Haven't we all felt like this at some point?
 

Watch as a West Ham fan suffers through the final match of the season with relegation on the line. Classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAmUSjtmgeY

Maybe not *that* intense, but one thing I notice about myself is that for every UNC/Duke basketball game and most UNC NCAA Tournament games, I start on the couch, within minutes am literally sitting on the edge of my seat, and if the game is close/tense, spend most of the game sitting on the floor. I don't know why exactly but it is something I've noticed for years now.

I will never understand how people get so excited over soccer, or even manage to watch a whole game. The players in the Premiership set an awful example to kids in the main. I'd love to see the sport slide off the face of the earth.

I remember before the Stanley Cup Final game 7 between Edmonton and Carolina I was on the couch and my wife said, "are you ok?" I said "Yeah why ?".

"Well you're rocking back and forth like you're going through withdrawal."

And damnit I was...totally obliviously rocking forward and back over and over again. Of course when the game was over I was in the fetal position babbling like an idiot but that's another story.

I do the rocking back and forth thing too, that's nervous energy for sure when I do it.

What the hell was that hand thing he was doing? It also would have been better if it was in English. ;)

Now for the big question: Real or staged?

I reckon it was real. He may have been playing up to the camera a little, but if he were a real West Ham fan he would have been very, very nervous about the game.

I'd say this could be true of EVERY sport on the planet.

Maybe you could pull something out on every sport. But consistently? Regularly you get to see great examples of disrepect, disrespect of authorty, sore losers, cheating (although I guess a bit of sneaky holding in football is no different to diving), racism, abuse towards opposing fans, regular fan violence, feigning injury etc etc.

I think soccer at this level has a lot to answer for. Grass roots, no problem, although its pretty cringeworthy watching little kids try to copy their "heros".

Compare Premiership Soccer to Football or Rugby, you may get small examples of most of the above, but not so blatent and wide spread. I appreciate the money involved has taken much of the sportmanship out of many team games, but I think one is far and away ahead of the bunch.

Have you not seen the NBA or NFL's gang/rap/murder/get arrested/beat up our fans culture lately? And that's on a regular basis.

I haven't to be honest. Here in the UK we get little coverage, I was kind of basing my views on gameday. I except the point that perhaps there is more to it, but when you go to a Football/Rugby game, regardless of whether it is in the U.S. or England and compare it with a Premiership Soccer game, as a live spectator the culture is totally different - at least from my perspective.

You probably have a point that the individuals competing are much alike regardless of the sport, so off the field activities are probably similar.