Last night I met up with a mate for a quick drink down at the local pub. While we sat swopping funny stories and bitching like housewives about the latest scandals, two different European football matches were being aired, one on the big screen and the other on the smaller TV. I recognized Liverpool and Real Madrid were both playing, each team against some other European side with an unrecognizable acronym.

It got me thinking about many things, like football hooligans, the hopeless state of South African soccer and footy at Chiltern on a Sunday which I love playing. Mostly though, I thought about all the guys who had come out to shout for and support their respective teams.

My confession: I don't have a team. I don't support Liverpool or Manchester United or Chelsea. Is there something wrong with me? I just don't get it – what connection can we as South Africans make to these particular British clubs? How do you pick a team to support? Is it completely random? To me it looks like a contrived exercise where you simply pick the flavour of the month and stick with them so long as they win. In the days of Manchester United, everyone had a red scarf and sticker on their car. Now it's Chelsea who are on top, and amazingly all these people have suddenly emerged from the swamps, claiming to be long-time Chelsea supporters!

It smells awfully like an ego trip. Pick a winning team to support, go down to the pub and jeer at everyone else when 'your' team annihilates the competition. I've seen guys get into fisticuffs before over this kind of thing. Friendships broken and enemies made, based on the actions of a team of players who have absolutely no connection whatsoever to the people involved!

Just incase you can't see it, there's a trophy under all those "Barclays" ribbons...The irony of course is that the clubs' stars are not even British anymore, and most of them have unpronounceable names and originate in South America or continental Europe. These players chop and change depending on which club is buying at the best price. How can the South African supporters be so headstrong and commited to 'their' clubs, when most of the players couldn't give a shit, and would be willing to make a swop if the price was right?

Professional sport in the modern world is in a sorry state. It's all about the sponsorship deals and the big bucks. Not saying South Africa is any better than the global average; our soccer is so pitiful that it doesn't even warrant a discussion.