Support a 2 or 3 club, along with a Prem club?

[Catfish]

Is it possible to support a lower division club, along with a Prem club? Or is this totally unheard of? I love Arsenal, but wouldn't mind also supporting some small lower division club. Someone please comment.

[Captain Splarg]

I'm a Leeds supporter, but when i lived near Wycombe i would go see them play when Leeds weren't playing. Also i go see Margate in the Conference when I'm at my parent's place when Leeds aren't playing.

I like seeing Wycombe and Margate win, but it doesn't really bother me at all if they lose.

[Maczebus]

It will always boil down to just 1 team. You cannot fool yourself, simply put.
I was born in Preston and I used to go to their matches, I like it when they win and hope they do fantastically well - however - my dad made me support QPR from an early age and despite me having no links whatsoever to QPR (in any sense), they are my primary team. PNE take a close second and Leeds were my Premiership side thanks to having lived near there for a bit, but you wouldn't have found their relegation taking it's toll on my emotions. The further down the list of 'teams you support' you go, the less you care about their results.
'Support' can mean different things. The amount of support you give a second or third club will probably be limited to looking for their results on a saturday afternoon (morning for you) - you can try and get excited about their results but it'll never be the same as the feeling you have for your primary team.

[Chris M]

I don't really 'support' a 2 or 3 club. I'll keep an eye out for Tranmere and I'm happy when they do well, but it doesn't realy bother me if they don't. I do support the mighty Marine though, of the Unibond League Premier Division.

[Catfish]

The further down the list of 'teams you support' you go, the less you care about their results. 'Support' can mean different things. The amount of support you give a second or third club will probably be limited to looking for their results on a saturday afternoon (morning for you) - you can try and get excited about their results but it'll never be the same as the feeling you have for your primary team.

This is exactly what I was thinking, just another club to check up on every week. You are so right, my heart will always be with Arsenal no matter what clubs I support in other leagues or countries. This season bonding with so many cool Gooners and making some great memories watching Arsenal dominate cemented the Gunners as my true football religious club. I may buy other kits+gear and enjoy other clubs in other countries, but nothing compares to being a Gooner.

[basso001]

It works the other way, too. If your primary club is <sob> in the 2nd Division, it's nice to have a Premiership side to identify with as well. Much easier to keep track of, too.

b.

[Achtung]

The closest I come is Brighton, since I spent a couple of days in that town and thought it was really a cool place. The Gulls have a good history, and I'll be cheering them on to get that playoff promotion.

It's just difficult to follow any lower division team in the US. Even with the internet, coverage is fairly limited to match reports, and there is little to no editorial material.

[afgrijselijkheid]

i dont "support" any EPL sides, but i am behind preston north end 100% - even before mcbride and lewis arrived, though their arrivals certainly didn't hurt - i almost even got in a tussle with some wigan fans who were in amsterdam a while back

[LeeS]

Manchester United is, has been and will always be "my team", but as far as the Premiership, I definately pay attention to any team with an American. This season I actually went out of my way to support Fulham, and even secretly rooted for them to do well against ManU earlier this season.

As for non-Premier teams, I wouldn't say I "support" them but I check to see how Stoke City does. I did that based solely on something really dorky: My last names is "Stokes"!! Go Potters!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lee

[RichardL]

I've never been to a premiership match in my life and I never watch live premiership games on TV (other than pre-match in the Madejski stadium bar). I just don't have any pull towards any premiership side. I do have a number of teams I have a soft spot for in the league, although it extends no further than hoping they go up as opposed to other clubs - I certainly don't follow them at all, and as I've probably seen Reading lose to most of them, my favour towards them can slide easily.

Foreign sides are another matter, often chosen for obscure reasons. The only team I really look out for are Bohemians Prague, purely because I remembered seeing them on TV highlights way back in the 1980s, and whereas most east european teams seemed to play in vast soulless bleak stadiums, they had a real sardine-tin of a ground (called 'The Dimple' - what a name!), with so little room that the goal nets were tied to the fence rather than having stanchions. My 'support' for them really is no more than remembering to click on their web page on Sundays and see their result. I've also visited their ground twice on trips to Prague, but sadly they weren't at home.

I keep an eye on Livingston in Scotland, after Reading played there in a friendly, but I also have mild liking for several Scottish clubs.

I also have a slight fondness for Pisa and Ascoli in Italy, purely because they seemed to take it in turns to get relegated throughout the 80s. I remember when BSB, sky's old pre-merger rival, had Italian football coverage in 1990(?) Pisa were in the top division. Naturally they went down, but to really cap it off nicely they lost their local derby with Fiorentina 4-0, both home and away, and then went bankrupt. Their ground's pretty much next door to the tower, so I had a walk round it when I visited, but they baulked the seemingly normal continental european tradition of letting absolutely anybody wander in when they feel like it by locking the gates.

Rayo Vallecano in Madrid are the only team in Spain I find remotely appealing, fighting for support, as they do, with the two Madrid giants.

TVMK Tallinn, or Tallinn Plywood and Furniture Factory FC, to Anglify their name, are a team I notice for about two weeks in July when they are still in Europe.


Overall though, it's more common to see a fan of a premiership club (usually one who doesn't go to the matches) going to see his local team than it is for a lower division fan to go along to a premiership match.

[Wide Boy]

I can only ever support one club.

It is possible to have a sympathetic eye for others, however, and in my case this covers Carlisle, Hartlepool and Darlington (local ties) and Leyton Orient (used to watch them while an impoverished student in London).

[Intermission]

My grandparents are from Sheffield and support the mighty Blades, so they're "my second team". But if our paths cross again (like they did last season), they can go and get stuffed. My support of them consists of a pennant with their emblem and "BLADES!" running down verticley, that I bought years ago.

[Joe E]

My grandparents are from Sheffield and support the mighty Blades, so they're "my second team". But if our paths cross again (like they did last season), they can go and get stuffed. My support of them consists of a pennant with their emblem and "BLADES!" running down verticley, that I bought years ago.

does anyone remember when you were 7 or 8, you used to have a "scottish team". mine was rangers at first, then i changed to celtic (a natural progression!) and i always hated aberdeen, because they had the same first letter as arsenal. ah, the good old days...on the other subject, many arseanl and spurs fans like either orient or barnet - i've been to underhill a couple of times and look out for them. also wolves, who my dad supports. they're my 2nd team but obviously that got o bit frosty this year.

[Wingtips1]

my first team is liverpool. ever since i first heard of liverpools history at the age of 10 I was hooked. I spent time living abroad in spain, specifically sevilla, and picked up Sevilla FC as my continental team. but i've always followed coventry as my family can trace our roots back to the still family-owned estate that is there. now with them not competing in the premiership, it is easier to show my affinity for them.

[Wingtips1]

my first team is liverpool. ever since i first heard of liverpools history at the age of 10 I was hooked. I spent time living abroad in spain, specifically sevilla, and picked up Sevilla FC as my continental team. but i've always followed coventry as my family can trace our roots back to the still family-owned estate that is there. now with them not competing in the premiership, it is easier to show my affinity for them.

[man rovers]

i am a man utd fan but i all love to go and see Tranmere Rovers. i have season tickets at Tranmere Rovers. i think you should surport a team in the prem and the lower divsions.