<html> Hi Rob, The bit about the relative cost of the games works in every country but the US, where football (gridiron) playing requires a bit of an investment.  Even eight-year-olds get shoulder pads and wire-cage helmets and snazzola shoes along with several copies of the team uniform, so as a parent you have to be willing to shell out several hundred a year, I'd guess, from the very start.  Be glad your kid plays soccer.  cheers, Joanna At 04:09 14-11-00, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>G'day Tom, >Here's what some co-workers of mine were passing around on one of my temp >assignments: > >When workers get together they often talk about football. >When middle management meet, they talk about tennis. >When top management meet they talk golf. >Conclusion: The higher you climb up the corporate ladder the smaller your >balls become. Yeah, but that bit about degrees of individualism fits this, too, no?  That and the fact you need less money to play footy than tennis, and less to play tennis than golf.  And golf courses are, by the way, more than ecologically 'suspect'.  They are an absolute curse!  Precious land, millions of gallons of clean water, and the deployments of all kinds of concentrated nutrients (which change their character to that of pure poison when the become run-off).  I admit I'm a disgraceful golfer (I lose more balls than Tiger Woods has shots), but that ain't my only reason for resolving to close down all golf courses when Max makes me Commissar for World Sports. Cheers, Rob.</blockquote> <x-sigsep></x-sigsep> </html>