Why Do You Support The Club You Do?

[rixalex]

Does the reason why you support a club make you any more or less a supporter?

Are all the Manchester United supporters in the south of England (or for that matter anywhere else in the world), just shameless glory hunters, or should we all be able to choose the club we support regardless of where we come from, without being deemed as somehow less legitimate or worthy?

[Naam]

as an alien from another planet and not familiar with some of the terrestric behaviour i dare to ask the question "how does one support a football club?"

donations? prayers? beating up the wife, kicking the dog, beheading the neighbour who supports another club or demolishing cars and shop windows if/when the club loses a match?

[StevieH]

i guess you support the club first and foremost by going to the match. secondarily it's in buying club products and merchandise and contributing financially to the club. i do find it quite strange that people all over the world support man united and liverpool when they have no real connection to the cities, have never been there and probably never will.

[rixalex]

as an alien from another planet and not familiar with some of the terrestric behaviour i dare to ask the question "how does one support a football club?"

donations? prayers? beating up the wife, kicking the dog, beheading the neighbour who supports another club or demolishing cars and shop windows if/when the club loses a match?

Naam, it's a bit like the way you support your wife - i don't mean financially but rather the moral support you give her (or not as the case may be).

You may spend a large amount of the time mumbling curses at her (very quietly if she's within earshot) or complaining down at the local pub about her performances, or lack thereof... but the moment you hear someone else dare to bad-mouth her, you clip them round the ear or punch them on the nose (or for the benefit of TheDon, snap-kick them to the head).

Hope that helps.

[Naam]

Rixalex, your explanation seems to be well founded and acceptable... except the part that concerns my wife. i wouldn't dare to curse her even when she is out of earshot because she's a witch and can read my thoughts. she might even know (i'm not quite sure) what exactly i am typing now

i am curious to read any answers to your question of the thread "WHY support a club?"

[Nongwahyay]

as an alien from another planet and not familiar with some of the terrestric behaviour i dare to ask the question "how does one support a football club?"

donations? prayers? beating up the wife, kicking the dog, beheading the neighbour who supports another club or demolishing cars and shop windows if/when the club loses a match?

The better known supporters of football clubs express the pride they harbour within themselves by travelling with the team, whom they idolize as gods, to other parts of the globe and then proceeding to smash in the heads of non-supporters in an expression of joyful support. Isn´t that the way followers of certain religions express belief in and support of their god????? Can one therefore compare football with religion???

[mr_hippo]

In the autumn of '57, Dad came home from work and said "Peter, get your shoes and coat on, you're coming out with me." "Where to, Dad?" He never told me but I went to a posh house about a mile away. Well. compared to our house, it was posh! Mum had 6 kids in 8 years so you can imaginw what the house was like. We went in and I was given a glass of lemonade and a packet of crisps - we normally got things like that on high days and holidays!

A few minutes later, the front door opened and a group of men walked in, one of them said "Hello, Mum." It was Billy Foulkes and a few of his team mates. I had a kick-about in the back garden with Billy, Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor and a few more! I did get their autographs, what happened to them? About a week after I got married, I went to pick a few things up and Mum said "You don't live here anymore so I threw them out!" All of my childhood 'treasures' had gone!

I have not been to a match for years - why? It's down to cost, prices kept going up & up and I decided that enough was enough!

[mrbojangles]

Can one therefore compare football with religion???

No. It's far greater than any religion

[redrus]

i do find it quite strange that people all over the world support man united and liverpool when they have no real connection to the cities, have never been there and probably never will.

For United fans all over the world, The Munich Air Disaster went farther than England in the news and I find it strange that you don't see that reason. Maybe many of the kids the world over today don't realise why they support United but, their parents and grandparents will....!

In the autumn of '57, Dad came home from work and said "Peter, get your shoes and coat on, you're coming out with me." "Where to, Dad?" He never told me but I went to a posh house about a mile away. Well. compared to our house, it was posh! Mum had 6 kids in 8 years so you can imaginw what the house was like. We went in and I was given a glass of lemonade and a packet of crisps - we normally got things like that on high days and holidays!

A few minutes later, the front door opened and a group of men walked in, one of them said "Hello, Mum." It was Billy Foulkes and a few of his team mates. I had a kick-about in the back garden with Billy, Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor and a few more! I did get their autographs, what happened to them? About a week after I got married, I went to pick a few things up and Mum said "You don't live here anymore so I threw them out!" All of my childhood 'treasures' had gone!

I have not been to a match for years - why? It's down to cost, prices kept going up & up and I decided that enough was enough!

Wow......................!!!!!

I agree, but, I still go. I will until I'm priced out I suppose.

I was born in Yorkshire but, grew up in Davyhulme then Levenshulme. I went to both United and City from the age of 5. United just stuck. Sorry, you don't have a vote choice for that.

Throughout my life through bad and good, United have kind of been there. A consistant, they bring me joy and pain and anger in equal measures.

Thats kind of why I support them, it runs much deeper.

redrus

Edited September 13, 2008 by redrus

[Mossfinn]

i don't mean financially but rather the moral support you give her (or not as the case may be).

I always thought that was a fan, but someone who went and paid for tickets, merchandise etc was a supporter?

In my latter years I lived next door to the Manor Stadium, now a hospital and houses, but whether Oxford can be included in the realms of a football team I don't know, but I voted anyway.

Good Luck

Moss

[thaimiller]

certainly the answer for me is both near my home and in my family, my granddad took my father to his first game about the age of 5, my dad took me to mine at the age of 4, Rotherham United is in our family as its the town i grew up in. I just wish i was born in liverpool or manchester

[bannork]

I was born in Southampton so I support them, but when I was 7 my father moved job to work at Reckitts and Coleman in Hull, so he started taking me to a windy and cold Boothferry Park.

At that time, late 60s early 70s, Hull had the 3 Kens, Wagstaffe,Chilton and Houghton, and although they were languishing in the Third division the atmosphere at the games was lively, I remember when we got to the FA Cup quarter finals against Chelsea, the whole town was excited.

My mum was a physio at Hull Royal Infirmary and was always coming home with stories about the players, and Hull being at the end of nowhere, you can't pass through Hull unless you're planning on a North Sea dip, had a character of its own.

Frankly I couldn't wait to leave after A levels, but it's part of your growing up, like records and songs, success or failure doesn't enter into it, it's part of one's childhood, the attachment to your home town and it's one and only football team is simply natural.

And now the Tigers are playing the big boys, or will be soon, unbelievable!

[chavy]

Well, it was a toss up between Notts County & Forest !!!!

[mrtoad]

I have supported Man United for as long as I can remeber, I can always remeber having a Man Utd shirts or Posters from a very young age. As you can guess it was thrust upon me, but even then late 70's when United were anyhting but good, the stories that I was told by my old man about all the great players, along with the clubs traditions made me stick to the team, while nearly everyone I knew were Liverpool fans. To be honest the 80's were pretty devoid of any big wins, apart from a couple of Cups, and plenty of dissapointments, none more so that that 85-86 season (correct me if I'm wrong) when United one 10 on the bounce at the start of the season, it was the season whne we all hoped we'd finallty win that league, but once Captain Marvel got injured, it all went a bit pear shaped. So I certainly can't be classed as a glory hunter. Whilst some people have this idea that uyou should only support a team where you are from, I think it makes little difference if people are dedicated to following their club. Club swithchers are what I hate, and there are plenty of those in SE Asia, who change their allegiences very quickliy depending on results.

As a side team, I follow Torquay United, as they are one of the closer teams in respect of my origins, could never fully bring myself to support Plymouth, which is a very popular club in my neck of the woods. so I stuck with Torquay, who will never set the world alight, but there's something quite mesmeric about going to watch them at their quaint little stadium.

[Sparkles]

I have supported Man United for as long as I can remeber,

Living in Australia ,in the late 50's and early 60's and playing in a side that we thought was pretty hot at the time we almost to a man admired the brand of football Man United played and we tried to emulate them. I guess the occasional glimpses of them on newsreels helped as we had no TV coverage then fact we didnt even have TV. After their vist to Aus in the 60's we were hooked for life. Georgie Best even made a guest appearance with my club after his playing days were pretty much over..

United never had someone come along with abig bucket of money. Fron the ashes of Munich they have got to where they are today through hard work, great management and picking the right players at the right time. I deplore this hatred of Man U, or should I say jealousy,by some so called football fans, and I would still support them if they were in a lower league

[redrus]

I have supported Man United for as long as I can remeber,

Living in Australia ,in the late 50's and early 60's and playing in a side that we thought was pretty hot at the time we almost to a man admired the brand of football Man United played and we tried to emulate them. I guess the occasional glimpses of them on newsreels helped as we had no TV coverage then fact we didnt even have TV. After their vist to Aus in the 60's we were hooked for life. Georgie Best even made a guest appearance with my club after his playing days were pretty much over..

United never had someone come along with abig bucket of money. Fron the ashes of Munich they have got to where they are today through hard work, great management and picking the right players at the right time. I deplore this hatred of Man U, or should I say jealousy,by some so called football fans, and I would still support them if they were in a lower league

redrus

[mrbojangles]

I deplore this hatred of Man U, or should I say jealousy,by some so called football fans,

United fans don't hate anyone then? Oh, ok. The should be called The Red Angels hey

[redrus]

I deplore this hatred of Man U, or should I say jealousy,by some so called football fans,

United fans don't hate anyone then? Oh, ok. The should be called The Red Angels hey

I don't hate anyone, hate is very very strong word....!

redrus

[mrbojangles]

I deplore this hatred of Man U, or should I say jealousy,by some so called football fans,

United fans don't hate anyone then? Oh, ok. The should be called The Red Angels hey

I don't hate anyone, hate is very very strong word....!

I know that Vicar but i know plenty of United fans in which the word "hate" is used to describe, Leeds, Arsenal, Blackburn, Newcastle, Liverpool, City (but not as much nowadays) and a few others.

[redrus]

I deplore this hatred of Man U, or should I say jealousy,by some so called football fans,

United fans don't hate anyone then? Oh, ok. The should be called The Red Angels hey

I don't hate anyone, hate is very very strong word....!

I know that Vicar but i know plenty of United fans in which the word "hate" is used to describe, Leeds, Arsenal, Blackburn, Newcastle, Liverpool, City (but not as much nowadays) and a few others.

Oh right, I didn't know we were talking about Liverpool, City and Leeds. Well for ***** sake why didn't you say, I ****** **** the lot o them ***** **** ****s....!

redrus

[Sparkles]

I deplore this hatred of Man U, or should I say jealousy,by some so called football fans,

United fans don't hate anyone then? Oh, ok. The should be called The Red Angels hey

I don't hate anyone, hate is very very strong word....!

redrus

Obviously I was not talking about you personally. But I would say that over the last few years the venom directed at United has far exceeded other clubs.

If you care to trawl through some so called supporter web sites you will see what I mean. Some United supporters are maybe just as bad but in smaller numbers.

There are many English football followers who vent their frustrations by abusing both Managers and Players .It comes from the stands and through the web sites and goes beyond banter which used to carry some humour with it.

I deplore any abuse and the treatment of Lampard for England by some is an example of the sickness that prevails in English football followers. Now England has regained some form he is a hero again.

[delboy]

My dad was born on the day that Chelsea played their first league match and he was a regular at the Bridge between the wars and afterwards. We lived in Battersea and we could walk to the home matches across Battersea Bridge, along the embankment and through the side streets to the ground.

I went to my first away match, at Birmingham, in 1964 and then went to most away matches on the supporters club coach through the 60's, then by car. We had a season ticket in the old North Stand from 1963 until it was closed in 1971, then we moved to the West Stand until my father passed away. I continued my season ticket until 1987 and travelled to nearly all the away matches including the European matches in the early 70's. A great time in Athens in 1971.

We made some good friends in Liverpool (Everton fans) and Manchester (City fans) and always stayed with them overnight when playing in the North West, and they stayed with us when playing in London. Many great nights at the Everton Supporters Club in the old cinema and then at the 500 club at Goodison and the City Social club at Maine Road. We still keep in touch by Skype & E-Mail.

I left the UK for Thailand in 1987 and have only seen Chelsea live once since then, in 1998 when they visited Bangkok. I count myself lucky that I can follow the matches live on the TV, but it's not really like being there.

Edited September 16, 2008 by delboy

[StevieH]

For United fans all over the world, The Munich Air Disaster went farther than England in the news and I find it strange that you don't see that reason. Maybe many of the kids the world over today don't realise why they support United but, their parents and grandparents will....!

sorry rus, not sure i buy that. that's fifty years ago, and i can't help but feel that fans in SE asia only really got exposure to english football clubs from the mid-80s onwards, pretty much from the inception of the world club championship and clubs really beginning their international marketing activities.

it's not a big criticism levelled at folk in SE asia really, i just find the idea of supporting something you have no real emotional engagement with. then again i'm a big bob dylan fan, have never met him and never seen him live.

[mr_hippo]

For United fans all over the world, The Munich Air Disaster went farther than England in the news and I find it strange that you don't see that reason. Maybe many of the kids the world over today don't realise why they support United but, their parents and grandparents will....!

sorry rus, not sure i buy that. that's fifty years ago....

I was 9 at the time of the Munich air disaster. I posted the following a few months ago but it will give you a flavour of those far off days:-

"Let me take you back about 50 years – few households had TV and if you had a TV and a car, you were considered super-rich. If you were not living within a few miles of the team you supported then your visits to that ground would be few and far between. I lived about 10 miles from Anfield/Goodison and it meant taking two buses to Green Lane tram depot, Liverpool and the ‘Football Special’ bus to the match and if you were fortunate you would see a few of the players on the same bus! I must say here that Dad & I have always been United fans; we only got to see United when they played at Goodison! Most of the time, people went to watch their local amateur teams play; attendances of 6-8000 at non-league matches were quite common.

Dad & I used to see Prescot Cables home games when we had Harry Grisedale playing for us. Who’s he? He was possibly the best inside forward who never turned pro. United, Arsenal and other top teams wanted to sign him but he always refused. His dad had been disabled in the Great War and Harry looked after him and would not leave him.

WWII ended barely a decade earlier, sweet rationing had just stopped and we were all part of Macmillan’s ‘You’ve never had it so good’ society and a new European football competition had just started with all those exotic places that kids of my day could only dream about – two weeks holiday in Spain? No chance, you had a few days in Blackpool or Rhyl, if you were very lucky! United were not the first Div 1 champions to qualify but were the first to play; Chelsea qualified the year before but the FA refused them permission to play.

Most football supporters wanted an English team to do well – no matter what their affiliations were. We could beat Johnny Foreigner at the game that we invented!

Some of the best players of their generation died at Munich and also the hopes of English football fans. The whole country was in mourning. I can vividly remember walking to school the day after we heard about the disaster and there seemed to be more people than normal at the school gates. Most mums had brought their kids to school and a few of the dads were there; it was definitely a very bleak, gloomy atmosphere."

You must also remember that British TV was still in its infancy and the only football that was broadcast was the FA Cup Final and possibly the odd international. Match Of The Day did not start untill 1964 and most clubs were against it because they feared falling gates. Midweek results would be in the national press in the 'Stop Press' but only if the reporter phoned the result in before the paper 'went to bed'. You would be able to read the report on Wednesday's match in Friday's paper!

[bkkjames]

You know when I was young we had it really tough....

Our football team was so poor they couldn't afford shoes, so we had to run around the parking lot outside of the stadium begging passers bye to borrow theirs....

Luxury, our team was so poor we didn't even have a ball, we used to have to wait for the circus to come to town just so we could follow the elephants around in the hopes of retrieving a dung that could be shaped into a ball.....

Elephant Dung? You were lucky... our football team was so poor that we couldn't afford proper goals so we had to find the nearest two trees and hope that they would bend over just enough so we could hang my mother's floral curtains from them to act a goal.

At least you had a goal, we were so poor that we could not find anyone to play against us. It was so bad that everyone on our team had to bring the mirrors from the bathrooms of homes and hold them next to us so we could have some competition.....

But I digress.

[bendix]

My dad bought me a Leeds shirt on August 22nd 1968, my fourth birthday. I was kinda pissed off, because I wanted an Everton shirt (my four year old self liked the fact their nickname was the Toffees).

I have no idea why he bought me a Leeds strip. We lived near Norwich, and he supported Liverpool. Given his economic status, I suspect he got it off the back of a lorry.

I put it on. I was hooked. I can't imagine what it's like not supporting Leeds.

[rixalex]

My dad bought me a Leeds shirt on August 22nd 1968, my fourth birthday. I was kinda pissed off, because I wanted an Everton shirt (my four year old self liked the fact their nickname was the Toffees).

I have no idea why he bought me a Leeds strip. We lived near Norwich, and he supported Liverpool. Given his economic status, I suspect he got it off the back of a lorry.

I put it on. I was hooked. I can't imagine what it's like not supporting Leeds.

Seems like you should have chosen the "pretty strip" option in the poll then.

[bkkjames]

My dad bought me a Leeds shirt on August 22nd 1968, my fourth birthday. I was kinda pissed off, because I wanted an Everton shirt (my four year old self liked the fact their nickname was the Toffees).

I have no idea why he bought me a Leeds strip. We lived near Norwich, and he supported Liverpool. Given his economic status, I suspect he got it off the back of a lorry.

I put it on. I was hooked. I can't imagine what it's like not supporting Leeds.

Seems like you should have chosen the "pretty strip" option in the poll then.

[rott]

as an alien from another planet and not familiar with some of the terrestric behaviour i dare to ask the question "how does one support a football club?"

donations? prayers? beating up the wife, kicking the dog, beheading the neighbour who supports another club or demolishing cars and shop windows if/when the club loses a match?

Kicking of dogs is totally unacceptable, and practiced only by "supporters" of ManUre and Celtic.

[mrtoad]

My dad bought me a Leeds shirt on August 22nd 1968, my fourth birthday. I was kinda pissed off, because I wanted an Everton shirt (my four year old self liked the fact their nickname was the Toffees).

I have no idea why he bought me a Leeds strip. We lived near Norwich, and he supported Liverpool. Given his economic status, I suspect he got it off the back of a lorry.

I put it on. I was hooked. I can't imagine what it's like not supporting Leeds.

Seems like you should have chosen the "pretty strip" option in the poll then.

Thats the sort of line that Bendix would be proud of.