I’ve recently come to the conclusion that I have overlooked the significance of football. Despite many millions of people being great fans of football, I feel that they too overlook its significance in modern society.

Football is tribal, two teams play against each-other to the same aim; in the same system, if you will. This is a metaphor for modern society. The pitch is society, the two teams are the ideologies permitted by society; capitalism vs communism, labour vs ‘conservative’.

Just as with capitalism vs communism, labour vs tory, it doesn’t matter which team you support, the outcome will be the same.

On the pitch, the commentators will commentate, the fans will watch, one team will win and another will loose; balls kicked, drinks drunk, over and over. In society, capitalist or communist, labour or tory, an elite state will rule over the masses – alike millionaire footballers worshiped by millions of fans; (though with less worship, and much more force).

In modern society, as in football, what matters fundamentally is not the team you support – but that you support a team. “You don’t watch football?!”, “What do you mean you don’t vote?!”.

For the millions who don’t watch football, as I do not, they may find this comparison silly; but that is because most simply do not think about it. “How is football like voting?” I can hear them cry. Well, those who don’t support football may be blissfully unaware that those who do employ such mantras as: “you can’t talk about football if you don’t support a team”, which is just the same as saying: “you can’t complain if you don’t vote”.

And yet, for those of us who don’t watch football, it’s quite clear it doesn’t matter which team you support – the game goes on. Dare to say this about our ‘democracy’, however, and you will be scorned at. (I must say, given the current governments actions, increasingly less scorn is handed out as more people awake to this mad tyranny).

But the point is not about the voting system, it is about society itself. Red-herrings have been planted everywhere, binary-nonsense deeply rooted, such as ‘captialism or communism’, ‘pro or anti’.

Just like football, billions of pounds is spent every year sustaining this system. Though much unlike football, that money is forcefully taken from our pockets by a powerful state which strives to maintain a monopoly on force. Unlike football, this is not a spectator sport, inconsequential to those who don’t watch, this is our livelihoods, our children’s livelihoods. It is not merely a matter of supporting a team or not, but being on the bitter end of being called a ‘denier’, ‘ist’ or ‘phobe’. It is being told such nonsense as “that’s ‘just’ how it is” – to which I reply, well if it’s ‘just’ how it is, being so inconsequential, you won’t mind if we change things, will you?

For those who do watch football, perhaps this analogy will enlighten you:
Imagine that you were forced to pay for a season ticket for the team you hate most; then escorted under threat of arrest to all their games.

When you arrive at the stadium you discover they are not playing football, rather, the ‘players’ are dancing around tearing up the pitch like loonies. You notice, instead of civilised stewards, the pitch is surrounded by armoured thugs carrying weapons – which you would be imprisoned for carrying.

When you go to protest at this idiocy, demanding your money back, you’re worryingly warned to be quiet: ‘for your own sake’, by the other subdued spectators. Enraged by their passiveness, you decide to make a stand – to storm the pitch and raise the alarm.

Upon doing so, at the boundary of the pitch, you are swiftly tasered and arrested for ‘breach of the peace’. “Just doing my job, mate”, says one of the armoured thugs.

Now understand – this is not football, this is modern Britain.