Real fans don't pick a team for how it might make others perceive them, they pick a team for reasons that are personally significant. "Cool" is transient, personal stuff is enduring.
Haha, this is the exact reason I clicked on this thread, Arsenal? Cool? Nah, its never been that way and while the wagon has picked up many followers the past few seasons, we've never been the cool team. In fact, Chelsea has always been the cool, fashionable team in London, nothing's new...
It took me a long time to find out about the EPL, but when I did, I watched a few teams and I liked Arsenal the most for the way they played, so I looked at their history. It seemed like they were a club that had passion and desire for the game and the club then most. So, I decided to follow them. It wasn't until I really got into them, that I noticed all the stuff that they had won in the past. I worked around alot of ManUre fans and took alot of slack, but I liked supporting a team of heart then a team of arrogance and cheats. That's just how I saw it. I never got a response from a ManUre fan that really justified their devotion to the club besides one guy that got to play some ball at OT. Usually just something about awards or it was the only team they knew. Gunners that I have met seem to have the same passion for the team regardless of how long they have supported them or how they are playing. I have fallen in love with Arsenal for what the team is. I will continue to support them when the current players leave or retire and when new players come along. I will continue to support them whether we win or lose. And I couldn't care less whether they are cool or not. They are in my heart.
Let me give you an idea of what I think about us potentially not being "the coolest" anymore: in spite of the loss Sunday, which became official two and a half hours before I left my apartment in Taiwan for the last time, I still wore my DB10 shirt on the plane. I still thought about what I would say to anyone dumb enough to make the slightest rip on me about the game. And I still smiled proudly when I walked into my room at my parents' brand new house and saw my Arsenal scarf hanging from the mirror. That and this thread have reminded me of a few things: I don't support Arsenal because they wear neat shirts. I support Arsenal because, after every match, Tony Adams' shirt was stained with grass and sweat. I don't support Arsenal because they produce neat little TV shows. I support Arsenal because they produce excellent football. And most of all, I don't support Arsenal because everyone says it's the cool thing to do or because they win trophies. I support them because...well, just because. I can't explain it. And honestly, if you really are concerned that Arsenal isn't hip or fashionable, you might want to start asking yourself if you watch football for the love of the club or so that you look good in front of others. Besides, just keep in mind that all the trends go out of style eventually, only to come back down the road.
When I think of great Gooners, I always think of the real blood and guts types. Lads like Adams, who played for us for 22 years. Twenty two ************ing years. Think about that. Frank McLintock, who captained Arsenal to the Double in 1971. 66 appearances that year, zero substitutions. One Robert Primrose Wilson, our keeper in 1971, who debuted for Arsenal as an amateur, the last of his kind in the first division to do so and whose signature tactic was to dive at the feet of his opponents to stop goals. Pat Jennings, who played with us until he was 40 and never stopped trying. David O'Leary, our appearances record holder. Charlie George, who had real skill and flair but had the physical presence of a true Islington lad (he almost literally jumped out of the Schoolboys Enclosure into the team) and won the Double with a fecking rocket out of the top drawer. Georgie Graham, both as player and as manager. Frank Stapleton, John Radford, so on. The 1971 team will always be my favourite. Not only did they win the Double, but they were hard, tough footballers who didn't bother to play pretty football. They just won. More recently, a fella like Alan Smith, Rocky, Sol Campbell, etc.. These men weren't cool. They were just bloody good footballers and absolutely determined to win for the Arsenal, and hence we have a record nearly every club in England would be jealous of.
Good post, Charlie George was a bit of a rock star in his day though. Definitely cool. One question though, why do you have Celtic in your name, or am I asking the obvious? I notice they don't show up in your 'team' section.
Honestly is that really important? I don't know if we've lost that title, but I can tell you the blue s*its have won the most hated club in London (which is hard to do with a Tottenham hanging around.) if not all of Europe in just two years. Good job.
Should Henry leave, it will be the good ol days of boring boring Arsenal. I feel for you true fans, but there have been a lot of gloryhunting fans joining la arse..be happy they will be leaving aswell
Wow! What a lot of chips on such a lot of shoulders! I would doubt that many of you have been following the Arse as long as I have, in fact I've probably been to following them since before most of you were born! Get real guys, and stop wearing your loyalty on your sleeve!! You are all so hugely missing the point. Anyone who would choose 'Boring Boring Arsenal' over 'The Invincibles' is a freakin idiot. The Arsenal have a much bigger following these days, first due to the success of George Graham and then eclipsed by the phenominal achievements of AW. Get real, success breeds support; and not all of it fairweather. Unlike Zani, many people who start following a team in the good years stick around and suffer in the doldrums like everyone else; many of you probably started following The Arse in the last 9 years, in which we've never finished below 2nd and won a trophy almost, if not, every year? When I started following the club in the early 70's football was all about the league and FA Cup, with the FAC held in just as high esteem. The interest in the European football was not as great as in the domestic game, partly because only the league champions qualified. There were nowhere near as many fans outside the UK and what there were mainly followed Liverpool and ManUre. Now fast forward to today, where EPL games are shown live all over the world, and supporters come from the 4 corners of the globe? Let me be clear, short of a major moral abuse - like funding terrorism, I WILL NEVER STOPING FOLLOWING THE ARSENAL!!!!!, but, I still don't want us to slip into mid-table mediocrity. The new stadium, the website, the phone services, credit cards, new shirts every year are all part of a marketing strategy to keep the moolar rolling in to support more success for the club. Which is exactly why we're moving to a new £450m new stadium; because 15 years of growing success has built the fan base to the point where we can justify it and... justify a serious attempt at becoming one of the great clubs of Europe. Of course no one wants to see the core values of the club changed in pursuit of this, but, we've embarked on this road, for better or worse, and unless you intend giving up following the club we're all in it together? Part of this involves using branding to generate cash, the club didn't change our crest for nothing? I didn't like this, but, it's a fact of life. To succeed, image is important. It should never be held in higher regard than substance, but, it still has to be cultivated. What is our image right now? A team in crisis? I'd say so. Big debt in the bank, no cash for wages and transfers, core players past their peak, new players lacking physical strength and character, best players looking at pastures new and various disputes and unrest suggested behind the scenes; and a new kid on the block threatening to eclipse everything achieved? That image has to affect the morale of our players, affect top players thinking of coming to the club, affect how the money men perceive our club, affect the influence we have on the "Group of 18" etc,etc,etc and ultimately will affect the decision of supporters whether or not to pay the highest prices in the land for tickets and hospitality? And like it or not the club can't cavalierly turn its back on those people. The thing which has made Arsenal cool, made many of our better players household names across the planet has not been down to image devoid of content. It is image hard won by playing "Beautiful Football" and still prevailing. It is coolness from shear talent and achievement, and perhaps that did lead to a little spring/swagger in the step, and why not? I want us to carry on winning and, if at all possible, carry on doing it by playing breathtaking soccer. In the last two years the game has moved on, to it's detriment, and flowing football is harder than ever to achieve. I started a thread, much earlier in the year, suggesting that we were on the verge of a mini-crisis and to some extent factors outside the clubs control have affected this. Image is certainly not the most important thing, but the battle for hearts and minds cannot be ignored! For those who advocate patience during the current "transition" I have one question; can we afford to be patient or will things move out of reach if we fail to act decisively sooner rather than later? This is my main point of concern and doubt at present. Can we afford to wait and or do we have no other choice?
When did you go into marketing? Seriously, I could care less about the image of the club. Could this season see some of the plastic fans leave? Sure, but good riddance. We don't need them. As I stated before, we're not in as much of a crisis as some seem to believe. At least we didn't build up debt to buy ourselves like some clubs did, and at least we're not totally reliant on one guy's wealth like another club. We've always been a resilient club and we'll get through this little bump in the road. Jesus , we're starting to sound like Red Sox fans on this board! (Or should I say "Johnny Damon, we're starting to sound like Red Sox fans on this board!"?)
I don't know if you missed the point of most of the people who responded, but I think most are saying they could care less if the team is cool to support and that they are in it for the long haul. Success might have drawn them here, but just because the team has hit a bump doesn't mean the support has wavered. I know for myself when I decided to support Arsenal I decided to support the football club, not the players that are playing or the managers. Players and managers come and go, but Arsenal will always be there.
Celtic = Irish-born dad, Welsh mum, Welsh raised, Welsh speaking, Scottish grandfather. Which means I have a kilt in my closet next to a bottle of Bushmills and an inflatable sheep for speshul occaisons. I'd be tempted to throw in some Cornish and Breton there but there isn't any. Plus it rhymes with psychedelic. Which is cool, cool like Arsenal are not. George played up front and had the famous hair, but he was also a well-built, tall man (6'1" and about 180 lbs, which was flat out big then, and even today isn't particularly small for a forward) and quite physical. He wasn't Ruud Van Nistelrooy, that's for sure, but rather more Keaneish (without the petulancy). He held up quite well for Arsenal in 1970s English football, which was definitely way more physical than today. He was also renowned for having a bit of a temper, which culminated in a number of near-brawls on the pitch. Boring Boring Arsenal won us a Double, the UEFA Cup (beating a superb Ajax in the process), several FA Cups, several League titles, the Cup Winners Cup, several League Cups, etc. etc. The Invincibles were great, but they didn't win a Double, nor did they win in Europe. I am wary of denigrating Wenger's achievements in any way, but Boring, Boring Arsenal delivered a pretty fair bit of success to the club and some of those achievements listed he has not echoed himself. When Arsenal win the European Cup this May, then we'll talk.
If Boring Boring Arsenal equates to George Grahams time, which it does, then what double are you talking about (The early 70's team is not BBA!)? The 'Invincibles" is my short had for AW's time and he's achieved the double twice, produced the only team in the modern game to secure an unbeaten season, the only manager since HC to win the league 3 times and taken us into europe for 9 consecutive years. With all due respect, what the fark are you blathering about? Question for you "non-plastic" fans... (I have a mental image of you all, happiest in an unsheltered stand, crammed in with 65,000 others, barely able to see the game, standing for 2 hours in the pouring rain, waiting 15 minutes to have a pee, and then queing for another 15 minutes for a cup of luke warm gnats piss tea and a 2 week old sausage roll, trudging to the pub to drink 15 pints and pick a fight with someone coz the Arsenal lost again; oh for the good old days? = Dinosaur)... Do you all wear original 70's style Arsenal tops, handed down to you buy your dads, or have you invested £30 in a Topps vintage shirt, or do you religiously buy the lastest nasting nylon crap, each and every year, like the rest of us, because it's money for the club and because you wouldn't be seen dead in last year's shirt????? What's that all about then eh? Do the math boys!!!
i'm not old enough to stand on the terraces and the only two matches I've watched with my Dad have been on TV because he wanted to see a match at The Globe. I have a Toffs shirt. Does that make me a worse fan or something?
Yeah, the same manager you talked about replacing in another thread! Get off your high horse, marty, and understand that Arsenal is about more than Wenger, more than trophies and more than an unbeaten season. Arsenal is an institution that has been around forever. It's spanned generations, taken the form of all different players, managers and styles and been both beautiful and frustrating. It's seen both tremendous highs and terrible lows. Being an Arsenal supporter is about going through the good times and the bad and, quite frankly, you don't seem to be willing to go through the bad right now without kicking and screaming like a two-year old. This whole talk about "are we still the coolest club?" is a total joke. A true Arsenal supporter doesn't give a damn about anything like that. Sure, we can complain about how the club markets itself, but that doesn't change the fact that we're always going to be here. You yourself claim to have been there in the early '80s, when Arsenal clearly weren't the "cool" club they are now. Why the hell do you care now about whether we're cool or not? Sure, I buy the new ones, but because I like them and because they symbolize the evolution of the club. It also gives me an opportunity to pay tribute to my heroes, like DB10. Personally, I don't give a fuck if you're there with a red shirt with a cannon drawn on it by your three-year old. If you're wearing red and white, than you're alright!
Only if your bald, weigh over 200lbs, have at least 3 gold teeth, suffer from bad breath and BO, have a skin to tattoo ratio of less 3:1 and drink cans of Special brew on the upper deck of buses? (apologies to any ex-ballet dancers who fail into this tongue in cheek stereo type!)
If you honestly think the 1970-1971 Arsenal team were not considered a conservative, defensive team, then we really shouldn't be having this conversation.
ok, now i'm lost. is it cool to root for "Boring, Boring Arsenal" or "les Invincibles?" 'cause i wanna be cool.....
What if you do both? And while my dad didn't hand anything down to me (1st generation Arsenal fan), I do have the tracksuit, scarf, and pennant I received when I was 4 and fully intend on handing those down to my kids...
I am unfortunate enough to have a a dad that cheers for Man U. I have tried getting him to defect, but he just laughes at me, th arsenal scarfs I have bought him over the last 10 years magically come back to me as christmas presents as I grow older. If I have learned anything in my short life it's that I don't really care if people think I am a real fan or not. I know that I am the one that wakes up at 3 am to watch a game live rather than a taped delay version, because it isn't the same. I know that feeling that I get in my stomach the day before a game. When it comes down to it I do not base my allegiance on which teams are in form, or have the most supporters. I am stuck, like it says in fever pitch its worse than a marriage, because its not like you can have an affair with another team.
it seems so typically American to worry about things like a football kit making a cameo in a hollywood movie.
Funny because two people have brought this up to me. One from Benin and one from...........yep England. Not that you are wrong as it does seem typical but.........
I was 6 years old! I remember the cup final moderately well and a couple of other that games that season, and I know we had a pretty solid back 4, but the team also included little Georgy Armstrong, Charlie George, John Radford, and I think Ray Kenedy, all of whom could play a bit! Now whether they achieved the double on the back of a miserly defence or a balanced good side I can't honestly say, however, I know that the Mantra "Boring Boring Arsenal" came along well after every player on that team had lond since hung up their boots! Furthermore It would change the fact that I rather watch Arsenal playing more like the Invincables than Revee's Robots!