Futbology - An introduction

There are people who like football. They watch games on TV, they occasionally go to a live game. They know all the famous players names, perhaps even have one of them printed on the back of a replica shirt. They can probably tell you some of the famous stars from the past. Pele, Bobby Moore, George Best... the ones that everybody knows. They have a casual interest, a passing concern.

Then there are the Futbologists. Those who see the bigger playing field. Those whose appreciation of the beautiful game goes above and beyond watching Match of the Day, further than just checking the final scores in the morning paper. Those who live, breathe, eat, sleep and dream football. Those who see that football is everywhere, those whose obsession and love for the game transcend the regular parameters.

Art, music, community, politics, fashion, history, geography, religion, literature, numerics, architecture, philosophy - football touches them all. The Futbologist recognised the beauty of buildings like Highbury and the old Wembley. The Futbologist knows the story of Eddy Hamel. The Futbologist can read a Rothmans like a paperback. The Futbologist appreciates Zadok the Priest.

If you browse the back pages of the tabloids and feel you want more you are a Futbologist. If you see the retro nod in a new season shirt design you are a Futbologist. If you get as much joy watching a game of park football as you do a World Cup match you are a Futbologist. If you appreciate the improved stadia but despise the greed that builds them you are a Futbologist. If you think it is no coincidence the earth is round like a football... well, then you are just plain crazy.

Futbology - it is a way of life. It's your way of life. It's my way of life. It's our future.