Gay cake row.

To be fair if I was a gay footballer I'd do what Thomas Hitslesperger did, don't tell anyone when playing and then come out and get loads of media work due to it.

Isn't there an openly gay player in the MLS?

I don't think there is an answer, it's still something one might say is fairly new, it's not the norm, gay people are still in a minority and in football all these things are magnified. It's a sport dominated by men, changing rooms are notoriously places where dominant males rule etc maybe footballers don't want to come out because naturally it might them look a bit softer or bring extra attention to them?

 

Well you may be right. But I reckon if you're a gay professional footballer you wouldn't be (happy). Because you don't have to just keep it a secret at your work but everywhere. Most everyone wants some sort of 'relationship', you and me included. And we don't have to hide anything at all. Probably the same for a gay amateur footballer. In or out who cares? Go to whatever pubs or clubs you like, hold hands, get married - who's looking? Not the same for the professional in the public eye. They can't do any of that at all because they'd immediately be 'outed' by a third party anyway and suffer 'torture from the terrace' as a consequence.

I wouldn't be happy to be forced to lead a double life like that. I bet you wouldn't either. I doubt anyone would really. And I certainly wouldn't enjoy having opprobrium raining down from the terraces, directed at me personally, over something I found entirely natural.

Squibba, you're in an ethnic and a religious minority but whether you should choose to hide that is never an issue for you. Obviously you can't. But you'll come across various degrees of sh.t because of that on occasion. So try and feel feel the empathy here.

We need to hear from 'the man' who seems to have done a runner. Temporarily I hope.

 

haha at 1st paragraph, you cynic you lol!!

Yes you're right but not in the English League (or any other as I'm aware) ,Robbie Rogers, and he himself has complained at the slow acceptance of gay men in the sport.

Fair point, I think this argument will go on and on, all i know is when I hear of a player openly coming out in the English League, I'll be cracking open a bottle of champagne...(there again going back to Justin Fashanu, I might just be keeping the champagne on ice for a little while)...

 

Very fair post mate. Crossed in the post with my #178.

 

Haha Cheers Kelso, thought I'd stay off thread a bit as been on a bit too much, but couldn't resist taking another look though, great post m8 and although still at odds with the changing room argument (definitely not in favour of) I agree with your comments on your last post ...can't really add a lot more to them tbh, think the general consensus is that let just get encourage openly gay players into the sport, like we have with ethnic minorities (although it would be great to see more Asians coming into the sport, also great seeing the beginnings of the Women's Hornets team) so eventually the whole thing becomes a non-issue and everyone can enjoy playing in, managing and watching the best bloody sport in the world....

 

Right. Seeing as our contributor from the road to Verulamium has returned the situation is this.

There are three blokes in a pub. An ethnic minority moslem, a gay guy and a cynical old c.nt who migrated to Scotland yonks ago. There commonality of interest surrounds the mighty WFC and their chosen hostelry is in said town. The first protagonist may or may not drink alcohol. If not, no doubt he will be able to point out the ridiculous antics of the other two as they succumb to the influence of said substance.

Other characters can be invited to the table. The one currently at mine is a bloke called Jimmy-the-Stick whose principal claim to fame is that he once played in goal for Rangers in about 1950. Relative disability arrangements in Scotland and England are currently under discussion.

I'd like to move on please.

 

It isn't a sport. It's a game. It isn't even the best game - chess is. Consider the fact that it's barely changed in 600 years, and then consider how unbelievably difficult it would be to invent such a game (go on - seriously, try it). And to those who think it's boring, I refer you to any Mansea Utd v Arsenapool z fests and to the fact that you haven't evolved properly.

Apologies if this is a little off topic.

 

Blimey. And there was me thinking I ski off piste a bit too much on occasion! Seriously though, I like it when a thread goes off on a tangent a bit. That's what real conversations usually do.

I'm a chess fan too although never really got into it enough to become any good at it. As for other games/sports that are unlikely. Cricket? You really couldn't make it up. But hey, somebody did!

 

I think cricket is like really expensive wine. It doesn't sit well with the untrained palate, but if you make an effort to learn about it it is very rewarding.

 

The quickest way you can tell if someone is worth knowing is to ask them if they like cricket. If they do, you can find out if they're likely to be life-long friend material by asking if they prefer 20/20 or test matches.

 

If someone asked me to make a cake with the words Luton fc on it I would ask them to leave. Nuff said

 

Pikeyphobe!

 

You're dead to me.

If your dad is available next weekend, some of the lads are going over to Amsterdam.

 

Can I come?

Ps. I think T20 is the cricket equivalent of beach football.

 

Wrong. It's the equivalent of kicking a ball against your dad's garage door because you've got no friends.

 

Eh? What homophobic comments?

 

You're really not doing yourself any favours here SAR. I've scrolled right back through this thread and can't see where molly's been homophobic at all.

I understand why you might be defensive given the minority you're in and that you've related that you've been the subject of completely unacceptable homophobic hatred and violence for real. But you are not amongst that group of abusers on here.

It's almost like you've filed away previous innocuous comments that you've chosen to misinterpret so that you can trip that poster up at a later date by choosing to misinterpret their latest post and refer back. It's like you want to show that some posters are homophobic to prove your contention that we're prejudiced against you. Well we're not. Time to settle down, be a bit less confrontational and over-sensitive and get used to the fact that we're all on your side otherwise you run the risk of losing that support.

When I first came on this forum I made the mistake of leaping in at the deep end and setting out to make a name for myself without just sitting back and be a relative observer for a bit, learn to find my way around the thing, learn who's who, what their real views are and what the collective and individual's sense of humour is. I didn't set out to do that consciously. It was just impatience really but it was certainly a mistake.

Since then I've had to work hard to repair the damage with some posters who I never really should have fallen out with in the first place. Mutual respect can be gained even if your views are rather different. I can still fall out now on occasion too. Sometimes that has some justification, sometimes it's because I'm being a complete prat and sometimes a bit of both but you picking another fight with molly here isn't justified.

WatfordTalk once accused me of being on a one man mission to fall out with every single poster on this forum. That wasn't entirely correct but it was probably closer to the mark than I cared to admit to at the time.

Please don't make the same mistake.

 

I prefer test matches but you've got to have the time to appreciate them. 20/20 is too bash bash. Nothing wrong with a decent 50 over one day match though. A fair competition between bat and ball (although the latest fielding rules have skewed it in favour of the bat too much) and you can have a nice day out and watch the whole thing.

 

I've never fallen out with Kelso. Not sure whether to be proud or ashamed.

 

Well we can remedy that any time you like! Probably best if I have a few pints first. Ha!

 

Ireland has taken a huge step forward to recognise that equality is vitally important for a society to function properly, but like other jurisdictions, the Country has a way to travel. The biggest issue surrounding the comprehensive yes vote in the recent marriage equality referendum is that it clearly demonstrates the population's clear break from the established churches. Again, there is huge further scope for decoupling of Civil Law and church Law (especially amongst older people). In relation to the cake row, it is a minor issue in the overall scheme of things. Changing people's minds on difference is a slow process and fining a bakery is not going to achieve a huge amount in reality, except perhaps entrench extreme views further.

 

Ok Kelso your Point is taken, I may have been a little harsh on Molly, I think I was more annoyed with what I thought nice posts I sent out to Molly and Molly's posts back. I genuinely thought at the time Molly's reaction to me were homophobic so I do apologise to Molly for that and will delete my post. Fair enough Molly for dislike but hope you can accept my apology and we can move on.

 

What are you apologising for? The over-reaction or not loving cricket? I need to know what I'm forgiving.

 

haha...both!... cheers Molly appreciate it x

 

I don't like watching cricket.

Playing it is ok, but I find it dull to watch.

 

I used to like watching it but I will never, ever subscribe to Sky.

 

There's obviously a huge misunderstanding. Cricket's the game with a hard red ball and a willow bat. Wickets. Fielders and tea. Polite applause for a bottle blonde floozie who's made the ball pitch at 90 degrees and destroyed your hopes and dreams. Cricket.

 

Obviously you wouldn't. Because you bring this thing to the table called 'listening to the other person' without going all 'testosterone'. Obviously some of the blokes on here can do that too without going off on one better than some who tend to like me.

But as I've said before, this forum, and public life in general, would benefit from more female participation. Some things that are true bear repeating.

As for cricket. Fantastic game. But complicated and you've got to make an effort to understand all its nuances before it becomes really enjoyable. It's the complete opposite of the simplicity of football.