How Football Clubs Became Cults

[@Mooro09]

As an Oldham fan, point #2 is very much not how I act. If someone starts supporting us, my first question is usually "Why would you do that to yourself?" 😂

[@mancityarabia]

😂😂

[@carltonleboss]

​@@mancityarabiaAn absolutely perfect profile name there

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

Why do you support oldham, just support man city and you have good times all year round

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

@@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716 Unlike city owners. he might like ham.

[@CmLeo145]

​@@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716some of us arent club whores

[@enemywithin1295]

The cult around individual players I think is bizarre. When you see comments on Instagram about Messi vs Ronaldo, or the shit Zlatan memes, from people in Bangladesh or Pakistan, I can’t help but think “what the fuck is going on”.

[@DolfoLicks]

"You have more fun as follower, but you make more money as a leader." Creed Bratton

[@niamhheron5587]

I feel this is also related to the weird gatekeeping about who gets to call themselves a “real fan”. I’ve grown up going to my hometown team’s matches but I could never get with the weird sense of entitlement I perceived from the grown up people around me when I was a 10 year old girl going to the stadium. The fact that people are protecting this virtuous idea of a “real fan” is a part of what the video talks about…mind you, “fan” is an abbreviation of “fanatic”, that should be your first clue right there. At the end of the day you’re consuming a product, you’re the audience. Creating mythical categories of “realness” around this fanaticism is really weird to me when at the end of the day you’re all just consuming these matches as a viewer, and the fact that you watch all of them in person on site (which is also a privilege by the way, both geographically and financially, one which most people fall into through no personal achievement of their own except for their place of birth and socioeconomic station- so your “real fan” status of having been “born into it” is completely unearned) doesn’t place you at an elevated station in a moral hierarchy. You have no more legitimate emotional investment than someone watching from overseas, because you’re just as much of a consumer, a viewer, you’re not participating on the pitch any more than anyone else, even if you’re watching in person. It’s embarrassing to me how people will elevate themselves and boast about having “inherited” fandom, joking about how their club winning is more important than their kids, and feeling entitled to their team winning, and even worse, feeling entitled to heavily criticize the players and often dehumanize them in the process, talking about trading them like commodities and in the same breath wax poetic about some purported “community” aspect to it. But then also expect these professionals to pledge allegiance to remaining in one place their whole lives just to satisfy that faux community requirement (meanwhile those players are actually complete strangers to you and owe you nothing because they’re just doing their job and are just as entitled to change clubs, develop and have different experiences in life beyond your club) I wonder what exactly you lose or how it affects your life materially when a random person in Vladivostok who’s never been to a football stadium calls themselves a “fan” of your football club. It almost seems like you feel something is being “taken” from you, which then begs the question what made you feel entitled to claim it for yourself and not certain other people in the first place. Also, if your entire identity depends on you making a product your personality that’s just basic neoliberalism, including the parasocial relationships that people have with players they will never have an irl relationship with. It’s something we make fun of in teen girls when they do it with boy bands, but grown men (for contrast because it’s still a very male-dominated sphere) doing it with athletes is somehow fully respectable

[@GuntherSDoumson2178]

Football also cultivates immaturity in men. Seeing grown men in XXL jersey´s of their team is so embarassing.

[@693iq8]

@@GuntherSDoumson2178live and let live

[@marsco1758]

No true Scotsmen fallacy

[@timyxgc3714]

Phenomenal comment-well written and spot on imo. I’ve been a massive sports nerd for my entire life, especially w football. I love the passion, the atmosphere, and the pure entertainment value of it. But at the end of the day, it’s exactly that, entertainment. The tribalism aspect is supposed to be fun, nothing more. I’ll happily yell at and shit talk opposing fans, but again, it’s all supposed to be fun. The minute people start taking it seriously enough that they start gatekeeping it, the fun is gone. At that point, it’s not respectable. It’s worse than teen girls and boy bands; those girls are literal children. I’ll happily make fun of anyone and everyone that does something like break a TV or get genuinely angry at a “fake” fan or rival supporter. Just have a pint, enjoy the couple hours, and get back to your life.

[@socialismandrevolution8299]

​@@GuntherSDoumson2178 I don't think wearing a football jersey as an adult is immature. People wear band shirts and brand clothing too, that's not really that different.

[@philz.1521]

I live in Germany and still remember how our Religion teacher watched a documentary with us on "is football a religion", it must have been 12 years ago or something. I cant remember the exact name, but it followed some die hard borussia Dortmund fans who even had an altar where they would pray before matches. Ofc it had more of a german perspective on it and the culture around football here is a little bit diffrent, but they also came to the conclusion that football matches all the criterias we usually have for something to qualify as a religion or cult.

[@gabbromancer]

I remember sociologists making this point in the 80s as an explanation for hooliganism

[@wrigh2uk]

Never stop talking about the difficult topics Alfie.

[@lawrenceeverglade7493]

This is one I've been waiting for from you Alfie. The more bullshit I read from football fans the more I realise how important your work is to making sure the young people who could potentially fall into this cult thinking get a balanced view. Sometimes you forget when you're from a generation where the having access to the internet was for grown ups, but loads of "football twitter" is literally like 12 year olds. It's mental what garbage they're being fed

[@MoveOnUpMusicEvan]

Honestly football Twitter is such a cesspit, sucks the life out of football so much aside from a couple of funny memes every now & then

[@dvdv8197]

The Newcastle reactions just proves that sports washing is alive and well, and, what's worse, it's EFFECTIVE! 😢😤

[@maciejbala477]

the Amnesty International accusation of being Sunderland fans thing really made me laugh, but also worry. Spot on

[@shawklan27]

Prrrreeeeaaaaaccccchhhh brother

[@lukashradecky5492]

Mate, of course it does. Look at Chelsea. Roman Abramovic, the man who recommended Putin to Yeltsin, the man who owns a large shady oil company similarly to Aramco, the man who’ll happily be Putins lapdog so as long as he benefits and a supporter of illegal Israeli settlements. But just because he had “passion” (genuine or not) and made Chelsea more competent everyone likes him? The Newcastle thing is only a shock for those living in a cave and people who casually parrot “Saudi ruining football!!” clearly do not see people having been saying the same for the sport for many decades

[@literalhorseshit]

Any hobby that involves community and consumerism can be described as a cult, not just football. I'd suggest that this phenomena says more about the nature of society than it does the nature football

[@Sledgehammer003]

This is not wholly true. Theres a reason football was painted as an enemy to religion. by religion, for centuries. Its almost the exact same playbook as religion. You go to a place of worship, and you worship idols to bring you happiness, chanting their names and for your club / persuasion. In contrast to religion, you can actually see these idols in the flesh, watch them breath and play the sport you love... Theres a reason Maradonna has a church where he is the figure of worship in Argentina. Football, just like religion, is a very powerful driving force when controlling a society! Not many other hobbies involving communities and consumerism are as powerful as those 2!

[@VelvetMetrolink]

Yeah, but this is a football channel mate.

[@lorenzomartinez8543]

This is a common defense of cultlike behavior. The difference with other behaviors is the emphasis on faith/devotion to the product/team at the expense of reason (redundant, I know). Some people will treat products in a cultlike manner. But with sports teams, the faith and devotion is the point.

[@socialismandrevolution8299]

​@@lorenzomartinez8543 If you're actually calling football clubs cults as more than a metaphor, I think you've lost the plot. For one thing, cults do not allow criticism of their leadership. I don't know if you've ever heard football fans talk, but one of their favorite activities is complaining about how they think the coach and club leadership are doing everything wrong and what they ought to be doing. Not exactly worshipping them there. Also, look at ultra groups: Probably more devoted to their club than anyone, yet also the first to attack their club when they do something the ultras disagree with. Ultras will hold up banners against club leadership, chant against the coach, the bosses or occasionally specific players, and they will sometimes even walk out of the stadium in protest. Doesn't seem like the behavior of people brainwashed into being mindless followers.

[@lorenzomartinez8543]

You make an irrelevant distinction and the comparison misses the point. Football executives are seen as mere investors and are not really part of the cult. Mosy managers are seen as outsiders unless theyve achieved a certain status. The better comparison is the cult figures - i.e. the players. Greenwood. Ronaldo. Partey. Cult, cult, cult. But moreso, the loyalty to the club outside its executives is the point. The badge is like Lord the Savior. Even the Church criticizes its Popes. Liverpool forever and what not. Club loyalty over reason. Questioning the leadership is an irrelevant distinction.

[@milesjcarter]

As someone who is also a fan of ice hockey after living in Canada, the fan culture with that is equally cult like but in a strangely different way. On the one side things like hooligans and fights between fans are rare, the culture is to respect the fans of the other team (like the seating is mixed between home and away fans), but on the other side multiple times fans have rioted after their team lost on a scale that I don't know has ever been seen in Europe

[@HungNguyen-qr7bt]

I’m curious about those circumstances, I’ve seen similar reactions from fan groups that are not quite as fanatically devoted and identified with their teams as European soccer fans, and seems to me the sore stemmed from the feeling of being ripped off of times and money that could have been spent elsewhere

[@shawklan27]

Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver haha crazy people for thrashing their town over a cup loss 😂

[@shawklan27]

​@@itsmorbintime69relatable.

[@lyfeenergy9027]

I mean I’m an oilers fan and we certainly have an ugly side of our fan base, but Leafs fans are the worst lol

[@deeznoots6241]

To be fair they sometimes riot when they win as well

[@a.e.w.384]

A great commentary. Having been a casual fan of football for the past twenty years it has always left a bad taste in my mouth the cult obsession all famous organized teams get across many sports. It plagues them all, US football, basketball, baseball and on and on. The other aspect that is just as insane now is the amount of money and adulation these talented individuals get by their obsessed fans. At what point do the global societies of the world start questioning the priorities of idolizing sport players like gods? It's bad enough that hollywood celebs have had this treatment for close to 100 years but now the sports figures at the top are just as bad. This is bad, like on a scale of biblically bad pertaining to the worshiping of false idols.

[@SpongeKiller42]

Cult culture in football is crazy, you're fighting another club's fan physically and digitally over balls. Crazy.

[@greencatsick]

In scotland we're pretty open about clubs being religions haha

[@chrischandler4151]

Cult isn't the right word. You are free to criticise the club, you are free to stop supporting them and you aren't pressured to isolate yourself from friends and family who don't support the club. Most clubs at some point have been vocal about their disdain for owners or have booed their team off the pitch. There is definitely a lot of deluded bias out there among fans, but football clubs aren't close to being cults.

[@michaelparkinsonsfreeparkerpen]

Many in the United fanbase are Failure for a decade but want the club to keep players who have been a big part of that failure because they have this weird attachment to people they don't even know. United used to be ruthless but not now They say back the manager and players no matter what even though they disrespect the club If you dislike the players these fans accuse you of disrespecting the club They only change their minds on the manager when he is about to be sacked These fans cheer that the club saves money like its theirs and cheers for top 4 which is not a benefit Anyone who sees it for what it is is called negative and told to support City or Liverpool or accused of supporting them anyway for example. "Moyes isn't good enough" Go and support City "Solskjaer isn't good enough" Go and support City and so on

[@ryanflood635]

i wouldnt take anything this guy says too serious mate. he has spent too long at university. his arrogance keeps leaking into these videos. although he thinks he is being clever he just cant help but look at it a certain way. ie. via a university brainwashed mindset. ironic really.

[@justhannah3960]

To be fair, I don't think Aflie is being entirely serious here.

[@billmartin4093]

You clearly haven't watched the video.

[@Lythgoemania]

Did you watch the video or did you immediately rush to the comments section upon seeing the title?

[@joshuamuhuthia7437]

Btw Alfie, you should make a video about the Spanish FA. It looks like they are hiding some skeletons the way they are defending Luis Rubiales.

[@iandawe948]

👍👍👍

[@samc2267]

This video perfectly describes the 10 reasons why I am a part of the "Watch Anything Alfie Produces" cult.

[@JournoMode]

For a moment, I thought you were using a different and much stronger word

[@MikeDingDong10]

Careful 😂

[@siphemanana2551]

Ngl, he almost had me

[@Ovie0513]

Liking the (very slightly) more active editing style Alfie, keep up the great work

[@kadenyungkwok3653]

bro has moving images now

[@HITCSevens]

I'm just discovering the 'white heat of technology' that Harold Wilson talked about in 1963. Glad you liked it!

[@davidkerr7065]

@@HITCSevensneeeeeeerd!

[@BrianStorm742]

The Suárez support was so strange. Even if the word he used isn't considered a slur in Uruguay, he still mocked Evra's skin colour.

[@Lythgoemania]

He said "because you're black" when questioned on why he tackled him so hard, it's very clear cut lmao

[@dimitar297]

Evra is black though. What's wrong with stating a fact?!

[@BrianStorm742]

@@dimitar297 lol alright mate, guess my childhood bullies were actually just "stating a fact" when they kept shouting the word 'gay' at me for no reason other than to attack me.

[@dimitar297]

@@BrianStorm742 I agree, Evra probably has the intelligence of a schoolchild if he was disturbed by Suarez pointing out the obvious.

[@BrianStorm742]

@@dimitar297 you see no problem with using race as a motivation for kicking someone to the ground? You're acting like Suárez said "hey man, fun fact, you're black".

[@fgsaramago]

Benfica's stadium is commonly called "a catedral" ("the cathedral") as well, the jerseys are the "manto sagrado" ("sacred vest") and when a legendary figure at the club who has passed is referred to its commonly said hes in the "quarto anel" ("fourth ring"), Benfica's old stadium famously having three rings of stands

[@jeffjackson8443]

football clubs aren’t cults. rather, football is a religion.

[@EliasRoy]

Amnesty International are supporters of Sunderland. That genuinely made me crack up 🤣🤣🤣🤣.

[@b4mouse]

Since relinquishing my season ticket at Birmingham City after 33 years I have finally broken free. Well not quite, I’ve moved to another country and subscribed (now paying more a year than any season ticket ever cost) to everything that will give me access to any snippet of coverage (live or highlights) or information. Not so much cultish more a love affair that has now ended and turned into a more serious affliction of stalking.

[@kieranmorris8429]

Just get a dodgy stick lol

[@papalegba6796]

There's that old Chomsky quote: "When I was in high school I asked myself at one point: "Why do I care if my high school's team wins the football game? I don't know anybody on the team, they have nothing to do with me... why am I here and applaud? It does not make any sense." But the point is, it does make sense: It's a way of building up irrational attitudes of submission to authority and group cohesion behind leadership elements. In fact it's training in irrational jingoism. That's also a feature of competitive sports.”

[@niamhheron5587]

Wow. Never heard that one before, but it makes so much sense. thanks for sharing

[@papalegba6796]

Lots of social engineering in pro sports. Lots of corruption too, especially from gambling. Then there's the drugs... Not much to admire about it in the end imo 😔

[@manusiabumi7673]

You just explained the logic behind the "support your local team" jargon that's been baffling me all this time. I mean, i never get the logic of liking/supporting just because their homebase happened to be located near your place, at least until i read your comment

[@stardestroyer19]

My favourite Noam Chomsky qoute is : "Stopping Genocide is bad if NATO does it "

[@yourdadhasadogfilter2505]

Football fans and KPOP stans are very similar

[@RyuzakiTaiyou]

Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 540) I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored. If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.

[@EliasRoy]

Ilkay Gundogan is probably #1

[@Zikos1127]

As an Oxford fan, i have to say i strongly disgaree with the statement around 29:50. There is nothing more damaging than supporting Wycombe. /j

[@function0077]

I am enjoying this video immensely, as an American who was born into a culty religion (i.e. Mormonism) in the late 1970s.

[@PH-jv4ik]

Thank you for this footballs more and more becoming like this especially certain fanbases. Question one thing and your the enemy, blind loyalty and a you vs them mentality both within and without the fanbase.

[@dimitar297]

Sounds like mask people crying about distancing.

[@Nightingale1000]

You have got to cover the recent happenings with the Spanish FA. Seriously, the president of the Spanish FA fid something totally messed up.

[@gw7120]

This guy making stuff up, and then telling us about people on his Twitter, lmao mate we don't care about your feelings , we care about football the score.

[@leo-mf22]

Really clever video idea. You've definitely proved a point. I've seen so many fans of clubs that literally act like members of a cult.

[@C9extra]

100% I had one friend who supported a rival club and it was no problem for me but he acted like any derbies between us were life and death for him. Like to the point he wouldn't talk to me for days if his team lost.

[@fgsaramago]

was it some kind of unknown reality? Football supporters here in Portugal will openly call themselves "fanatics"....

[@aryamanmani4025]

No trying to be xenophobic or racist but the appalling number of ppl who defend rapists and sex offenders from Nigeria and India is insane to me. Like tf is goin on over there??

[@itsallrigged7295]

Saw it in a big way with Greenwood, it’s not racist to say 90% of the pro greenwood comments I saw were from Africans when they actually were

[@SuperRavensfan101]

I think sadly its very much cultural in those places. Women in these countries are still instilled but fighting to be freed from the housewife role and traditional/conservative men in those countries think certain ways of treating women is still ok somehow. It's quite disturbing but its clear that they're not in favor of Women speaking their mind. Also some are undoubtedly trolls or bots on some level too. But the ones that aren't are absolutely vile with the justifications they espouse.

[@blaquenguni9249]

​@@SuperRavensfan101what a load of crap you just wrote here. Western arrogance never ceases to amaze.

[@SuperRavensfan101]

@@blaquenguni9249 please kindly explain to me my arrogance? What justification do these men from these countries have to explain how treating women like this is somehow ok? Im not saying all men from India or Nigeria are like this, and painting many with broad brushes is an argument in bad faith but if Twitter is any indication then these men exist in larger numbers than most realize.

[@lukashradecky5492]

@@SuperRavensfan101 You’ve clearly never been to a conservative area. There are people from Nigeria and India who are more traditional minded but dont go around defending rapists like those lot on twitter. And women in “3rd world nations” in general hate being a housewife? Bloody hell, white man syndrome truly never died down

[@asentseto]

Jesus Christ is Lord of lords, King of kings! He is the only way to heaven!✝️🙏

[@funkrates4778]

Thank you for all the work that you do to make these video commentaries. You have a wonderful talent in being both informative and entertaining.

[@jchristo4180]

Speaking of cults, have you seen any footage from recent Taylor Swift concerts?

[@KM-dd1cr]

I know you're football channel but I would love history videos with you narrating over them

[@gm2407]

Wait till you realise that all forms of social regulation that involves groups are cult like. Peer Pressure, group think, heirarchical supression of decenting opinions, social exclusion from the group. It is all part of every society that has ever existed. Going a step further we have self regulation. You get the basis of your views from the culture you grew up in. So without reviewing your beliefs you are operating on repetition of the group thinking you were raised in. So self regulation turns you into a drone for the concepts you have accepted as being the way to do things. Even if you have questioned them there will always be things that pass by your attention of consideration. So I ask you, how much critical thinking does anyone do in a day? Habit vs consideration.

[@lukashradecky5492]

Critical thinking is powerful but fallible because all human beings have different whims and desires that make our thought processes malleable

[@nicholasmeadowcroft7]

Cults dont open themselves to the public. Cult likr tendencies is a good shout. No one should be so divided by a ball sport

[@mcihs2]

Yep, we should stick to being divided by religion, that’s much healthier….

[@maxdecimus13]

I think it's just human nature. We see it with all sorts, family, politics etc. The internet has just made it more visible and vitriolic. It's easy to look down and laugh at football fans and right-wingers but this exact thing used to happen with the left and the Soviet Union. It took until 1967 before a large number were willing to accept something was wrong. I would argue we see it now. One of Alfie's flaws is that he can get a bit self-righteous at times, and I bet he thinks trans women should be able to compete with biological women. That is an opinion based on tribalism just as much as any of the footballing examples.

[@RomaInvicta202]

I'm not Liverpool fan, but I speak Spanish, I also visited South America few times and because of that I believe Suarez: South American societies are very diverse (Argentina the least) and people DO call black friends "negro/negrito" and that is not consider offensive at all. This cultural aspect should have been considered, and obviously Suarez should have been let know that it's appropriate to use such a language here; plus Suarez's English is poor now and was really crap back then, so he defo thought in Spanish That's the reason (one of many) people should learn another language, so they could understand other cultures - sadly very rare quality in England

[@gerjerry99]

Honestly, now that I'm grown up this video actually gives me a new perspective on what it was like for me to be so attached as a Manchester United fan (when I was a younger kid) and be so fixated about what their weekly results were or whether they would win the title or anything like that. Passion is good but unthinking idolisation is never worth and indeed can even be a dangerous path

[@fruit2540]

I agree, Harry Truman

[@jimmycburfield5997]

Content awards?????? I just think this deserves a mention! There is a football content awards! I voted for this channel where I could! Well worth voting for quality. This channel is incredible. Well done.

[@ethandalton6480]

Khasoggi wasn't murdered, he tripped and repeatedly fell on his own bonesaws

[@berlamarti1449]

It's the world's most accessible religion.

[@maxdecimus13]

Football fans do act like cult members, but I don’t think there is a world where you have the passion and the atmospheres, without the one-eyed bias. They go hand in hand.

[@joso7228]

Sure the football tribe supporting their team. But the point is its gone too blinkered and biased due to Club Cultism.

[@SeanDJames]

😂 I'm not even 2 minutes into the video and I'm laughing because when I play FIFA and I'm a manager mode I create my team and my stadium is literally called The Kingdom. Gold seats, black interior, unique grass design, and gold chalk lines. Plus the goalie net is two-toned to match the stadium aesthetic.

[@joso7228]

Well the Vids not against the rich. Just against abuse.

[@JEtronful]

Babe wake up, new HITC Sevens video :D

[@hieuhaang8802]

I do think that this issue is much worse in the international game though, as football in many countries is also a channel of extremely toxic nationalism. In my country (Vietnam) for example, many fans only talked about how our players get fouled or when we are on the recieveing end of some bad refereeing decision, and find all sorts of excuses whenever we get away with those things. Oh, and for some of you who might not be familiar with Vietnamese football, the referee thing is that when a ref makes a bad decision that goes against us, a bunch of Vietnamese "keyboard warriors" would attack his facebook account. This has been a serious issue for quite some time now, but the criticism over the years has never been adequate IMO.

[@DricusDuPlessis185]

Im in Vietnam now but im English and talked to a Vietnamese boy about football today. How is the leauge system here? Im in Hue right now, does it have a team and what is the standard?

[@hieuhaang8802]

@@DricusDuPlessis185 There is a club in Hue, it's called Câu lạc bộ bóng đá Huế, a mid-table team in the second tier of Vietnamese football. Tbh I don't really follow V-League but I think the standard of the league here is improving quite well. VAR has just been introduced last month, which should alleviate some of the refereeing controversies in the league. We still have a lot to do though, and when you compare it to the Thai League, there is a remarkable difference and I think that closing this gap will take quite a lot of effort.

[@Dagpar]

I renew my petition for you to include international subtitles for your videos. I volunteer for Spanish, but just having them would be great for me and my football loving non-English speaking family.

[@Rassalcon]

This video won't be controversial at all...

[@CapB777]

I watch all of HITC's videos. Love them and still enjoyed this one too. However, seems like the tone in them is getting more and more patronizing though, which is unfortunate.

[@charliecooper1646]

The fact a video with a clip was of “we’re just normal men” was posted on a Monday just goes to show Alfie’s genius

[@gaffer2602]

I don't get it. Because it's after the normal match day weekend?

[@pendafen7405]

This cultist behaviour is more apparent at very big topflight clubs with international or rich fanbases. Go to a non-league knockabout, and you won't see the homogenity of a cult, though you will see a kind of fervour that could be called religious by some yardsticks.

[@lwandomadikizela2213]

I wouldn't say football is a cult unless they're some zealots performing mental gymnastics or being an apologist to certain topics or clubs. Even I'm guilty of that sometimes when I was naive but I'll give credit when due and criticize when due.

[@Aztwecas]

It's been a bad summer to be a football fan eh? Rubialles, Greenwood, Saudi Arabia, and the end of the women's world cup.

[@rangerista3933]

3:08 to 3:15, he's just described Celtic fans to a tee! 😂😂😂

[@BOABModels]

It would be an interesting Venn diagram to see which fans were unhappy with Mike Ashley but are now excusing the Saudi ownership of Newcastle.

[@DaniSchenkerMe]

Thanks again for being unapologetically progressive at the chance of losing subs. Cheers!

[@comradejosephstalin6886]

This was an amazing video essay. I haven't seen a video with such original thought in a long while. The Mason Greenwood saga soured me, and the recent Rubiales scandal has all but confirmed that I hate how protective the boys at the top are of each other. I can't believe no one made the cult connection before, but the way you presented it is amazing. It's hard for a billion or so people to stop watching football, so I'm not sure what happens from here on out, but the combination of blind faith, unlimited money and diverse geopolitical interests aren't exactly a health combination. That's for sure.

[@dimitar297]

The boys at the top aren't as homogeneous as the women who all band together to claim victim status regardless of the details.

[@Khigha87]

I think the stability of marriage is something that shows up in corporate too. It may be in selective, even elitist industries and positions but not being married can be a factor in how high you can climb the ladder. Which, in all honesty, I get. Dude with a family to feed will likely be more committed to structures that help him feed them. I, have no dependents and can literally leave the country tomorrow to pursue my lifelong dream of joining the circus. So making me a key decision-maker may be a risk I wouldn't take for my firm.

[@robinelliott-ni2eh]

I dont know, typically cult members cannot criticise the cult which is all most football fans do.

[@christianrinaldi309]

Spat out my water during the Chelsea chant

[@MartinBraonain]

He didn't mock the Americans. It's an urban myth. It weakens your argument to use poor evidence.

[@stavroshadjiyiannis6283]

Something for HITC here. Why do you care about Saudi Arabia & Russia so much? Are those two countries any guiltier than the collective West when it comes to human rights abuses?

[@LegendNinja41]

he seems like a ''Westoid'' some countries are evil for him because that's what Government and Government controlled/influenced Media says while others are wonderful, amazing etc.

[@post-surreal]

he has criticised western countries numerous times, its just that we all have to admit Saudi Arabia and Russia are a bit worse, maybe not in far history but right now.

[@mcihs2]

The U.K. Government currently supports the Saudi Government in its war in The Yemen. The U.K. Government, especially it’s Prime Minister supports and does business with Russia…..ironically this video demonstrates the power of being in a “cult”…….it’s those “other people” who are “bad”….a stunning lack of self awareness…..

[@SKa-tt9nm]

Alfie shouting out the late great Christopher Hitchens! Great job, lad!

[@constablekennedy7705]

Here before Chelsea blow another €600 million. 👀. ⚽️

[@rangersking6699]

About that at 1:30 Alfie, Milan and Inter’s shared stadium project got derailed awhile ago. They are now looking to each build their own stadiums, milan in the San Francesco area of the suburb of San Donato near linate airport, and Inter in an area known as Rozzano.

[@adampark4238]

He said that about 3 videos ago

[@rangersking6699]

@@adampark4238which one lol

[@jordanbooth4470]

The amount of utterly insane United fans defending Greenwood fully supports the existence of this video. Good work

[@ILikedGooglePlus]

When the Suarez thing happened, I was a child in a mainly white small town. I trusted the club I supported. I am sorry, I was wrong.

[@ethandalton6480]

I'm sure this comment section won't prove Alfie's point and bring all the wrong 'uns out of the woodwork.

[@mcihs2]

As opposed to the “anointed” and “righteous”…..

[@MatthiaGryffine]

(looks at thumbnail) Yeah, and there is no greater football cult than one inspired by Satan. It makes me sick.

[@asentseto]

Yes, very sad😔

[@Braziliansyrah]

Nah, it's more like the Individualistic capitalism is the problem. On the Suarez situation you mentioned that the executives get all the flack because they don't play football, but Rubiales got the exact same defense here in Brazil that Greenwood got, some even accused the authorities of being overprotective of women, meanwhile racism against Vini Jr took too much time to get taken care of (like the two problems shouldn't be equally solved). Speaking of Brazil, you should really give some time studying our ultra violent supporters. It's kinda like the Milwall hooligans situation but nationwide and doesn't get any reprimands from the authority. I would even say that it better embodies Cult-like mentality than English supporters.

[@FlamingBasketballClub]

Greenwood never got any defense though 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@thomasfriesejr.9198]

I'm an USian who decided to start following EPL this winter after the World Cup, I was almost completely decided on Newcastle as my team. Then I looked up who owned them. Went with Liverpool in the end. Not that Fenway Group is a paragon of business ethics or anything, but I'm pretty sure they never julienned a journalist.

[@oldirtyblackson]

HAHAHAHAHA VICTIM COMPLEX CONFIRMED

[@fgsaramago]

why would you support a fake club not owned by fans? anglos really are strange 😅

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

"USian" 🤦‍♂️

[@thomasfriesejr.9198]

@@fgsaramago at first, when I saw "public investment fund" listed as the owners of Newcastle, I got my hopes up, thinking maybe the City of Newcastle owned the team or something. Alas... I do wish we had fan ownership for teams here. One of our American football teams is owned by the city they play in, and fans can buy fake "shares" in the team (they just get a piece of paper saying they are a shareholder, no share in any profits). But that team is my favorite team's biggest rival, so I despise them.

[@joso7228]

Fair enough. Fenway Group don't behead their opponents.

[@powerviolentnightmare5026]

I'm a fan but so much fanatic behaviour is just insane. I support my club. No matter what. But I try to not be too crazy about it.

[@CC-di6mx]

Kinda hypocritical that this speaker is going so hard to protect women rights yet has no regard for peoples religious affiliation. I don’t believe islam is a true religion by any means but this speaker always finds a way to bring Jesus Christ into the video in a way which isn’t regarding him as a glorified God but more so in nefarious means. Then goes on to quote Christopher hitchens who is known to be an anti religious figure targeting Christians & muslims in his career. Alfie if you are secular/agnostic/atheistic person come out and make it known. Loved this channel immensely when it didnt have any political or religious talking points and it was just about football. God bless you 💕💕

[@post-surreal]

religious people have historically been at a better position than non religious people, which is opposite to the situation women are in. I don’t any countries or communities on Earth that support violence and bigotry against religious people. I myself always loved that Alfie put his own political views and critiques in his videos as it makes it all a bit more honest ig.

[@Exile_21]

The thing about Greenwood's case I clearly don't understand is Greenwood is now together and also has a child with the victim of the case. If they are together and have moved on from past incidents why are people still bothered by what happened.

[@EliasRoy]

Because he did it nonetheless.

[@jamesboswell9324]

You think football is cult-like. Arguably yes. In some respects, definitely. But have you ever met anyone pushing Herbalife? A lot of this is just about commercialisation.

[@Boz196]

People strive for meaning. As society has abandoned religion, people move to derive their meaning from something else. It could be football or it could be something else like political ideologies or pop culture.

[@12thMandalorian]

This just felt like a huge insult to football fans in general, wow.

[@ross4164]

I’m only 10 minutes into the video but the commentary on this is 10/10 and no doubt will have the right people foaming at the mouth 👌

[@fedfed6485]

Reading Liverpool fans' reactions to last night's match I couldn't help but remember this video. UAE conspiracies in full force; the belief that everyone is against them; Jurgen Klopp being viewed not as a manager, but as a moral authority, basically a saint; one guy on Reddit tried to convince me that LFC never benefitted from a good goal being disallowed; the belief that they're the only one who can stop the evil (Man City, of course). All of that, to me, looked beyond the normal human behaviour and the amount of likes and upvotes on those posts was staggering to me.

[@Reimalken]

Kinda dilutes the definition of 'cult' to the point of benign nonsense or hobbyism if you start classifying everything as a cult. Lots of things can certainly be defined as a cult if you 'want' to, but then that leaves fewer words to describe actual cults that ruin lives etc. Apologies to football fans who feel their lives have been ruined by their support of the club :D

[@leemcdonald1342]

I hate to be that sports gentleman, but the "cult" definition could be applied to any sports fan.

[@Steve-390]

Yah there is truth in this. Side note would like to see you rant more about other topics in life on your other channel

[@newforestpixie5297]

Q. Re Alfies’ point about capitalisation of soccer - Do they still do those pre-season Squad photos ? In the 1970s the very successful clubs needed a maximum of 2 tiers of benches with the back row standing but with players now sporting No 76 on their shirts , how do they accommodate the increasing numbers of guys from whom these sides can pick in a single photograph ?

[@gaffer2602]

Usually the players with the higher numbers are recently out of the academy, or decided to keep it after getting out of the academy (e.g. TAA). I don't think many clubs have 76 players, unless they regularly rotate in youth players

[@billmiller2368]

Thanks again Alfie. An instant classic! How is it that you are the only defender of reason coming from inside of the sport? Anyhow, keep it up!

[@basskidyitzak]

Wait.... You've got a mortgage??

[@areebsiddiqui758]

Ok, that's enough preachiness for today.

[@Joe-sv4wz]

you are such a refreshing and strong voice in football discourse its good to hear principled perspectives on the state of the sport

[@csongorszendrey2180]

Football is a hell of a drug

[@johnmichel4865]

Great vid as always. Also reminded me that I used to wonder whether Suárez got pissed off with being called "Louie" all the time.

[@astapig2331]

And old Trafford is the nick named the theatre of dreams so is it now gonna hold the next live play of Hamilton

[@gcgcgcg]

0:55 i think ive seen 50 different badges photoshopped on to that child... Hes also probably 20 now

[@Neil3D]

The scum bag toxic attitude of people just because of what team they support is absolutely beyond pathetic, the way they carry on is horrific

[@jackhewitt600]

To defend Newcastle fans they protested Ashley for years and finally got new owners who care about the club they are expected to protest them after being ignored for years. Also football lost its morals years ago when Russian and Middle eastern owners with dodgy money were able to buy clubs and we had a world cup in Russia and Qatar which are probaly some of the most corrupt nations in the 21st century.

[@daryld4457]

Well said, Alf. Even though you're clearly a secret Sunderland fan and Hull is just your cover 😉

[@Refulgent_Rascal]

St Pauli and Celtic would easily tick all of these boxes.

[@soundscape26]

That's oddly specific.

[@Refulgent_Rascal]

@@soundscape26 left-wing clubs, so pretty typical.

[@soundscape26]

@@Refulgent_Rascal St Pauli definitely yes but I've heard many Celtic fans disputing that notion... or at least they are as left wing as Rangers are right wing.

[@Refulgent_Rascal]

@@soundscape26 I lived in Glasgow for about 5 years and Celtic are definitely more left-wing, not totally though. Rangers are definitely more right-wing, but also, not 100%.

[@shiba3071]

​@sile_et_nostis I will agree that Celtic are mostly Left Wing but you need to also remember the Sectarianism of the Old Firm, Rangers are Protestant whilst Celtic are Catholic. There are Left Wing Protestants and Right Wing Catholics who support Rangers and Celtic too

[@Jeff_2x]

I still find it VERY WEIRD how you can’t appreciate a player just because they play for a different club 😂😂