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"....for my sins"

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    "....for my sins"

    On the 5 Live radio post England defeat inquest yesterday fans were phoning in to tell of their emotions while following England this tournament.

    One caller was asked which club side she supported, and she said "Man City, for my sins." She then said that as a City fan she knew all about losing.

    Her use of the "for my sins" expression struck me as weird, as I thought it was the preserve of fans whose teams never won anything.

    So, a few questions on "for my sins"...

    Have you ever used the expression?

    Does the expression have an expiry date? Can a Man City fan (for example) use it forever because the club has gone through periods of underachievement/failure, or does the recent winning of a trophy negate its use?

    Can the expression ever be used to talk about supporting a national side?

    #2
    <extremely Harvey Keitel in Mean Streets voice> You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it watching sky sports. You do it on message boards. The rest is all bullshit and you know it.

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      #3
      I've used it, but not in a football context.

      Can't get my head around a City fan using it though. I mean, life for them is just one long punishment isn't it?

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        #4
        Nah, I can imagine it being a reflex statement from someone over about 35.

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          #5
          It is indeed a reflex statement. Up there with 'to be fair'.

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            #6
            I've often wondered why we feel the need to pad out our sentences with such phrases. We seem to feel that a simple factual answer answer is insufficient or rude.

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              #7
              Originally posted by Satchmo Distel View Post
              I've often wondered why we feel the need to pad out our sentences with such phrases. We seem to feel that a simple factual answer answer is insufficient or rude.
              Yep, weird isn’t it? Same as when people say “the likes of Barcelona” when they just mean “Barcelona”.

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                #8
                There's a real trend of cyclists to put 'yeah' in the middle of a sentence when doing post race interviews. Not in the football coach 'Are you listening to me' questioning sense - "Second balls. Yeah?"
                More in the 'It goes without saying' sense - "My team worked hard but I didn't have the legs... yeah... we'll try again tomorrow."

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by lackedpunch View Post
                  Does the expression have an expiry date? Can a Man City fan (for example) use it forever because the club has gone through periods of underachievement/failure, or does the recent winning of a trophy negate its use?
                  The City fans I knew in the 80s and 90s existed in state of near-perpetual morbidity. Nowadays I dare say they’re either grumbling about admission prices or worrying that their team’s spell of success simply can’t last.

                  Either way they’ll have found inventive reasons to be miserable.

                  Maybe that was the reason for her quip.

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                    #10
                    Must plead guilty here... I'm pretty sure that on at least one occasion for each team I support (Leeds United, Scotland, Partick Thistle), I have uttered that phrase. I can only think I must have committed a lot of sins....

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