I was in a very busy supermarket with customers more keen to do their Saturday shop. Also various minutes silences when it is reported that "the nation fell silent" but many people go about their business as normal or who genuinely didn't know it was happening.

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                #8
                It’s that WH Auden poem about Icarus Falling syndrome, innit.

                This past week I’ve been one of those WC ignorers. Not a boycotter, just on holiday in the Med with family who don’t give a stuff about football. Although all the matches were on at the majority of tavernas & bars I was content to stroll past - like most of the holidaymakers there, tbh - and just check out the results on my phone each morning.

                The 2nd half of Swe v Ger was the first action I’ve bothered to watch. Cracking winner, but otherwise nothing special.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Janik View Post
                  The stated TV audience for the England-Tunisia game was 18.3 million with another 3 million online streams, which is the highest UK TV audience of 2018. That means, based on England's population alone, 31.7 million people didn't watch that particular match. It's easy for Football fans to forget that just as many, possibly a majority, think that the sport is a stupid and boring thing and vary from not caring that much to not giving a flying one.
                  Which doesn't leave the other TV events that we have all year round in a particularly good place. It isn't the responsibility of World Cup watchers to be mindful of those who 'aren't' watching.

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                    #10
                    There's a cliche that English streets are empty when a big England game is on TV. Has this ever been true, even during the 1966 final?

                    I think the 18.3m is filled to some extent by people who don't want to be left out of work conversations the day after. They don't want to be caught out not knowing what cues to respond to.

                    There is also the search for a "feel good factor" which football in England supplies more than any sport, maybe due to a feeling that many of the players were born working-class even though their current class status is high wealth. The illusion of "He's one of ours" still applies more to a Harry Kane than a Tim Henman, rower or cyclist.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by Janik View Post
                      The stated TV audience for the England-Tunisia game was 18.3 million with another 3 million online streams, which is the highest UK TV audience of 2018. That means, based on England's population alone, 31.7 million people didn't watch that particular match. It's easy for Football fans to forget that just as many, possibly a majority, think that the sport is a stupid and boring thing and vary from not caring that much to not giving a flying one.
                      Not forgetting, of course, that that population in England will have a lot of football supporters who aren't English.

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                        #12
                        I was taking part in a cycling event today with hundreds of others who presumably weren't too bothered about the football. I was hoping it would result in the roads being empty but that wasn't the case at all. I saw a few England flags along the route but generally World Cup fever was conspicuous by its absence.

                        That said, one of the refreshment stops was at a village hall in the middle of nowhere, which looked empty. But we discovered there were quite a lot of people there when a loud cheer erupted from the building. Turns out this was in response to John Stones' first goal rather than the arrival of a load of knackered cyclists.

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                          #13
                          Just as a detail, when I came in for the fete today, my class was covered in fucking English flags as that was where the match was being shown. Some of the kids from my class were charged with tidying it up. If I get in tomorrow and there are any St George's Crosses in there, those kids lose all their Golden time.

                          I do feel that my wearing of a Wales top helped bringing more money during my half hour in the stocks than the rest of the victims all together

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                            #14
                            Yesterday's viewing: in a Turkish cafe. Staff watching, customers generally not.

                            With the added problem (we've all done it, right?) of staring at the screen with people sitting underneath it, the action literally over their heads, so they're having their meal and getting increasingly uncomfortable as some weird guy in the corner gazes intently, grimaces, rolls eyes, swears etc.

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                              #15
                              I think some establishments show games to keep the staff happy.

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                                #16
                                20 years ago during the World Cup, we were having our kitchen rebuilt by a family friend who was staying with us as he did the work. He had absolutely no interest in football, and made sure that everyone knew this. So my "enjoyment" of the England-Argentina match was utterly ruined by his prattling.

                                Fast-forward to last night. My brother-in-law stayed over. He does have an interest in football, but has the attention span of a hyperactive toddler. In the end, I cracked, shouted at him and went upstairs, turned on the lap-top, logged onto ITV, downloaded the relevant player, logged onto ITV again and watched on the lap-top rather than our big telly downstairs. He wouldn't come to the pub with me after the game...

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                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by Satchmo Distel View Post
                                  There's a cliche that English streets are empty when a big England game is on TV. Has this ever been true, even during the 1966 final?

                                  I think the 18.3m is filled to some extent by people who don't want to be left out of work conversations the day after. They don't want to be caught out not knowing what cues to respond to.

                                  There is also the search for a "feel good factor" which football in England supplies more than any sport, maybe due to a feeling that many of the players were born working-class even though their current class status is high wealth. The illusion of "He's one of ours" still applies more to a Harry Kane than a Tim Henman, rower or cyclist.
                                  They were certainly noticeably emptier yesterday (I didn't get home until about 20 past 7), and even more noticeably so of men. There's a local pub which pointedly does not have a television and there were 12 people in it, including the garden. Normally at this time, there'd be about 100.

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                                    #18
                                    23m people watched the game last night. And I don't know if they approximate how many watched it in pubs. In Leeds, bouncers were barring anyone going in the Black Prince it was that rammed (not sure if they had presold entry tickets or if it was a simple 'max capacity' rule) and the Griffin, down the road where I watched it, was full but more comfortable (I stood up at the bar watching it). So at a rough estimate I'd say that was about 300 people in just those two pubs.

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                                      #19
                                      When Argentina play matches in tournaments my girlfriend stays in during the game because there are few enough people on the streets that she feels uncomfortable going out on her own. Having satellite TV (the signal of which is normally 10–20 seconds behind cable/over-the-air) means every single Argentina goal gets spoiled for me by a cacophony of screams from neighbours. This was a factor in my going to watch the 2014 World Cup final at her dad's place (which was still her place too, at the time).

                                      I realise this is the opposite of the thread's premise, but there isn't a thread for 'matches absolutely fucking everyone is watching whether they want to or not'.

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                                        #20
                                        Sam, do Argentinians still follow the tournament closely after the team goes out? I imagine they will support European teams against Brazil and Uruguay and that they will support Sweden against England due to the Falklands/Malvinas, but does a game like Croatia v Russia get a large audience?

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                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by Rogin the Armchair fan View Post
                                          23m people watched the game last night. And I don't know if they approximate how many watched it in pubs. In Leeds, bouncers were barring anyone going in the Black Prince it was that rammed (not sure if they had presold entry tickets or if it was a simple 'max capacity' rule) and the Griffin, down the road where I watched it, was full but more comfortable (I stood up at the bar watching it). So at a rough estimate I'd say that was about 300 people in just those two pubs.
                                          Peak audience of 19.94m yesterday, viewing share of approx 88%. Didn't include those watching in pubs and other public places, according to Gary Lineker's tweet anyway.

                                          We've watched the last three England games in a club and the numbers in there have grown for each game. I'd guess it's going to be difficult to get into some of the big-screen pubs on Wednesday night, from what I've seen of the ones round here they've been rammed full for both knockout games.

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                                            #22
                                            Two big changes from 30-40 years ago are diverse immigration and, especially, more flexible (ie punishing) working patterns. Yesterday near me there were loads of people about around 3pm who you suspect had no great stake in seeing England succeed, and as ever, people going to work, coming back from work, between different bits of work, all of the above.

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                                              #23
                                              I got delayed and was driving home during the first 25 minutes of the game yesterday. The main roads seemed normally busy, but the roads in the town were notably empty. I wonder if people who were uninterested had planned some longer distance trips for 3pm in the hope that it would be quiet?
                                              Oh, and I stopped in the farm shop briefly on the way home, and there were at least Football-shirt clad family groups, an adult and a kid or two, doing their shopping at that time. Which was ~3:15pm. That was odd. Anyway, my conclusion is that normal non-Football watching life was still going on out there during the game.

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