Manager Sir Alex Ferguson condemned the 'funereal' atmosphere at Old Trafford which almost resulted in Manchester United dropping valuable Premier League points against Birmingham on Tuesday.
Like to back up that statement with some facts or do want me to make you look like a twat? No Liverpool fans oots?
Face it. Most Man U fans are glory hunters who don't really know how to support their team (mainly because losing Man U isn't "their team" but winning Man U is.) Just look at the manchester derby a couple months back. Once Man U went down 2 to City, the Man U fans didn't support their team at all. City fans were the ones signing the entire time and the Man U fans didn't even try. Pathetic. (and the game was at 2-0 at half time, there was still a whole 'nother half for Man U to try and catch up.)
Granted, I've been to Old Trafford on numerous occasions and the atmosphere was pretty dull on most occasions. Though I have to say when away day comes United fans are probably some of the best in terms of entertainment and banter in my experience anyway.
I think it depends on where you're sat. In the main stand and the Stretford end it's fairly boisterous. In the East stand it can get fairly borish. I do get frustrated with some of the fans there though. It seems a great many of them go to watch, rather than support.
Interesting point. Or maybe some are at OT to just be seen at OT? This was the case during the 1990's with the Chicago Bulls...tons of people could brag, " I was at the Bulls game." When they probably could care less about the Bulls or even follow the NBA that closely. You know a social status thing...i hate it because when I go to a sporting event, I'm quite vocal and people look at me like I'm some nut.
Perhaps it's that long train journey, all the way from London that wears them out. If you had a four hundred mile round trip for every home game, you wouldn't have the energy to sing, either.
It's good. Three times as many games I can go to where I feel an affinity for the team I have gone to watch. I don't get to see too many wins, but the ones that come along are welcome for all that. The little moments of success, such as Charlton's seasons in the top half of the Prem, or Pompey winning the FA Cup, or the rise again of City.... they are all the more enjoyable for their rarity value. But I don't expect you would understand that. The basic difference between you and I, Alfie, is that I go to watch a game of football and can appreciate what I see regardless of the result. For me, it's not about the number of trophies I can claim "my team" has won, it's about a love of the game itself and the number of clubs I feel an affinity with is irrelevant. I have a reason for an attachment to them all and I can quite easily wear one shirt to The Valley on Saturday, and another to Fratton Park on Sunday without any qualms whatsoever. Now, I suggest you go away and count how many medals "your" team has won, so you can bask in the reflected glory as you boast to your mates in the pub.
You are doing the same thing as he is - except you "support" losers. When I say "we" won today referring to any team, I am engaging in an activity called BIRGing - I am basking in reflected glory (as you so aptly pointed out). When I don't claim we but instead use terms such as "they" then I'm CORFing or cutting off reflected failure. But the same thing happens with failures or losing teams. Some supporters of shit teams tend to BIRF/CORS or bask in reflected failure / cut off reflected success. All 4 behavior types have to do with the self and identity and rather than betraying how much a person supports a team or doesn't support a team, they betray how relevant their identity as a fan is for them right at the moment of the behavior. It is a complicated matter that gets further complex with different personality types, but studies have identified patterns of birging, corfing, birfing and corsing for teams who are successful or not successful, come from large media markets or are simply local teams and there's no single indicator to what causes teams to have fans that do more of one or the other. However, it is interesting to note that when a fanbase is well connected or close-knit, they tend to form factions that adhere to one of the behaviors or one of the pairs of behaviors. So in other words, if there happens to be a tight unit of them in any one place, it is likely that the vast majority of fans will behave in the same way BIRG/CORS.
I know I'm a little late to this "party", but I just felt I had to ask... Are you suggesting there is something wrong with living in the south of England and supporting a team in Manchester?