Great Britain now truly a cycling nation

On Oct 9, 1:39*pm, Simon Weaseltemper
wrote:

If I look around the people I know, I would suggest that the majority
are not really interested in football either, apart from Engerland in
the World Cup. So I guess that makes footy a minority sport too. All
sports are minority sports. It's just that some are more minor than
others.


I would say that watching soap operas and quiz shows is far more
popular than watching football.
Especially at over 60 quid a month for Sky which is what I pay

--
Simon Mason

On 09/10/2011 14:08, JNugent wrote:

Whoever made the claim "Great Britain now truly a cycling nation" (and
who later re-defined that as referring to from some recent fleeting
success in a bike race) was positing an argument. If it wasn't you, fair
enough.

Wasn't me officer...

I do not follow football as it does not appeal to me.

Nor to me, very much.

That doesn't stop me from seeing it objectively as the UK's only true
national sport. One can credibly say that Great Britain [is] truly a
footballing nation in a way that has never been true for cycling, not
even if you include everyday utility cycling.

I disagree that Great Britain is truly a footballing nation, compared to
other countries that is. There are other nations who appear to be far
more fanatical about the game than we are. The Netherlands is "truly a
cycling nation". We just pay a little bit of attention to it when we are
winning something.

I don’t see much of it
on tv, presumably if it exists to much extent it is on “Sky Sports” or
subscription TV channels aimed at the people who want to watch it.

Quite so. And they pay a lot of money (on aggregate) to do so. It is a
big business. Football is so important to so many people that a huge
media business can be based on that fact (let alone the massive business
that is live football itself).

I am truly astounded by the amounts professional footballers are paid.
The money comes from somewhere. Someone is paying it. It's not me (at
least I hope not).

In my life, I see considerably more cycling than I do football, but
that is
largely my choice. I like it that way.

Perhaps you do. AAMOF, it's probably true for me too. But the fact that
you and I do so is completely and utterly beside the point and carries
no implications whatsoever for the argument.

I have no argument.

I suspect though that considerably more people participate in cycling (to
some extent) than they do football. The oft quoted 2% of journeys are
made by
bike. That's 2% of everybody's journeys. I doubt whether 2% of people
play
football...

The goalpost had already been moved in such a way that the thread title
has been re-defined as referring only to "sport" cycling. If everyday
cycling were included, you'd also have to include every street footie
game, and certainly every organised match on every local rec, whether in
leagues, school competitions, or whatever.

Indeed, but I do not see or participate in that either. To me it is
irrelevant...

The claim was later made that UK sport cycling is more "successful" than
UK football because of some recent UK win in a bike race. Big deal.

Whoop-de-bloody-do.

If I look around the people I know, I would suggest that the majority
are not
really interested in football either, apart from Engerland in the
World Cup.
So I guess that makes footy a minority sport too. All sports are minority
sports. It's just that some are more minor than others.

And cycling is way more "minor" than football (as, indeed, is every
other sport, with the legendary - and doubtful - execption of angling).

I don't fish either ...

--
Simon
For personal replies, please use my reply-to address.

On 09/10/2011 14:21, Simon Mason wrote:

Simon wrote:

If I look around the people I know, I would suggest that the majority
are not really interested in football either, apart from Engerland in
the World Cup. So I guess that makes footy a minority sport too. All
sports are minority sports. It's just that some are more minor than
others.

I would say that watching soap operas and quiz shows is far more
popular than watching football.

And it would indeed be far more accurate to say "Great Britain [is] now truly
a soap-opera-watching nation" than it ever will be to say "Great Britain now
truly a cycling nation".

Especially at over 60 quid a month for Sky which is what I pay

Have you got multi-room in the sauna?

On 09/10/2011 14:24, Simon Weaseltemper wrote:
On 09/10/2011 14:08, JNugent wrote:

Whoever made the claim "Great Britain now truly a cycling nation" (and
who later re-defined that as referring to from some recent fleeting
success in a bike race) was positing an argument. If it wasn't you, fair
enough.

Wasn't me officer...

I do not follow football as it does not appeal to me.

Nor to me, very much.

That doesn't stop me from seeing it objectively as the UK's only true
national sport. One can credibly say that Great Britain [is] truly a
footballing nation in a way that has never been true for cycling, not
even if you include everyday utility cycling.

I disagree that Great Britain is truly a footballing nation, compared to
other countries that is.

That is something else which is beside the point. Even if, in some sense, the
UK could not be said to be a footballing (or more strictly, football-watching
or even football-obsessed) nation, it would merely mean that "Great Britain
now truly a cycling nation" is even more nonsensical.

There are other nations who appear to be far more
fanatical about the game than we are.

Absolutely.

The Netherlands is "truly a cycling nation".

I was thinking of Brazil rather than NL.

We just pay a little bit of attention to it when we are winning
something.

*some* of us do that. Most fans are right there, all the time.

I don’t see much of it
on tv, presumably if it exists to much extent it is on “Sky Sports” or
subscription TV channels aimed at the people who want to watch it.

Quite so. And they pay a lot of money (on aggregate) to do so. It is a
big business. Football is so important to so many people that a huge
media business can be based on that fact (let alone the massive business
that is live football itself).

I am truly astounded by the amounts professional footballers are paid. The
money comes from somewhere. Someone is paying it. It's not me (at least I
hope not).

Are you equally astounded by what professional racing cyclists earn?

In my life, I see considerably more cycling than I do football, but
that is
largely my choice. I like it that way.

Perhaps you do. AAMOF, it's probably true for me too. But the fact that
you and I do so is completely and utterly beside the point and carries
no implications whatsoever for the argument.

I have no argument.

I suspect though that considerably more people participate in cycling (to
some extent) than they do football. The oft quoted 2% of journeys are
made by bike. That's 2% of everybody's journeys. I doubt whether 2% of
people play football...

The goalpost had already been moved in such a way that the thread title
has been re-defined as referring only to "sport" cycling. If everyday
cycling were included, you'd also have to include every street footie
game, and certainly every organised match on every local rec, whether in
leagues, school competitions, or whatever.

Indeed, but I do not see or participate in that either. To me it is
irrelevant...

The claim was later made that UK sport cycling is more "successful" than
UK football because of some recent UK win in a bike race. Big deal.

Whoop-de-bloody-do.

Exactly.

If I look around the people I know, I would suggest that the majority
are not
really interested in football either, apart from Engerland in the
World Cup.
So I guess that makes footy a minority sport too. All sports are minority
sports. It's just that some are more minor than others.

And cycling is way more "minor" than football (as, indeed, is every
other sport, with the legendary - and doubtful - execption of angling).

I don't fish either ...

Well, at least we both know and accept that what we personally do (or prefer)
doesn't affect the outcome.

"Simon Weaseltemper" wrote in message
...
On 09/10/2011 14:08, JNugent wrote:

Whoever made the claim "Great Britain now truly a cycling nation" (and
who later re-defined that as referring to from some recent fleeting
success in a bike race) was positing an argument. If it wasn't you, fair
enough.

Wasn't me officer...

I do not follow football as it does not appeal to me.

Nor to me, very much.

Keep em coming, Simon.
Nugent *loves* this sort of post as he likes wasting his weekends arguing
the toss for toss's sake.

--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/

On 08/10/2011 07:54, Telegram Spam wrote:


UK Sport certainly seems to think so.

Shame the general public don't.

--
Dave - Cyclists VOR. "Many people barely recognise the bicycle as a
legitimate mode of transport; it is either a toy for children or a
vehicle fit only for the poor and/or strange," Dave Horton - Lancaster
University