"Lionel" wrote in message

Schizoid Man - mercredi 16 Juin 2004 23:43 wrote:

I have two words for you, Lionel:
Brilliant Becks.

I have two word for you Schizo-boy :

*Hand-ball*.

Football is showbiz only. Zizou, Henry, Beckam and the others... are
starlettes for stupid and dangerous fans who watch them dancing in
stadiums.

Football is 'the beautiful game'. Why do you let the antics of a bunch of
drunken yobs, racist neo-Nazis or semi-literate skinheads ruin the
experience for you? I assure you, these 'fans' constitute the minority, and
I am not even white! What about millions, nay, billions of fans who
espouse fair play, equanimity and sportsmanship?

Except in very rare cases, football is the vehicle of chauvinism and
xenophobia only.

I complete disagree. Football unites, it doesn't divide. Every major club in
every major league in Europe - Primera Liga, Bundesliga, Premiership, Serie
A - is packed with players from every country in Europe, South America,
Africa and Asia. There are no cultural barriers, there are no racial
barriers. They all speak the language of futbol mondial.

Our today exchange *could* have been the perfect illustration of these
characteristics.

I find violence and vulgarity reprehensible. I'm not sure which comment of
mine offended you, but it was just light-hearted fun. Though I still think
Zidane is a slapper for scoring twice in injury time. There is no denying,
however, that he is a player of astonishing ability and we are very lucky to
see someone of his calibre in our lifetime.

I am a very happy father, I have 2 sons none of them play football. Good
no ? ;-)

I am happy for you.