Just a question

ANTIFA!

Would you find it odd if an Irish person supported Toulouse or Leicster over their province? Does anybody know of any such people?

remus808

It's not the same thing as LOI - don't start.

ANTIFA!

How is it not the same? Please tell me how it differs.

Because Irish provinces are as good/better than their opposition teams its different but if they weren't as good then it be acceptable to support another team outside Ireland.

BTW I used to play rugby and support my club and province(which is Leinster)

remus808

LOI is lower tier football no matter what way you spin it - the big names and the glitz are just not there for the average punter, whereas Irish rugby fans have the privilege of supporting some of the top teams in the premier competitions in Europe, with some of the best players. By contrast, The Irish national team don't even play in the LOI.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but it's clearly not the same thing so your wasting your time trying to compare them. The average sports fan is interested in the 'headline' acts, that's just how it is.

ANTIFA!

I agree with you but that applies only to people in Ireland and perhaps parts of Asia.

Scottish fans wouldn't call the SPL lower tier as its the top tier in their country same with Norwegians, they wouldn't call the Tippeligaen lower league, only in this country would that be said.

Basically as an Irish Rugby and soccer fan I'd like to know if there is anybody out there that supports a French or English team rather than an Irish one.

Stev_o

I support Leicester ahead of Leinster, no idea why and iv been to my share of Leinster matches over the years.

Risteard

Well my answer to the question is I don't know of anyone that supports Toulouse or another team. The only ones I know that do are the ones that don't follow rugby and prefer it when Munster lose and as a result support whoever they're playing.

Why you may ask? Because apparently Munster's fans are mostly 'people and women who only started following them when they became successful.' Yet these are the people that support Man Utd. Liverpool Chelsea etc. At which point I ask them why they support them considering they have no connection to the club or city where they are based apart from the fact they chose to support them. Yet suddenly this is different to Munster's situation.:rolleyes:

I think I kind of ranted off-topic there. Long-story short no I do not know any Irish rugby fans that chose to support an English/French team over their own province but there are fans that don't support any province and instead support their club only.

EDIT: Stev o there seems to support Leicester so I suppose there are some.

bleg

Don't know of any I'm sure there are a few though. The closest you would get is fans who support their province but after that like to see certain teams do well.

[Jackass]

I've always had a thing for Ospreys, just like a lot of things about them, their players, their stadium etc., and maybe because they play a simular brand of rugby to Leinster, exciting backline rugby, but support for any team doesn't even come close to my support for Leinster...I would probably support Leinster more than I would the national team even...as in a Heineken Cup gave me a lot more pleasure and euphoria than the grand slam did, however I enjoyed the grand slam immensely...

In GP I'd support Quins (even though I fully support all the punishment being handed down to them also). France, probably Stade Francais would be my favourite team, although I like Tolouse also.

Stev_o

[Jackass] wrote: »

I've always had a thing for Ospreys, just like a lot of things about them, their players, their stadium etc., and maybe because they play a simular brand of rugby to Leinster, exciting backline rugby, but support for any team doesn't even come close to my support for Leinster...I would probably support Leinster more than I would the national team even...as in a Heineken Cup gave me a lot more pleasure and euphoria than the grand slam did, however I enjoyed the grand slam immensely...

Go on admit it you admire the tan and cheesey hair styles

handsomecake

i support the wellington hurricanes and im from kildare. just always liked their razor sharp backlines.i prefer southern hemisphere rugby hands down.it entertaines me and its the way i liked to play when i played myself.i wake up every saturday morning to watch air new zealand cup,super 14,and tri nations currie cup etc. i didnt watch a single magners league game last year.

on a more extreme note and i get pilloried by friends and family alike.............i support the all blacks over ireland and im irish. i went to croker in the full new zealand regalia in november and mortifeid the girlfriends family. they are from limerick and i was roaring obscenities at quinlan and o gara .calling them cheating munster ******* etc!!!!( it was all in jest) twas a right good day.

i have over 30 all black shirts from over the years,my dog is named after an all black. i have all black paintings and most of their autobiographies.

ka mate

handsomecake

i love stade francais too. i have some of their shirts but aint got the balls ( or the biceps) to wear them outside

[Jackass]

Stev_o wrote: »

Go on admit it you admire the tan and cheesey hair styles

Well, that part goes without saying, of course!!

chupacabra

handsomecake wrote: »

i support the wellington hurricanes and im from kildare. just always liked their razor sharp backlines.i prefer southern hemisphere rugby hands down.it entertaines me and its the way i liked to play when i played myself.i wake up every saturday morning to watch air new zealand cup,super 14,and tri nations currie cup etc. i didnt watch a single magners league game last year.

on a more extreme note and i get pilloried by friends and family alike.............i support the all blacks over ireland and im irish. i went to croker in the full new zealand regalia in november and mortifeid the girlfriends family. they are from limerick and i was roaring obscenities at quinlan and o gara .calling them cheating munster ******* etc!!!!( it was all in jest) twas a right good day.

i have over 30 all black shirts from over the years,my dog is named after an all black. i have all black paintings and most of their autobiographies.

ka mate

Total bandwaggonery. Which is perfectly ok :cool:

anonymous_joe

Stev_o wrote: »

Go on admit it you admire the tan and cheesey hair styles

What Leinster fan couldn't!? :pac:

In fairness, I support my local team. Leinster. The fact that they play in the highest tier matters. Because I don't give a fcuk about the AIL. There's your contrast to teh LoI.

anonymous_joe

chupacabra wrote: »

Total bandwaggonery. Which is perfectly ok :cool:

If someone told me they supported Brazil for reasons of artistic and aesthetic purity I'd probably be impressed in fairness. ^^

ANTIFA!

ANTIFA! wrote: »

Would you find it odd if an Irish person supported Toulouse or Leicster over their province? Does anybody know of any such people?

Well its odd purely for the reason that it cant be compared to football.

Both Leinster and Munster are probably the best 2 teams in europe and can attract top class players,they are richer than Leiecester and probably Tolouse aswell,so yeah I would find it weird.

It would be Like a person from Manchester supporting Celtic,why?

ANTIFA!

No not having that, so if Irish rugby reverts back to the way it was before the success it be fine for Irish to just jump ship to other more prosperous and success European teams? Leinster and Munster got where they are by support, no other way. If people took the same view of rugby as they do of LOI, then Leinster wouldn't be European champions today.

Just wondering are you a soccer fan yourself?

mink_man

no??

toomevara

I think I gets complicated really quickly. For example I'm a long time, long suffering supporter of Leeds RU..We've yo-yo'd around between relegation, despair, promotion, depression, ecstasy for the last three years...We're back in the GP this season and (though already written off to go back down by most) I reckon we'll stay up...I watch these guys maybe 10 - 15 times a year live. if I'm lucky I get to maybe 1 or 2 Munster games, alas.

Now, I'm a Munster man born and bred and I love the province (not in the recent militant idiot way i hasten to add), but in an alternative world where Leeds were to storm to the top of the GP table, secure a Heino Cup spot and meet Munster in the euro cup say in two years time, I wouldn't know where to look. I think I 'd just have to stay at home (particularly as Leeds are coached by bleedin, bloody Neil Back, oh lord the mental gymnastics I've had to indulge in!!!). Not always as clear cut as it might be I suppose....

OldJay

Annalee Warm Tofu wrote: »

Both Leinster and Munster are probably the best 2 teams in europe and can attract top class players,they are richer than Leiecester and probably Tolouse aswell

???
On what do you base this guess that Leinster and Munster are 'richer' than Leicester or Toulouse?

chupacabra

Justind wrote: »

???
On what do you base this guess that Leinster and Munster are 'richer' than Leicester or Toulouse?

Well, wouldnt common sense tell you that because Munster and Leinster win all the trophies they get lots of money?

anonymous_joe

chupacabra wrote: »

Well, wouldnt common sense tell you that because Munster and Leinster win all the trophies they get lots of money?

It's not football. So no.

Leinster and Munster are quite wealthy, but a long way off Stade, Toulouse, Toulon, et al.

danthefan

Toulouse have a yearly budget of €17m or something obscene, they're absolutely miles ahead of us in terms of money.

Stealdo

ANTIFA! wrote: »

No not having that, so if Irish rugby reverts back to the way it was before the success it be fine for Irish to just jump ship to other more prosperous and success European teams? Leinster and Munster got where they are by support, no other way. If people took the same view of rugby as they do of LOI, then Leinster wouldn't be European champions today.

Just wondering are you a soccer fan yourself?

The difference ANITFA is that rugby still retains some of the trappings of a sport. Soccer these days is a spectacle first and just like the way no one goes to see a Broadway show to look at some gangly extra in the chorus line, soccer spectators want to see the stars of the show. There's nothing else to it in my opinion. People who have no real interest in a sport beyond watching it on TV are not going to support their local team, why would they? Teams that qualify for the CL are infinitely more accessible in terms of the number of times you can watch them per year without actually having to get up off your bar stool or put down the Sun.

Rugby is headed in the same direction and takes strides every year towards trying to catch some of the soccer magic, and will be all the poorer for it. The reason you have any large level of support for Leinster/Munster is because of the success they and the national team have had over the last 10 years. Before that you wouldn't have had a huge amount of people attending club games (i.e. AIL) that wouldn't have had some level of involvement in the game at some point in their lives.

Without the success it's not the case that the majority of the current crop of rugby fans would be glued to their TV cheering on Leicester or Toulouse, they'd ignore the game completely.

Depp

I support munster whenever they paley but there are certain teams id favour in different leagues, for example im a big fan of gloucester when there playing in the GP but not when there playing munster

toomevara

danthefan wrote: »

Toulouse have a yearly budget of €17m or something obscene, they're absolutely miles ahead of us in terms of money.

...and they receive financial support from local government, their grounds. for example, are maintained by the local authority...unlike the GP, there's no salary cap either which means that teams such as Toulon, who've got a rich sugar daddy, can come from nowhere, buy the likes of Umaga and Wilkinson and start beating all before them...Its why, admirer though I am of french rugby in general and the way they play, I cant help thinking that when a french team does well in the heineken its money winning out.....

danthefan

toomevara wrote: »

...and they receive financial support from local government, their grounds. for example, are maintained by the local authority...unlike the GP, there's no salary cap either which means that teams such as Toulon, who've got a rich sugar daddy, can come from nowhere, buy the likes of Umaga and Wilkinson and start beating all before them...Its why, admirer though I am of french rugby in general and the way they play, I cant help thinking that when a french team does well in the heineken its money winning out.....

Not really, Toulouse put a huge amount of time and effort into their youth teams and development, and on top of that we can hardly talk as foreigners have been essential to both Munster and Leinster's HEC success.

When Brive won it it was a different game, no other French team has won it.

toomevara

danthefan wrote: »

When Brive won it it was a different game, no other French team has won it.

Good Point.

il gatto

I don't think rugby compares to soccer in this instance. Irish peole support the premiership teams as the entire Irish national team play in it. Norway, as mentioned have some home based players and then players dispersed all around the place. Only the odd Irish player ends up outside of the u.k. If all Norwegian players played in Germany for example, and had done for many years, I believe you'd find Norwegians supporting German teams.
Another reason is that, although Ireland has had some notable troughs such like the Ashton era, we, at an international level, have never been much worse than second tier. So, even though the early part of professionalism was a bad patch until Ulster won the HEC in 99 and BOD and the like came along in 2000, Irish rugby at a national level has always been fairly successful, using a mix of home based players and some who went to LI, Quins etc.
Personally, I don't care much about the premiership, have zero interest in Scottish football and only watch the GP matches if there's no ML on the box. Irish rugby is a credit to the island of Ireland and we should enjoy this period of success as it inevitabily will end at some stage. But because of the structures in place and large new support base, we are better prepared than before to dig our way out of a malaise.
There's nothing wrong with taking a mild interest in a foreign teams progress, but supporting one against your own, I can't comprehend, especially at international level. If a yank or somesuch want to follow at top class team, fine, the All Blacks fit the bill with their team, marketing, Haka etc, but when your team are champions of Europe, I can't see the reasoning behind it.

anonymous_joe

il gatto wrote: »

I don't think rugby compares to soccer in this instance. Irish peole support the premiership teams as the entire Irish national team play in it. Norway, as mentioned have some home based players and then players dispersed all around the place. Only the odd Irish player ends up outside of the u.k. If all Norwegian players played in Germany for example, and had done for many years, I believe you'd find Norwegians supporting German teams.
Another reason is that, although Ireland has had some notable troughs such like the Ashton era, we, at an international level, have never been much worse than second tier. So, even though the early part of professionalism was a bad patch until Ulster won the HEC in 99 and BOD and the like came along in 2000, Irish rugby at a national level has always been fairly successful, using a mix of home based players and some who went to LI, Quins etc.
Personally, I don't care much about the premiership, have zero interest in Scottish football and only watch the GP matches if there's no ML on the box. Irish rugby is a credit to the island of Ireland and we should enjoy this period of success as it inevitabily will end at some stage. But because of the structures in place and large new support base, we are better prepared than before to dig our way out of a malaise.
There's nothing wrong with taking a mild interest in a foreign teams progress, but supporting one against your own, I can't comprehend, especially at international level. If a yank or somesuch want to follow at top class team, fine, the All Blacks fit the bill with their team, marketing, Haka etc, but when your team are champions of Europe, I can't see the reasoning behind it.

Norwegians watch the most football in the world apparently. And are fairly Anglophile culturally. And yeah, most of their players ended up in ENgland or Norway, so they tend to support their 'real' team and an English one with equal passion.

skregs

I used to be a big fan of Toulouse, mainly because I loved their style of play. But the Top 14 has gone to pot with the recent influx of money

OldJay

anonymous_joe wrote: »

most of their players ended up in ENgland or Norway, so they tend to support their 'real' team and an English one with equal passion.

Wrong.
They go gung-ho on a Premiership side and turn up to 'their own' team if that team goes well in the league or plays the cup final.
It is premiership, premiership, premiership in Norway. Tippeligaen is lucky to get a look in.

Mr.Applepie

[Jackass] wrote: »

I've always had a thing for Ospreys,

This explains a lot

il gatto

Mr.Applepie wrote: »

This explains a lot

I dunno. they're large graceful birds and....wait..he meant the Welsh team......:D:D:D Of course, some of their players go out with well known birds:D

anonymous_joe

Justind wrote: »

Wrong.
They go gung-ho on a Premiership side and turn up to 'their own' team if that team goes well in the league or plays the cup final.
It is premiership, premiership, premiership in Norway. Tippeligaen is lucky to get a look in.

Really? The lads I knew were from Bergen, and they're all fcuked in the head anyway. Might explain why they were different.

OldJay

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Really? The lads I knew were from Bergen, and they're all fcuked in the head anyway. Might explain why they were different.

Sånn er livet i Bergen

anonymous_joe

Justind wrote: »

Sånn er livet i Bergen

Assume I've allowed my Norwegian to slip. :P

I said I played video games with 'em, not learned the lingo. ^^