Should you support your local team?

[Deleted User] · 16/12/10 - 17:11

I often hear the argument touted about, especially man utd supporters who dont live in manchester and have never been to a match etc so therefore it doesnt make them "true" supporters?

I was wondering where this logic ever comes from?

I was wondering when this ever became a rule for who you should or shouldnt support? As its not like the players who play for the clubs even come from the relevant area and sometimes not even the same country (i.e arsenal)..

Then what does this mean for those who live in foreign countries who love the EPL and man utd, chelsea etc, they arent allowed to be fans either?

So what relevance does your geographical have to the team you are allowed to support?

timboy · 16/12/10 - 17:17

The logic comes from fans of 'small' teams who don't like people from their town/city supporting a 'big' team from another town/city.

celesti · 16/12/10 - 17:30

Support whoever you want, but stick with them.

Blackadder V · 16/12/10 - 17:42

I would be a mercenary if that was true. i would have gone from supporting Southampton to supporting Palace, to supporting Millwall (imagine that jump) and then to supporting Fulham.

Tel69 · 16/12/10 - 17:45

There's no law against who you support but for me supporting a team local to where you grew up or when you started supporting them makes sense. When I was a kid most kids supported Liverpool because they were the best but never went to games and I could never draw allegiance to a club hundreds of miles away. As for the home counties barca fan bods on here, well they're just a joke.

bspace · 16/12/10 - 19:16

well i support the local team of my youth
Hull Kingston Rovers
unfortunately for the association football fan in me they play rugby league

so when looking for a footy club to support i went for the pool
being a big beatles fan and the club colours both being red and white, amongst other things
(this was in the mid sixties when liverpools all red was still something of a novelty)

i don't really think it matters where you come from,
only that once you choose your stuck with it for life
through thick or thin, no turning back
otherwise it's meaningless

eugenespeed · 16/12/10 - 20:33

I was born and bred in Gateshead, so I support Gateshead FC. To me, it made sense.

But most people from my way either support Newcastle or Sunderland, or one of the big 4 teams.

Pepperoni Man · 16/12/10 - 20:52

Always a tricky one this and the "bigger" the team you support the more you seem to have to justify it to other fans especially if you have no sort of geographical link to that club.

For me, I support Wolves because I grew up in Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton is relatively local. I guess you could say that I should support Shrewsbury Town.

One thing is for sure - if you have some sort of connection to your club or your club is not one of the mega clubs or you are able to attend matches it makes life a little easier !

[Deleted User] · 16/12/10 - 21:06

The local team thing, at the end of the day, is mixing football with a vague sense of having pride in the area you were brought up in. For that reason it's never going to be universal because some people don't particularly like/have any deep connection to the area they were brought up in.

It's also the case that the closest team of any real size to you can be in a place some 20-30 miles away that you have no connection to at all. That's when it becomes a bit silly - should you support a team from a city you rarely ever go to just because it takes less time to drive there in the car? Does that mean all Scottish people should support Carlisle United when they watch English football?

Joooe · 16/12/10 - 21:07

The key is that your club is not just a team you 'like'. It's a part of 'who you are'. (Blimey I sound pretentious there don't I?

)

And obviously often it's also just logical. It must be bloody hard to go and support a team that's miles away!

Pink_Pounder · 16/12/10 - 21:32

The whole 'its my business who your team is' surely is just another form of male penis envy isn't it?

Coen · 16/12/10 - 21:47

It terms of where this logic comes from, my theory is that this is largely historical. Years ago there wasnt much football on TV, so the only way you could really watch football was to go to the games, and for most supporters that meant going to local games. So supporting your local team became the expected thing as there wasnt really any other option if you were serious about actually watching football.

None of this logic really applies these days, of course, but I think that's where it comes from.

CarlosVela · 17/12/10 - 00:44

I think it makes sense to support your local club as opposed to one that's miles away as it's easier to go to games and such, not to mention the link you should have to the area you were born or raised. It's the same with International football, people support the country they were born or raised in the majority of the time, so it shouldn't be different when it comes to club football and supporting some random team you have no connection to.

I'm lucky as i was born and raised as a local to North London and lived less than 2 miles away from Highbury, so Arsenal were my natural choice to support. Not only that, my family has always been full of Arsenal fans and has been based in North London for as long as the club has been.

I just don't see the point in supporting a team on the other side of the country.

[Deleted User] · 17/12/10 - 01:35

CarlosVela wrote: »

I think it makes sense to support your local club as opposed to one that's miles away as it's easier to go to games and such, not to mention the link you should have to the area you were born or raised. It's the same with International football, people support the country they were born or raised in the majority of the time, so it shouldn't be different when it comes to club football and supporting some random team you have no connection to.

I'm lucky as i was born and raised as a local to North London and lived less than 2 miles away from Highbury, so Arsenal were my natural choice to support. Not only that, my family has always been full of Arsenal fans and has been based in North London for as long as the club has been.

I just don't see the point in supporting a team on the other side of the country.

That's fine if you live less than 2 miles away from the ground, but it gets a bit more confusing with people in more rural areas. Where I was brought up, for instance, the nearest professional team was about 25 miles away in a city I rarely went to. I don't see any more reason to support that team than another team 30 miles away, or 40, or whatever. I think that's one of the problems with this argument of "supporting your local team" - a lot of people just don't have one in any real sense.

[Deleted User] · 17/12/10 - 07:44

in a perfect world people would support there closest league club (maybe even non-league for the hardcore.)

there are also supports that follow big teams for perfectly innocent reasons, you have to feel a bit sorry for manu fans from who dont have that key connection but started supporting them before they had there spell of success as they tend to get branded a glory hunter, i suppose the same would be true with some chelsea fans.

btw i support charlton my local side :cool:

Blackadder V wrote: »

I would be a mercenary if that was true. i would have gone from supporting Southampton to supporting Palace, to supporting Millwall (imagine that jump) and then to supporting Fulham.

you sound like a masochist to me supporting teams like those with no real need lol

TommyGavin76 · 17/12/10 - 08:18

Pepperoni Man wrote: »

Always a tricky one this and the "bigger" the team you support the more you seem to have to justify it to other fans especially if you have no sort of geographical link to that club.

For me, I support Wolves because I grew up in Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton is relatively local. I guess you could say that I should support Shrewsbury Town.

One thing is for sure - if you have some sort of connection to your club or your club is not one of the mega clubs or you are able to attend matches it makes life a little easier !

And here was I thinking you were a proper Wolves fan.;)

Pink_Pounder · 17/12/10 - 08:21

Surely buying local produce is far more important, yet who does that?

ihatemarmite · 17/12/10 - 11:58

Pink_Pounder wrote: »

Surely buying local produce is far more important, yet who does that?

quite a lot of people if it's cheaper. Also, Third World producers need us to buy their veggies or they starve.

I grew up in Cape Town and used to support CT City. They were truly dire, full of past-it English expats - and of course in a segregated (and v tatty, unsafe) old stadium with only white players allowed to play for CTC although 'coloured' fans were allowed in to watch.
I still remember the team fondly and the time when Peter Lorimer broke the net with a shot

Do the London clubs have fans (non London born) all over the UK or is it just a Man Utd/Liverpool thing? I don't understand the hostility on here to someone who supports a foreign team - as long as they understand the history and tradition of the club, go watch when they can and stick with it - as it seems just as logical to me to support Barca or RM or Inter as it does to live in London and support Man Utd.
Support is not just watching on TV and buying the overpriced polyester shirt

Lisa.J · 17/12/10 - 14:06

I dont really care where people are from as long as they arent the glory hunting sort who change their team according to form.

I'm from Manchester and a United fan, but that is all down to my dad. I grew up going to Old Trafford and didnt really have much say in the matter.

It would have been no different if I was born somewhere else tbh, I'd have grown up supporting whoever my dad supported. And if he was a United fan living down south or whatever I'd have been the same.

Pepperoni Man · 17/12/10 - 16:29

TommyGavin76 wrote: »

And here was I thinking you were a proper Wolves fan.;)

Nah - glory hunter me !

Pepperoni Man · 17/12/10 - 16:31

CarlosVela wrote: »

.
I just don't see the point in supporting a team on the other side of the country.

But people do move around you know. I couldn't start supporting Yeovil or Bristol City just because I've moved from the midlands - It's just not humanly possible

[Deleted User] · 17/12/10 - 23:14

I also had an argument with someone the other day who said you cant be a true supporter if you never go to the matches.

I had a season ticket for my club during the 90s, however they are now established in the premier league and at the ticket prices these days, I simply cant afford it!

does that all of a sudden mean i am any less of a supporter because i need to eat and pay rent?

Jake2008 · 17/12/10 - 23:23

I was born in Liverpool with a scouse mother and a French father who is from Lile, so I chose Liverpool, I hear about loads of liverpool fans who are from all over the gaff!

[Deleted User] · 17/12/10 - 23:46

I'm a black country boy but I support Liverpool because my Dad is a scouser and he used to take me on the Kop when I was a kid. I get the glory hunter cr*p all the time. They can please themselves. I'm red thru and thru. If anything, a 200 mile round trip to the game just shows commitment.

trinity2002 · 17/12/10 - 23:59

I'm from Northampton and support Villa. We moved to Sheffield when I was 8 and I still supported Villa. I used to go to around 8 home matches a year until I had my son in 1996, and even then a couple a year until 2000. Then my sister decided she had other priorities and I didn't fancy going there on my own.

While they were at Millmoor, Rotherham were my nearest club.......and I also used to go and watch them quite regularly too. They still remain my second club with Wednesday in 3rd.

I'm obviously not a glory supporter, but I have to admit that I barely remember there being a Northampton Town FC before we moved up here.

Lisa.J · 18/12/10 - 09:49

Human123 wrote: »

I also had an argument with someone the other day who said you cant be a true supporter if you never go to the matches.

I had a season ticket for my club during the 90s, however they are now established in the premier league and at the ticket prices these days, I simply cant afford it!

does that all of a sudden mean i am any less of a supporter because i need to eat and pay rent?

I agree, I hate the "armchair supporter" name calling.

I went to OT all the time as a kid (and sadly United were rubbish back then, I went to my 1st game when Ron Atkinson was still in charge:eek:) I get to a few games now, but not many, have a mortgage and lots of other bills that take priority.

One of my friends suddenly decided that they were a city fan a couple of years ago (around the same time they came into money....funny that!) after never really showing an interest in football, and they do go to most of their home games, and suddenly they think that makes them a better fan than me....winds me up!

Hey there!

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