Question - Why do footballers spit?

[Living at other WWFC]

A genuine question.
When my body allowed me to do hard exercise, mostly football and half-marathons (not at the same time), I almost never felt the need to spit unless I was back on the rollies. And then it would be thick and chewy and need to be placed out of public harm. Very, very few times.

Why do hyper fit footballers constantly spit their light rancid saliva onto the pitch during a match?
Are they simply scum or is there something I do not understand?

 

[wolvesaywe]

Google it. There's plenty of studies to show why

 

[Royal wolf]

Habit I think

 

[I'm the Wanderer]

funny, now that i think about it, i constantly spit when i jog. don't know why.

 

[S G Wolves]

funny, now that i think about it, i constantly spit when i jog. don't know why.

I get a runny nose. Have take tissues with me.

 

[Living at other WWFC]

Google it. There's plenty of studies to show why

Could you not summarise the conclusions you have read?
I would more than likely believe you on this chat forum.

 

[wolvesaywe]

Several studies have shown that exercise increases the amount of protein secreted into the saliva, especially a kind of mucus called MUC5B. This mucus makes the saliva thicker, which makes it harder to swallow, so we spit it out. It isn’t clear why we produce more MUC5B when exercising, but it may be because we breathe through our mouth more, so the mucus stops the mouth from drying out.

 

[Living at other WWFC]

Several studies have shown that exercise increases the amount of protein secreted into the saliva, especially a kind of mucus called MUC5B. This mucus makes the saliva thicker, which makes it harder to swallow, so we spit it out. It isn’t clear why we produce more MUC5B when exercising, but it may be because we breathe through our mouth more, so the mucus stops the mouth from drying out.

Thanks for your reply.
Something wrong with my body, apparently.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

Could you not summarise the conclusions you have read?
I would more than likely believe you on this chat forum.

He’s not an Alexa

 

[wolvesaywe]

There's also the modern day phenomena of carb rinsing which is why players often drink and then immediately gob it out!

 

[chignalwolf]

Sign of the times, makes me wonder why myself, then you get these cheats rolling about in it with apparent broken legs, Ribs, etc etc, Ugh
another thing i can never get my head around is, Why when they have spent all week together training, got changed in the same changing rooms before the match, then run on the pitch and start giving each other high fives, like they hadn't seen each other for yrs,

oh for the days of getting a slap from mum for spitting LOL

 

[Frank Lincoln]

There was a time when cricketers would spit on the ball and then rub it in, hoping to keep one side of the ball shiny. I don't think that happens now.

 

[S G Wolves]

There was a time when cricketers would spit on the ball and then rub it in, hoping to keep one side oft the he ball shiny. I don't think that happens now.

Nah, they use Leach's bald head.

If you know you know..

 

[Asthmatic Wolf]

They prefer not to swallow

 

[Jonzy54]

I remember back in the day John Richards used to have a handkerchief tucked in the top of his shorts which he used to blow his nose-
He was a gentleman

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

It's disgusting and blowing your nose ala Podence. Also managers spit on the touchline? I always think when players do their slide routine after a goal, there's no way you'd get me slithering about in all that gob.

 

[captain chaos]

It’s not only footballers

 

[Mr Chad]

There was a time when cricketers would spit on the ball and then rub it in, hoping to keep one side of the ball shiny. I don't think that happens now.

I think it was banned as a result of Covid, and the ban has now been made permanent. They generally use sweat now, which is apparently less likely to pass on germs.

 

[tamwolf]

There was a time when cricketers would spit on the ball and then rub it in, hoping to keep one side of the ball shiny. I don't think that happens now.

They banned it during Covid and made it permanent this year. You have to use sweat now if you want moisture to shine.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

Good lord can’t you tell the season is on a break.

 

[tamwolf]

Sign of the times, makes me wonder why myself, then you get these cheats rolling about in it with apparent broken legs, Ribs, etc etc, Ugh
another thing i can never get my head around is, Why when they have spent all week together training, got changed in the same changing rooms before the match, then run on the pitch and start giving each other high fives, like they hadn't seen each other for yrs,

oh for the days of getting a slap from mum for spitting LOL

They've prohibited the backpass now too.

 

[WasStefan]

They banned it during Covid and made it permanent this year. You have to use sweat now if you want moisture to shine.

I dread to ask. What’s the best sweaty area to use for such a practice

Second question, what the **** do they use in an English month of May when the season starts!!

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

I get a runny nose. Have take tissues with me.

I have cycling gloves with a piece of terry cloth on the side of the index finger for wiping the nose. I wash the gloves every month or so whether needed or not.
You have to be careful gobbing when in a group, especially if there's a cross wind.

 

[stever]

Wayne Rooney was spitting every thirty seconds when he was on the sidelines at Derby. It is a habit and a ****ing bad one

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

Wayne Rooney was spitting every thirty seconds when he was on the sidelines at Derby. It is a habit and a ****ing bad one

Not his only bad habit if rumours are any thing to go by.

Tell @SuperGran to be careful.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

Why is spitting on the ground seen as disgusting? The ground is a pretty disgusting place, you should see some of the things worms do in it.

 

[Scallywolf]

Never mind the super fit players spitting, how about Guardiola, who does it regularly.

Oh, and we won’t mention Sir Alex, who was habitual!

 

[tamwolf]

I dread to ask. What’s the best sweaty area to use for such a practice

Second question, what the **** do they use in an English month of May when the season starts!!

You just use sweat from your brow. You get pretty sweaty when bowling or fielding in an active position and wearing a cap in the field doesn't allow the body heat to escape, so sweat builds up.

If its a cooler day in May, then there is usually more air turbulence so the ball is less likely to swing. The pitch is usually green too, so you are more likely to look for movement off the pitch rather than lateral movement through the air. They'll still shine the ball, but will be mostly concerned with maintaining the seam.

 

[Beeches wolf]

On another issue, iv seen quite a few players when entering the pitch hop on one leg.
Why is this? Bit strange.

 

[MasWolf]

A genuine question.
When my body allowed me to do hard exercise, mostly football and half-marathons (not at the same time), I almost never felt the need to spit unless I was back on the rollies. And then it would be thick and chewy and need to be placed out of public harm. Very, very few times.

Why do hyper fit footballers constantly spit their light rancid saliva onto the pitch during a match?
Are they simply scum or is there something I do not understand?

They're all smokers too?

 

[topcat99]

Good lord can’t you tell the season is on a break.

Are you trying to say something?
If so, spit it out

 

[stever]

On another issue, iv seen quite a few players when entering the pitch hop on one leg.
Why is this? Bit strange.

It's called, hurty leg syndrome

 

[Very Proud (AKA Still Proud)]

And another thing.......

Why are substitutes never ready? Why don't they have their shirt on, shin-pads in and socks up? Surely if they can down Fowlers, Bantock, etc they can do it for a professional game!

 

[Dawnwolf]

I suffer with post nasal drip and when any excerise this increases alot, i need to get rid, as a result i always have tissues on me.

But on occasion i will spit, peeps complain its disgusting or rude I'd happily not have the issue but such is life.

 

[tamwolf]

On another issue, iv seen quite a few players when entering the pitch hop on one leg.
Why is this? Bit strange.

It will just be a superstition. Superstitions have always been pretty prevalent in sports.

Laurent Blanc kissing Barthez's head, Paul Ince not putting his shirt on until out of the tunnel, Kolo Toure having to be the last on the pitch, Johan Cruyff slapping the GKs stomach etc. You're probably just noticing it more now as your getting older, more grumpy and less accepting of differences to what you perceive as the norm.

 

[AndyWolves]

Before I got fat and old and used to do a lot of running. Immediately after finishing my run my saliva would get all sticky and I would need to spit or have a drink.

I can only guess that the stop / start nature of football in terms of sprinting means players get the same effect after a sprint.

 

[WasStefan]

I suffer with post nasal drip and when any excerise this increases alot, i need to get rid, as a result i always have tissues on me.

But on occasion i will spit, peeps complain its disgusting or rude I'd happily not have the issue but such is life.

Had similar issues but was sorted after an op to clear my sinuses. Look into it

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

Before I got fat and old and used to do a lot of running. Immediately after finishing my run my saliva would get all sticky and I would need to spit or have a drink.

I can only guess that the stop / start nature of football in terms of sprinting means players get the same effect after a sprint.

Exactly this for me. In my younger fitter days I could run 10-12 miles without needing to spit but any team sports that involving stop/start and my nose would run and saliva would build up.

 

[Dawnwolf]

Had similar issues but was sorted after an op to clear my sinuses. Look into it

Already had op on nose about 20yr ago. Didn't help too much.
They said i can have another op but requires drilling holes in the bone below my eyes to relieve pressure, but comes with some risk so i gave it a swerve.

Thanks for the response though.

 

[WasStefan]

Already had op on nose about 20yr ago. Didn't help too much.
They said i can have another op but requires drilling holes in the bone below my eyes to relieve pressure, but comes with some risk so i gave it a swerve.

Thanks for the response though.

Had my sinuses cleared at the same time as septoplasty to fix a deviated septum. Never again