Fancying a Footballer

Phil Jones is a very talented young player. He’s a tough defender, he can pass, he can run, he reads the game well. Oh, and he happens to be rather cute. I want to smack myself as I’m writing this.

The last time I was smitten by a footballer was . . . . . Becks, circa 1996. That was before he hooked up with his Spice Girl (future) wife and became a global celebrity, mind you. And thankfully, it didn’t last long. (I believe it was less than a season.) Anyway, it was a different era altogether. I was a kid, newly initiated to the cult of Manchester United--which is a good thing--but at that time I also listened to boybands. You get my drift.

When I was younger, people were more skeptical about girls who like football. It didn’t help that some girls boldly announce that they watched football because of this player or that player, who were good-looking.

The problem with me--or rather, the good thing about me--was, more often than not, I don’t even realize it if a player is good looking. I mean, it’s hard to, even if I want to. If you love football as much as I do, you’d spontaneously focus on the flow of the game, the teams’ build-up play, individual contribution, anything but the handsomeness or the ugliness of a player.

Question: Would I even notice Jonesy’s cuteness if he showed less than brilliant performance for United so far? I don’t think so. End of story.