Quote Originally Posted by thrashaholic
Times are changing now though, soccer fans are starting to discover that you can drink beer all day for five days at cricket matches now, so professional games are 'down-marketing", but it's still largely played by the upper-middle to upper classes, except in the north where they're all working class .



A bit OT, but I'd say Rugby (Union) was less of a game for the 'unwashed masses' than soccer is, it's the winter game of choice for most public (very good, old private schools) and private schools and the crowds are very much more middle-class family orientated, much more so than soccer, where the crowds are far more 'common'. This is changing as well though ever since England won the Rugby World Cup, Rugby's becoming more appealling to the soccer crowd.
The best way i heard it described was - "Football is a gentlemans game played by thugs, where as Rugby is a thugs game played by Gentlemen"

As far as cricket goes, Englands Barmy army arn't exactly the tea and crumpets croud!

Apologies for being somewhat off topic