Falling out with football

So far in the 2013-2014 season I've watched about 300 minutes of football and about 30 minutes of highlights. I've listened to no podcasts or radio phone ins, almost no newspaper articles and only the odd blog post. I certainly haven't been to a match (other than my sister's U11s side!).

I have to be honest, I've not missed it at all. In fact, I've quite enjoyed it. I've had more time to focus on things I actually enjoy and feel fulfilment from.

I currently only feel like a supporter by association with my past history. I haven't put any United fixtures on the notice board at home to reserve the big TV, I haven't even known when or who we would be playing most weekends.

Its hard to be sure when it began, when I started to fall out of love with the 'beautiful game', but I know that Fergie and Scholes' retirement was a watershed moment for me. An end of an era that would give me almost a clean break from my deepest attachments to the sport.

I do know the reasons though. I feel very little sense of identification to modern day football. Whilst I'm really interested in the more analytical side of sport that is growing both inside and outside of football, the actual product on the pitch does not interest or excite me as much as it should to be a fan.

And even worse is the cliche laden, analysis lacking media coverage that seems to almost saturate the Sky Sports and Talk Sport agenda, as well as that of our newspapers. There are some exceptions to the generally awful punditry we're subjected to these days, but even a lot of those get dragged into issues that are of no real importance or effect on the sport by presenters looking for their own highlight reel moments to get replayed and replayed on Sky Sports News and the like.

Then there are today's footballers and managers. There are very few that I feel any tinge of respect for anymore. They are so ingrained in the celebrity of their wealth and media profile that they don't have any real engagement with the watching public. They most come from or end up in a different place to every fan so no fan can share their story, understand their actions, accept their tantrums or dishonesty.

The thing that probably annoys me the most though is the level to which football permeates, or in fact dominates, our national landscape. It is too far and away the national sport to a point where other sports and sportsmen are marginalised as a sideshow to football, other than in an Olympic year of course, when we all ask why our footballers aren't more like other sportsmen, or we just have interviews and profiles about which football team these other athletes support, because that is apparently important.

I'm not certain my feelings are terminal, we'll have to see if I get drawn back in come the latter stages of the season, but right now I wouldn't be surprised if I never pay to watch another match of football again and never plan my weekend around matches. Sorry football, you just aren't all you crack yourself up to be.