fakes/posers/band-wagon fans.

Threadstarter, are you from Manchester?

If not, then you're really no worse than the day-trippers on this board. I'm sure if they lived over here they'd be trying to get to games.

And btw, Moss Side born, Wythenshawe raised.

 

I wonder if I fall into the category of the title thread. Probably.

I was raised in New Jersey, and have lived in Northern California for the last 15 years. I was introduced to English football through Manchester United occasionally featuring on cable highlights. I hopped on the bandwagon after they won NOTHING in '95.

Inexplicably, I gave up on completely on United after they won The Treble(!) I have been Albion for the last six years and never looked back. I sold all my United shirts on eBay and now a small collection of six West Bromwich Albion shirts hang in my closet instead.

I guess that makes me a 'plastic Baggie.' Great for storing sandwiches, snacks and heroin (not that I would know about that).

But am I a glory-hunter? Come on. Masochist, perhaps.

 

I'd find it boring latching onto a team that wins everything in sight.

If Man City ever won a cup or league again in my lifetime (Which I doubt they will) I'd be so happy because I've been there through our shit years - Only missed two or three games home and away in the past nine years (And they were at the tail end of last season when I got made redundant so couldn't afford to get to them - and if I was working I definately would've gone) so I'd gain satisfaction from knowing I'd seen the team evolve from our disastrous Brian Horton / Alan Ball / Frank Clark days to becoming a good team.

Already now I still get satisfaction from going to premiership away grounds knowing that City have consolidated thier position there. Going to Wrexham and Rochdale away the past week for our friendlies really hit it home that 6 years ago we were going to stadiums of that quality (and worse!) most weeks.

If you ever see the baggies win something I'm sure you'll feel the same pride as I would. You've picked a great team to root for anyway. The baggies have a really good away support.

 

i cant stand people who call themselves real fans when the club they support no longer contends for trophies. ive come across people who were man u fans and when chealsea started to win, they support chealsea. i hate these glory hunters.....im a juventus fan and ill die a juve fan.

 

On paper I guess I'm a bandwagoner. I mean, I only started with the Prem for real a year or so ago basically. And I'm a Gooner.

But I'd argue to the death about having jumped on a bandwagon. It was only after I started getting WAYYY to into matches (losses ruining my day etc) that I realized Arsenal was so great a few years ago. Actually didn't like to find that out, to be honest. I personally don't think it's any fun supporting a team that always win. I mean, if you picked up the Arsenal during the 49-unbeaten run, I just can't sympathize.

Why did I pick 'em up you asked? Dennis, Thierry, Overmars, Fabregas and the overall fantastic style of play.

 

of course, but it's almost better when there's a superiority of play without necessarily obtaining results. See the Dutch national side, for instance. Brilliant Orange and all that.

even though DB10 is gone, Overmars as well, and Henry eventually will be, the way they played (ohhh the 1-2s, the tight triangles on the wings, THE MOVE by DB against Newcastle, the Bobby-Patrick-Thierry-Freddie-Denny combinations) will stay with me. And I'll hope that it can be replicated some time in the future. As long as Arsene's in charge, I dont think the style of play will realy go away (frustrating as it can be. JUST #@%@$@# shoot already! ). And even when he is gone, along with his masters in econ, I think the style will continue on. It's almost a part of what the club is. I can't see Arsenal just starting to play catennacio-style, or hiring 15 bruisers that could beat down a Vieira on steroids..

 

I'm a bandwagon hopper too, I admit it. The thing is, however, I hopped from Manchester United at a time when they were the top club in Europe to a club that, at the time, were floundering in the middle of the second tier of English football: the old First Division, now called the Championship.

Why did I do it? United's winning the Treble should have made me a fan for life, and yet it had the opposite effect. I saw how huge the worldwide bandwagon was and the appeal for me was gone. Is there something wrong with me for thinking that way?

Since I began following the fortunes of the Albion, they have had quite a bit of success, at least relative to the position they were in when I first started following them. They changed managers, finally gained promotion to the Premiership, but now are back down in the Championship facing some stiff opposition.

Bottom line: I now support a second-tier club that hasn't exactly played attractive football, and might not get the chance to play in Europe in my lifetime. And frankly, I don't care (though it would great if they did). I've no plans to hop a more successful team's bandwagon any time soon.

 

I've supported Manchester U. since the end of last season.

 

I'd be the first to say it started out as a choice initially. I wanted to stand out. There were other factors too. Albion were one of the founding members of the Football League, with a lot of tradition but not much success. They have great support home and away. WBA are in the Midlands and have less attention than clubs in London or the North-West. Even our local rivals Villa, who won one European Cup, don't have a huge following overseas.

But let's say, hypothetically, that West Brom became one of the top clubs in England and Europe and gained a huge worldwide bandwagon. I think I wouldn't jump off again, because I would at least I could honestly say I supported Albion when they were crap. No matter how successful Albion may become, I doubt the club will ever gain the sort of 'glamourous' reputation that United, Liverpool or Chelsea have.

I seriously doubt there are more than a handful of Americans who can say they were on board with Manchester United from any time prior to when Eric Cantona joined from Leeds.

 

I don't think Chelsea have a glamourous reputation lik say a Man U, Benfica, or Juventus. But one that is in pocket cash and money up the wazzu.

 

You are from Texas and you have never seen this in the US? I live in Georgia and it is insane how many die hard and I mean DIE HARD UGA fans there are that have never been to UGA, dont have family there, dont live in athens, and have never seen a game live. No one would doubt their support for UGA. (BTW I DESPISE UGA)

I think it is kinda ingrained in many Americans that you dont have to see a team live to be a real fan. Not the same kind of 'real' fan that you see in england supporting your home town team, but hey...we dont have many hometown teams in any sport in this country. Look at the Atlanta Braves, I would venture a guess that 50%+ of the Braves' best fans dont live anywhere near Atlanta.

I can see getting irked by people that say they are 'real' fans when they havnt stood the test of time, support many teams in the same league, or act like they know far more than they actually do. But not having ever seen a match, especially with the cost involved and rarity of some tickets, is not a good judge of team support.

 

Good post. Repped.

I have a Grandpa in Louisiana who is a die hard Bayou Bengal. He bleeds purple and gold, but he didn't go there. He has only seen them once live and prefers to watch the games on tv and listen to them on the radio. I don't blame him either and I bet this is the way most of the so called "gametracker" fans feel. The comfort of your home is a very appealing environment to watch your favorite team play.

I agree, it's like the fans you see at your local stadium supporting the visiting team. They get 1 chance a year to see their team live and they take it. It may not be their fault they are away from their favorite city and have no real opportunity to see their team play. Not to mention all of those that order the cable packages that allow them to get all of their favorite team's games.

Once again well done. Being in the stadium is no real telling of a true fan.

 

Don't forget how huge the US is in relation to England. We have some states similar in size to England with zero professional sports of any kind. People who live in remote places should still be able to consider themselves "fans" even if they never see their favorite teams in person. So not seeing live matches is forgiveable.

On the other extreme, I have a good friend who lives in London who is an Arsenal supporter. His flat is so ridiculously close to Highbury that he could literally walk to the stadium without losing telephone reception on his home phone. Yet inexplicably he had never attended a match there. I ended up purchasing Arsenal tickets for him through a broker and FedEx'ing them to him as a surprise gift, just so he could say he attended a Highbury match. (note to my fellow Spurs supporters: he risked ridicule and pain purchasing Spurs scarves to send me, so I felt I owed him).

 

Wait a minute!, let me get this straight!

Us american fans have to pick one team in the prem to support for life???
And it can't be a successful team either???

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

what is the logic in that? Why would we bleed for that team what possible reason WOULD WE DIE WITH A TEAM IN UK?

I am a fan of players in europe, not teams. I am a big crespo fan hence I buy his inter shirt, I buy his ac milan shirt, AND! I buy his chelsea shirt, now I am accused of being plastic??

I am also a huge brian mcbride fan so I buy his fulham jersey, WOW, wait a minute that is against the so called "rules" these pompous brit boys have suddenly come up with, yes i am supporting 2 teams!!! Why are you so stuck up, the rest of the leagues arent like that, if you hate it so much, STOP BUYING OUR PLAYERS!!!. if you don't buy our players, I will leave the EPL to you snobby lamos and won't bother you with my mcbride jersey anymore.

 

Actually, a very good analogy. I've been supporting the Braves since 1993. Was it because they had two killer years? Nope, it was because WTBS was the only channel I could reliably get baseball on.

I've been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since about 1987. Was it because they sucked then? Nope, it was because they are considered the local team for the OK area and by default you would always get their broadcasts. I used to love watching their defense and the quarterback controversies. I actually tuned them out a bit once they started repeating as champions - some of the above the law antics of pro atheletes turns me off.

Have I seen either team play live? Nope. I've been to pro baseball games, but never to catch the Braves.

I've been a Glasgow Rangers' fan all of my life. I never had a choice. Have I ever seen them play live? Nope.

So, if you live in the States, can't catch the SPL on TV, and want to pick an EPL team, what do you do? You watch FSC and you pick one that is on the air a lot.

I struggled with this a bit - once you pick a team, no changing. I picked Man Utd because my cousin in Lincolnshire is a big fan. I also liked how Solskjær and Smith have battled back from injuries.

So for the next 10 years or so I'll be plastic with respect to Man Utd. But don't give me grief over my support of Rangers.

 

God, these threads are getting so old.

Pick who you like. If you don't like them, you'll eventually walk away. If you're still here, then you're doing fine.

 

I think you're all missing the point slightly. It's not a moral judgment, but you can't TRULY be considered a supporter of an English team (fair enough, America may have cultural differences but this is how we are over here) until you've put some money through the turnstyles.

Now consider this. All through the 1980s, Man Utd were a fairly poor side (compared with their current team) yet, even in an era where football was considered to be in crisis, they still regularly drew crowds of up to 40,000. True, not all of them were Mancunians or from Salford. One of Man Utd's more notorious firms was known as the "Cockney Reds", a group who travelled from the South East every game due to the club's cult status and thriving terrace culture. However, these lads were not attracted by the glamour of the club. They came because they loved the atmosphere (just like the thousands who travelled from Shropshire/Cheshire to follow Liverpool and Everton in the same era) and were amongst the club's most vociferous support.

Fast forward 20 years and those same fans (wherever they were from) who built those clubs up and sustained them during the lean years are now out on their ear and the game has been sold to a new breed of middle class fan who would never have set foot in a ground 20 years ago. Sorry to sound like a purist, but Roy Keane was so right with his "prawn sandwich" tirade. Grounds like Old Trafford, Anfield and Highbury used to be fortresses. The atmosphere was intimidating on a level that people who didn't experience football first hand back then can't really appreciate, even if the grounds were half empty and falling apart. Liverpool used to say that the Kop was their 12th man. What we have now is a pale imitation, and those that remember those days, and were a part of it, feel cheated and disrespected by their club's falling over themselves to usher in a perceived "higher class" (read "richer") of supporter.

As a result, however well intentioned a lot of you's support of a "chosen" team may be, it adds insult to injury to a lot of people who are pretty disgusted with the way football is going as it represents another angle of the all-consuming greed of the big clubs. While I personally am delighted to see the US taking such an interest in football, I think it's important to be sensitive to the fact that, to a lot of people, Man Utd/Chelsea/Arsenal fans in the US are manifestations of the changes which they see as having ruined their game.

 

And many Americans probably share that same time of feeling about their sports. Look at ticket prices, look at the people buying them, etc.

The clubs are greedy, the players are greedy, and the fans are greedy. They want their team to win championships year after year. To do that, you have to spend more money that the competitors.

I've never had a choice about supporting Rangers - my first memories of football are their games on television, the team spreads in the paper, a plastic football, etc. Whether or not anyone else supports them doesn't concern me - no one can take away the memories of sharing that team with my grandfather.

I do have a choice about which English teams I'll support. And I don't care if someone considers me plastic for picking a team to support. (And I found that I ended up picking a team by realizing I was rooting against certain teams.)

Just be happy that football is penetrating the US market.

 

I tell you what mate beat up a few local Catholics and burn some U2 CD's and we will consider giving you partial credit. Fairplay?

 

That's why MLS is great. A salary cap ensures that your team sucks because of incompetence and not someone else’s deep pockets and relatively low ticket prices make going to the game well within the reach of most families (or certainly more families than most of the other professional sports).

 

This thread is funny.

So Americans are supposed to pick teams to support that they'll be lucky to get catch on TV 1 out of every 4 matches? Yeah that makes sense.

"Hey you. Joe Six Pack"
"Yeah?"
"It's time for you to start watch English Soccer. Go pick a team. But don't pick a team that you'll actually get to see play. Cause then you might get interested in the sport instead of just losing interest."
"Sounds great. Any suggestions. I guess Chelsea, Arsenal, ManU, and Liverpool are out?"
"Absolutely. Personally I think you should go with Bristol Rovers or Wrexham You'll NEVER seen them play."
"Thanks for the help"

I also like that Americans are expected to fly 5000 miles to be considered "true" fans because some guys in England are so dedicated to their teams that they drive a whole hour to go watch a game. Wow.