Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
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Notes -
So it looks like football (soccer) is the main religion of my country and if I want a leg up in this corporate world being able to discuss football would be a big help. I actually play football (quite well) but discussing it has never interested me. But I'm learning that so much of the world is about people being able to relate to you and being able to label you and supporting a team would be a big help .
My first question is should I even try this? I am only explicitly trying to do this so I fit in. I truly have no passion or care for these millionaire players and coaches and their billionaire bosses. Will my peers be able to smell this on me? I think it's trivial for me to catch up and figure out current events (know the most popular players on the most popular teams, know recent transfers, know the scores of big games etc.) but will it be suspicious when I can't remember that really big thing happened 5/10/15 years ago?
Also should I support a big team or little team? I think supporting a little team makes me seem more authentic. The little team I'm thinking of is local as well. However I've noticed that peoples mood can be severely affected by their team winning or losing. So if I choose a big team who's doing well will I subconsciously gain more respect from peers because my team is probably always winning meaning I'm almost always more calm than them?
I'd love to hear any opinion on this whether you're a true fan who thinks I'm desecrating the game, or your someone who thinks this is an interesting endeavour or if you think I'm weird for even thinking about this and I should forget the whole thing all together.
The other users have some great advice.
If you struggle to get into the sports, find an angle that better aligns with your interest. For example, you might find the sports boring, but the after-action statistics can be very interesting.
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Probably not. I have friends that picked up various sports more recently and it doesn't seem inauthentic when they just shrug at older stuff and say, "yeah, I didn't get into it until [insert event]". This is me with cycling.
I don't know soccer well enough to know for sure, but picking one of the juggernauts is probably not going to win friends and influence people less they're very popular locally.
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About ancient lore, I don't think it's a big drawback. People love teaching you about stuff they love. So if they mention something you don't know, ask them to tell you about it. They will tell you and they will love you for listening actively.
I would say smaller team is a better way to go. You can always use a tiny bit of self-deprecating humour, like "well, we lost, but we knew in advance that would happen, so I'm not sad". You then look loyal, robust, and optimistic. You just have to not overdo it.
Bigger teams usually have many haters, so you don't want to trow a 50/50 coin every time you meet someone on whether they will instantly hate you because you support a big team they hate.
The other comment is also good advice. Find a good YT channel that keeps you up to date, and that explains some basics of the game tactics. Also, find some twitter or Instagram page with memes about the game. Check out memedeportes and similar stuff on Instagram. Memes are a big thing too.
Also, I recommend a likeable and inclusive attitude towards all teams. If you say "Team X is ruining the game because they play so ugly", fans of team X will hate you. But if you say "I think team X played a bit too on de defensive for my taste, but I would have probably done the same in their place", you avoid hard feelings.
No one will profoundly love you for your football preferences or opinions, but some can hate you. So it's better to be kind of bland about it.
Finally, and this is the tricky part, one of the most enjoyable things about sports are the memes and the banter about it. That is the trickiest of the aspects of this, because doing banter is quite easy to get wrong if you don't know for sure how to do it properly.
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Find a youtube presenter who gives you the highlights and updates you on the stories of the league.
Watch that alone for a few weeks/months until you favor the story of a coach, player, or team then follow that.
The big advantage of following a smaller team is fewer people will know more than the stereotypes about your team, so you'll be able to slip more without getting caught, but the ones who do will likely be very passionate (so don't try this around them), while everyone will know more about all the big teams so you'll connect with more people if you choose a big team, but you'll likely need to invest more time.
Could you follow a second tertiary division team? That might be more aligned with your interests.
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