In defence of football

It's easy to criticise modern football, and I like to get stuck in given the chance.

We have to put up with money obsession, prima-donna players, all-seaters, bad punditry and Rafael Benitez. It's tough.

But when it comes to the issue of Football v Anything Else, I'll defend the game to the hilt.

That probably doesn't come as a surprise to many of my readers, but there you go.

My blood has been approaching boiling point over something for the last week or so. It makes me want to shout at people in the street, stamp my feet and scream obscenities down the phone. What has raised my ire so?

Since the Olympics began, the BBC has, understandably, ditched Breakfast and replaced it with Olympic Breakfast. I get that. Not my bag, for the Olympics is pony, but I get it. So for that ten minutes while I get ready for work, I've had to switch onto the frankly awful GMTV. I'd never seen it before, but what a couple of tits Garraway and that wooden bloke are. As for Lisa Faulkner...vom.

Anyway, for a few mornings now I've been subjected to the thoughts of the people idiotic enough to both watch GMTV and send in their 'txt msgs'. And I'm sick...SICK...of hearing this, now that the Team GB athletes have attracted our nation of gloryhunters:

"Why don't these sports get shown more than once every four years? Let's get some real sporting heroes on the TV. All we see is those footballers."

I have two major problems with this:

1. Why aren't rowing, swimming and running shown more often? Because the very same people that are now waxing lyrical about our Olympic 'heroes' are not interested in rowing, swimming and running. They're not interested at all. They are only interested in a) jumping on bandwagons and b) slagging off football. If there was demand, these sports would be rolling in cash and we wouldn't be able to channel-hop without seeing them. Who creates that demand? Oh.

2. Football is important, and the Olympics is a nonsense. There is massive demand for football. Look at the attendances throughout the Premier League and Football League. And that's every week.

So, I'll say this to people banging on about the Olympics and badmouthing football in the same breath: Olympic sports do not get the attention that football gets because YOU don't make it happen. So pipe down.

Not to mention Tibet. Oops I just did.