system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Football is an institution which causes more problems than it solves, and receives far more money than it deserves.

First disclaimer: I don't like football; I've never seen the appeal of men kicking a ball around a field while lots of people scream. I'm putting this here so my biases on the issue are clear.


Second disclaimer: as a Brit, I'm focusing on English football, not handegg. References to the latter are fine where relevant.


I don't think football provides any external benefit to society - by which I mean, it doesn't actually help anyone outside of the football industry. All I see, when I see football supporters, is people trying to assert their dominance over other people by reinforcing the status of "their" team, or putting down the other team. This is usually light-hearted in uni circles, but I know this gets a lot worse.


The 100 hour war, between Honduras and El Salvador, was triggered by a football game. Granted, the game itself was a small block removed from an already very unstable Jenga tower, but it seems to me that all football does it bring out the tribalistic, irrational animal in people that allows the 100 hour war and the Hillsborough disaster to happen. I can't see it as a tool for peace or friendship or discourse or understanding; all I see is anger, rivalry, shouting. It reinforces the same sort of in-group-out-group "You belong to a different tribe therefore you are bad" mentality that leads to xenophobia, and from there, racism and overzealous nationalism (read: UKIP.) This sort of mentality is something we need to keep a lid on, I believe, if we want to have a more peaceful society.


I'm aware, though, that there's likely a lot I'm not taking into consideration, and that my strong dislike for football has coloured my views no small amount. I'd like to gain a rounder perspective on the issue, so please CMV.
gpt
It's a form of entertainment, the only problem it was created to solve is boredom.  It is no different than pop music or superhero movies.

So long as people find it entertaining, it is working correctly.