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"Northerners prefer football to ballet"


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Patronising and badly expressed. I understand, though, the fundamental point he's making that for many people football is what they really care about, and that should be given equal respect as e.g. ballet which we snooty southerners (allegedly) respect and care about... There are clearly, though, a few hybrids around (including me) who care very much about both football and ballet (though I suppose it's also true that my football comes from my northern heritage and ballet from my southern upbringing/residence.) Having said that, this Forum is so important to me at least partly because even here in the south, most people I know couldn't give a .... about ballet. 🙂

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I’m from Manchester, and I love both! The football came from my dad, the ballet from my mum. It’s a pity that the MP spoiled a valid point about saving smaller, historic football clubs such as Accrington Stanley by making a silly generalisation.

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Without giving it much thought I can think of at least 5 more Northern based fans of ballet who are active on this forum.

 

I found his remarks patronising and ill thought out even though he has a valid point about struggling non-premiere league football clubs.

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I'm from further south than most (Australia 🙃) and I'm not a football fan (any code) but I do love ballet. I used to enjoy a kick around when I was a teenager but I've never thought watching a bunch of blokes running around a muddy field kicking a ball as enjoyment. There is, of course, room for fans of both.

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I cannot believe that anyone could seriously say such a thing in this day and age!  Get down to grass roots level and how many children do football and how many do ballet?  There may be a weighting towards boys for the football and towards ballet for the girls, but across a whole community surely it would even out.  Even though football clubs have done a great deal to attract families, it is still very much a male environment, you almost expect him to tell the womenfolk to make sure tea is on the table when they get home, and that they shouldn't worry their pretty little heads about such things as politic and economics.

 

Please feel free to shoot me down in flames!

Edited by Pas de Quatre
insert missing "when"
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7 minutes ago, Pas de Quatre said:

I cannot believe that anyone could seriously say such a thing in this day and age!  Get down to grass roots level and how many children do football and how many do ballet?  There may be a weighting towards boys for the football and towards ballet for the girls, but across a whole community surely it would even out.  Even though football clubs have done a great deal to attract families, it is still very much a male environment, you almost expect him to tell the womenfolk to make sure tea is on the table they get home, and that they shouldn't worry their pretty little heads about such things as politic and economics.

 

Please feel free to shoot me down in flames!

You put it perfectly - I couldn’t have put it better myself :)

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Northern Ballet responds

 

 

also on BBC news Entertainment and Arts page but the link is really long

Edited by oncnp
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  • alison changed the title to "Northerners prefer football to ballet"

To be honest nothing would surprise me from our local MP, there was an article on the local news tonight about it, it's at about 10 minutes.

 

North West Tonight, Evening News: 12/11/2020: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000pc6r via @bbciplayer

 

Dd and friends are more impressed that they were on the BBC 😂😂 

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My love of ballet was formed while growing up in Manchester. Hadn’t stepped foot in a football stadium til I did a tour of my husband’s team’s stadium (Spurs-quite something but seems to lack the sports science facilities of the ROH) a few weeks ago. Meanwhile he still has never been to a ballet. Obviously he should move up North and I should stay here in London.

 

What will Berry come out with next? The North has no electricity or indoor toilets? 

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That's right.  I remember a bunch of Yorkshire men on the TV, sitting round comparing how awful things had been when they were young - living in cardboard boxes and suchlike.  And don't get me started on living even further North - in Scotland!!!!!!   Where's me loincloth?

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Eh oop lads, what’s tha thinking knocking’t values of working class heroes like Jake Berry and posting fancy southern jargon about “perpetuat(ing) tropes” - whatever that means - when them of us from’t north already knows as how proper culture goes all’t way from black pudding to brass bands and as tha can see there’s no room for any ballet nonsense in that. 

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After performances at the ROH and the Coliseum, I frequently find myself going home in a carriage packed with football supporters.
There is very little difference between us. We have all spent the evening focused on our passions, have often been on emotional journeys, and have shouted and clapped for our teams.

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Have to say I was spitting feathers when I heard about this, talk about sweeping generalisations! I'm a notherner born and bred yet cannot bear football, rugby or cricket! That MP is just a philistine! As for snobbery I have never met any at the ballet, but I have made some really lovely friends through ballet and this forum. 

Edited by Don Q Fan
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It's part of the unfortunate trend towards identitarian politics, putting people in outdated little boxes of geography, class, education, race, religion etc and trying to generalise their behaviour accordingly to try and align whole blocks of votes. We're all individuals (apart from that Life of Brian character who denied it), and our society is more open, mobile and heterogeneous than ever before.  I grew up on a council estate but went to private school, I love art, poetry and ballet but have a karate black belt, I listen to both classical music and punk, grew up in a frankly racist environment but have a mixed race and culture family, just watched a livestream of Bharatanatyam and Orissi dance from the Nehru centre but will flop out in front of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here later, etc etc.  What demographic box should I get in, Mr Berry?

 

p.s. I absolutely draw the line at football though - bores the pants off me!

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