Where have all the barroom philosophers gone?

Question

In former days a trip to the local invariably entailed deeply philosophical concepts and ideas. All we get today is football. Yet football is a prime example of an activity that was once, happy and healthy, but has now become big business. Surely when a player becomes professional he loses the right to be called a sportsman?

Answer 1

Only the amateurs are sportsmen,the pros just have a job.The Olympics is true sport (on the face of it )even they get paid after a fashion.

Answer 2

G The better ones realized there is work to do. The mediocre are slack-jawed viewers of their i-phone screens.

Answer 3

Wow!  I've been saying that for years.  Perhaps we should create a new kind of pub, a pub where people can go and talk to each other.  We're having sport forced down our throats because it helps prevent people from realizing that the world is going insane.  Have you ever given a second thought to the fact that the US is currently inflicting two genocides upon innocent populations.  When they make up a reason for attacking Iran, there will be three.  It really doesn't take much research to wake up to the very strong possibility that 9/11 was a false flag operation.

Answer 4

Perhaps you're not getting as drunk as you used to.

I don't know, the whole world is going to h**l lately.

Answer 5

Two words - dumbing down.

Answer 6

Sat at home drinking out of cans,Cheaper than the pub.

Answer 7

They all drive taxis now, a better captive audience.

Answer 8

To Alcoholics Anonymous.

Answer 9

On a philosophical level, team games, and in particular football, were invented as an outlet for rivalry and agression to prevent civil war.

There's a little gem to steer the conversation in the Lion tonight!

Answer 10

Gone to barrooms everyone.

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

Answer 11

well 007....... concerning the chat of philosophicall natures.... the venues have always had to change with the times...... tabernacles.... coffee houses..... inns..... build a shed out back big enough to accommodatee a few like minds.... crack open a bottle..... enjoy.... on the sports matter...... sorry dont care either way........

Answer 12

Ireland, for sure.

Answer 13

I guess the noise and distractions of T.V asphyxiates thought . and people are gone reticent in exposing opinions to an equally reticent

audience.

Lazy minded people settle for the yobdom of this ubiquitous football ' The new cult of "celebrity" proffers pre-packaged roles to the prurience seeking minds

(of course, I'm not one of those  LOL )

Answer 14

The drongoes in the pub near me could not even spell philosophy, never mind expound on it.

Why are you asking two questions?

Answer 15

Deep philosophical concepts and ideas like 'wouldn't it be great if women had three ****, or better still, one massive t*t?', and 'Why is My pee clear when the lager is brown?'.

Answer 16

007, it seems to me like you're visiting all the wrong pubs... There's a city in Poland in which - I think - all the pub-losophers are well and kicking: Cracow. Forget about football - the ones above dig deep :) There's couple of other places as well... Lisbon is another great pub-losopher location... :)

Answer 17

I think the two are unrelated. Football is big business now because it's popular.  A large part of that popularity is due to its own popularity; in other words, that's what the other guys talk about, so I'll get in on it to be part of the crowd and belong.  

As far as why the intelligent discourse left the barrooms, it's pretty simple.  The more intelligent people who wish to drink realized that it isn't safe to do so in bars, since the threshold BAC for DUI is fairly low, coupled with the potential for violence in a bar that provides violent sports on wide-screen TV's.   Add to that the fact that you can buy a six-pack at a package store for the cost of two beers in a bar, and it isn't hard to figure out where all the barroom philosophers went.

They are at home.  Probably they still drink and philosophize, but not with anyone foolish enough to be in a bar.  

Answer 18

Where have all the barroom philosophers gone?

They are all gone discussing the purpose of barroom.