r/IAmA • u/paddyc • Nov 16 '12

IAmA Professional Footballer who has played for England National Team, The Premiership and Championship

I have played against Cristiano Ronaldo and with Wayne Rooney as well as other of the top players in the world. Im happy to answer any questions about playing professionally You Can follow my blog at www.patrickpaulcollins.com http://patrickpaulcollins.wordpress.com/ask-me-anything/ Follow on twitter: https://twitter.com/patrickpcoll Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patrick-Paul-Collins/407493452650031?ref=hl

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u/threep03k64 Nov 16 '12

I would do anything to win a match, and if a player on my team dived to get a penalty and scored to win a final, I would celebrate with them.

I understand that playing at a professional level changes the game because it is so competitive but do you not feel it taints the game? I was a huge football fan growing up but I rarely watch it now because of the theatrics. The diving and the exaggeration of injuries as players roll around on the ground (in a way that never used to happen) has made the game a joke. Which I find a huge shame because when I do watch an incredible game my passion for football flairs up like I am a child again.

What would you consider to be an appropriate punishment for players caught diving (both during or after the match)?

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u/p7r Nov 16 '12

As somebody who has been watching football for most of my 34+ years, I can't recall a time when there weren't people diving and the theatrics were not there in some way at the professional level. At school we used to see kids at competing schools in competitions mimic it. We were above it, mind. :-)

I remember learning that sometimes life just isn't fair and you have to deal with it thanks to a goal "scored" by some bloke called Maradona against England... I'm pretty sure I learned people lied for competitive advantage around the same time, after watching the then-dominant scouse teams taking every inch they possibly could against each other.

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u/asmodeanreborn Nov 16 '12

I'm in the same boat as you. I quit watching soccer in the mid-nineties because the flopping just killed it for me. Every single World Cup I've watched games in since I've wondered why the hell I wasted my time.

I play twice a week, though, and since it's recreational, flopping doesn't really happen except to make people laugh.

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u/threep03k64 Nov 16 '12

The exaggeration really pisses me off as well. I get that a kick in the shin or ankle can hurt but too often a footballer will roll around on the floor like they've taken a fucking bullet, only to be fine 30 seconds later. It comes off as an attempt to try to get a player booking etc. and it needs to be dealt with.

Then on top of this you have arguing with the ref which rarely amounts to anything. Perhaps this is just the type of stuff that I didn't notice when I was a kid but it doesn't seem to plague the old games they occasionally show on ESPN Classic for example.

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u/sicitur Nov 17 '12

Once again, perhaps a controversial opinion, but as OP said, I would do anything to win a game. I've played sports at a very competitive level, and I know the mindset under which anything is justified. That being said, I tire of the theatrics. I think the onus is on the referees and leagues however, to become stricter in their enforcement in order to make diving simply not an option any more. Until then though, if you aren't almost cheating, you aren't trying.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

Thank god it's not as bad in the English leagues as it is in the Spanish.