[jcbrand]

Honestly, I have absolutely no interest in feigning interest in televised sports to make friends, and luckily this is definitely not necessary.

Here in Europe I quickly tell people I don't watch football and don't care about the teams or match results.

If that's a deal breaker for someone, then they're not friendship material.

Instead of going to the pub, I'd rather recommend hobbies that you can share with people. I've made good friends via martial arts, guitar lessons, shared oriental drumming lessons, tech meetups, FLOSS sprints, conferences etc.

Note, all these things (including going to the pub) require you to get out of your comfort zone and into the "real world". Such is life.

[starlord]

I will agree with this. I would prefer to find a fit rather than fit in.

And this does not mean being obstinate, but rather pursuing only what I find interesting rather than what most people find interesting.