It's only a game

There might be something to be said for football after all.

England were playing in some competition or other this afternoon against... well, against another country I presume - the details are lost on me to be honest. It appeared to be a game of some import and since our MD didn't believe much work would be done whilst this game was taking place, he generously told everyone they could leave at 4pm. I wasn't certain if anyone would take him up on this offer until I turned around shortly after four o'clock and realised I was working in an empty office. The ensuing silence seemed quite conducive to my productivity and I was tempted to carry on working until a rare bout of common sense intervened and I decided to exit stage left immediately.

It's not that I dislike football, as such, it's just that I simply have no interest in the outcome. The same applies to virtually all competitive sports in fact. I just can't bring myself to care about who wins and who loses. I'm sure it's tied to my lack of patriotism - I just don't see things in terms of "them and us", my view point largely being: there is no them, there's only us. Of course, if I were prone to over-indulgent fits of self-analysis (which, wait a moment, I am), I'd likely realise that I do, in fact, divide the world in two, only the distinction I make is not "them and us", so much as "them and me". A subtle but important difference. Still it matters little when it comes to sports, unless of course, I happen to be playing - but there's a reason why I steer clear of participating in team games (put it down to enlightened self interested).

So, tomorrow I'll go back to work and feign interest in whatever the outcome of the game is/was. Don't worry, everyone knows I'm feigning - it's just a polite understanding we've arrived at. They know I don't care and I know they know I don't care, but since I work for a company with a vested interest in the game it's good to keep up appearances.

It's a funny old game, innit?