Will the Olympics make us look at footballers in a new light

[Schards#2]

I would have put a question mark but I ran out of characters.

For two weeks we've been bombarded with herioc acts from the olympic team. When they are interviewed, almost without fail they are articulate, show humility and tell a story of total commitment and sacrifice to be the best they could be. Most of them don't earn and never will earn in a year what most footballers earn in a week. The contrast with a high percentage of professional footballers could hardly be more stark.

So will this make supporters less tolerant of petulant overpaid players and, if so, will it be temporary or permanent?

[soggy biscuit]

By early September the Olympics will be but a distant memory and it will be service as usual with footballers

[Wax Jacket]

^ this

[Royal Rascal]

footballers are treated differently by the media and the public in general.

an 8th place finish in the 800 mtrs is called brave and heroic, but when England finish in what could be called joint 8th place in the Euros it's a massive failure.

if rowing, shooting, kayaking could hold on their own TV channel then those athletes would be on sh1t loads too, but they can't.

[Ian Royal]

In short, no.

TBH, I thought it was interesting that the majority of our more traditional team sport teams at the Olympics showed similar choke under pressure against anyone good tendencies. IMO anyway. Obviously less obvious in Basketball and Volleyball as we don't really have a strong enough team to be able to choke in teh first place. But the two hockey teams seemed to me to show lots of quality and then just freeze in the crucial games. Ladies made up for it to get Bronze well admittedly. Football was as was expected, with the get out clause they'd barely played together.

[Royal Lady]

I was already p'd off with some of our fancy dan footballers before the Olympics started tbf. I think I'll have even less time for them and their amateur dramatics during games etc now.

[blindedbythelights]

^ this

pretty much

I thought the same as the OP tbh, especially watching the game y/day and the W@NKER W@NKER chants at half time

but 3 weeks in and we'll be back to discussing is £200K a week really enough to keep tevez happy etc

[Royal With Cheese]

^ this

Unfortuantely agreed.

:Cryingface:

[winchester_royal]

As has already been pointed out, there is little difference between the majority of olympians and footballers excelpt for the way that the media portray them. Most footballers are perfectly pleasant guys, and for every Carlos Tevez there is a Phillips Idowu.

Hopefully the Olympics will make people realise that it is nice to focus on the good side of sport rather than magnify the less frequent nasty parts.

[Hoop Blah]

Most of them don't earn and never will earn in a year what most footballers earn in a week. The contrast with a high percentage of professional footballers could hardly be more stark.

So will this make supporters less tolerant of petulant overpaid players and, if so, will it be temporary or permanent?

I kind of agree with the sentiment, but I don't think the difference is quite as stark as you make out. I've no real idea how much they earn, but I don't think they're quite on the breadline as you suggest, and your falling into the trap of judging all footballers and their wages on the top couple of hundred players in the premier league.

I do hope we see a shift away from the way footballers are built up and so believe their own hype, but I doubt we'll see much change.

I guess where a lot of the difference in behaviour comes from upbringing. A lot of the Olympic sports are favoured by the more educated elements of society plus they're not seen as valuable commodities from an early age and so their every need is pandered too.

[Nick Shorey my Lord!]

So will this make supporters less tolerant of petulant overpaid players and, if so, will it be temporary or permanent?

Thing is, I think "most" supporters are already intolerant of such players but what can we do about it? It's completely out of our control. What steps could we take other than moaning, running ridiculous campaigns, or boycotting matches (never going to happen) to bring about change?

[Schards#2]

Hard to argue with most of the responses tbh.

I agree that not all footballers are bad role models, indeed, I think at Reading we have been blessed over the last 7-8 years with a high percentage of players who are great role models and have the right work ethic, however, there are many who are not.

I have a client who is a coach at a Premiership club and he talks with great frustration about youth team/reserve team players rolling up to training in their expensive cars and lounging around the changing rooms with their headphones on before consenting to go out and train. These are players who are on good money but who have never played a first team game. They haven't made it in football yet act like their superstars and that they are doing the club a favour by being there.In days gone by, they would have been cleaning the first team squad's boots and, maybe, that would have taught them some humility.

The maximum grant for olympic athletes is £26,000 p.a. and these arrogant soda are earning 10 X that. I guess unless the clubs or fans collectively kick them up the arse and give them a reality check, it'll never change.

I have, and i'm sure most will have far more respect for the unknown athlete who is training him/herself to the point of exhaustion every day on a pittance than for the likes of Ashley Cole bleating about not being offered what he's worth by Arsenal in his ghost written autobiography.

[Wax Jacket]

So will this make supporters less tolerant of petulant overpaid players and, if so, will it be temporary or permanent?

Thing is, I think "most" supporters are already intolerant of such players but what can we do about it?

stop going to games and watching them on telly

[Nick Shorey my Lord!]

So will this make supporters less tolerant of petulant overpaid players and, if so, will it be temporary or permanent?

Thing is, I think "most" supporters are already intolerant of such players but what can we do about it?

stop going to games and watching them on telly

The same TV companies that pay crazy money for the rights that, for the most part, have caused the angst and intolerance.

[Geekins]

A player gets embarassed and seems to make an excuse of being fouled or injured. Can't see it changing.

[Bandini]

Bit of an rhroyal thread title.

OUT!

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

I don't think there's anything inherent in footballers or olympic athletes that makes them behave differently.

The big difference is that in football you can become rich without achieving any more than having potential.

In athletics you have to make it to the top of your sport before you start making any money.

I'm certain that if you had teenage athletes earning £5000+ a week they'd have a pretty poor attitude too.

Going beyond that, if you gave teenagers in any profession that sort of cash, a fair number of them would become arrogant pricks too.


The only thing I would say against all that is there does appear to be an attitude in football that it's never the player's fault.

[blindedbythelights]

@themichaelowen: I'm a huge fan of all of our Olympians but I struggle to understand the low opinion most people have towards footballers.

#thisgunbgd

[blindedbythelights]

because you are paid millions yet you complain about paying 30p for train station toilets... oh and you suck off horses

[KDRF]

After 5 mins of the community shield the fans were shouting oxf*rd oxf*rd oxf*rd.