Do you support any British sports teams?

dan1895

I don't support any teams/not interested in sport

Davidth88 wrote: »

Hi

I am English from West London living in Ireland now 10 yrs , support Chelsea and England.

Followed Chelsea home and away for many years , have only been to about 5 Chelsea games since I moved here . I also went to many England games ( lived short distance from Wembley )

I have been to many LOI games ( Kildare County when they were around and others ) and been to quite a few Ireland matches.

Nothing , but nothing beats being at a live match.

I find it sort of difficult when I am sitting watching say Chelsea v Manure or Rottenham and someone in the pub starts saying ' we are doing well ' when they have never been to a game , and know nothing about the ' culture ' of the team . For example , why do certain supporters hate other seemingly random teams ( Chelsea and Birmingham for example ) , why are certain songs sung etc. These things are really only learnt if you go to games on a regular basis.

Saying that I have met many people in Ireland who go to more PL games than I have ever been to and are ' true ' supporters .

I really enjoyed going to the LOI games when I could , I would gladly go to any live game and would follow a local side happily.

PS , I do find taking a slagging when watching an England match from someone wearing a Manure shirt rather ironic and funny, it't the main reason I never watch England in a pub in Ireland.

I've met a few people like your good self over the years. Proper football fans from the UK who had to move to Ireland for whatever reason and happily adopting a local side to get their live football fix. With genuine fans the standard of football is not something that worries them.

Mr. Presentable

I don't support any teams/not interested in sport

I follow an English football club - Leeds Utd - but don't support them financially. They've never had a penny from me, but this doesn't prevent me having an interest in how they do.

I have no problem with people following Man U or Villa or whatever, but it galls me that so many will actually give them financial support. It is perfectly acceptable to me to give financial support to a club that contributes tangibly to my local community, but to fund a club in another community to the disadvantage of the local one is, well, weak.

fryup

Davidth88 wrote: »

PS , I do find taking a slagging when watching an England match from someone wearing a Manure shirt rather ironic and funny, it't the main reason I never watch England in a pub in Ireland.

whats that then

Snakeblood

No

fryup wrote: »

whats that then

In order to support one team you should hate another.

Which is sort of weird.

stovelid

No

fryup wrote: »

whats that then

Dunga used to play for them.

St.Spodo

I'm a big League of Ireland fan and go to games week-in and week-out. That said, nothing irks me more than the holier-than-thou attitude exhibited by some of its fans. So what if most people prefer English/Spanish football? They enjoy it and we enjoy domestic football. Everyone is happy.

Davidth88

No

fryup wrote: »

whats that then

It's me being petty and not wanting to actually mention certain teams by name


Remove the re at the end

No , you don't HAVE to hate certain teams, however if you follow/support a team for long enough and go to a lot of the games then you naturally start to dislike certain other teams , this may be geographic in nature , ie . The two teams in Manchester hate one another , or historic , the two teams in North London where one got relegated because of alleged cheating/bribery by the other , or based on total bigotry , for example the two largest teams in Glasgow .

prinz

British sports teams? I enjoy watching Man Utd play. I also support a German team... I wonder does that bother people as much as supporting a British team.

Snakeblood

No

Davidth88 wrote: »

It's me being petty and not wanting to actually mention certain teams by name


Remove the re at the end

No , you don't HAVE to hate certain teams, however if you follow/support a team for long enough and go to a lot of the games then you naturally start to dislike certain other teams , this may be geographic in nature , ie . The two teams in Manchester hate one another , or historic , the two teams in North London where one got relegated because of alleged cheating/bribery by the other , or based on total bigotry , for example the two largest teams in Glasgow .

I'm not having a go, but it just seems weird. Like there's a guy I know, who says 'Scumchester united' every time he is talking about manchester. It makes him sound mental\thuggish. That sort of thing puts me off fandom to be honest. It seems petty to me. Although to be fair I'd think the same if someone kept saying '****ney Spears' instead of Britney, despite not caring a damn about her.

dan1895

I don't support any teams/not interested in sport

St.Spodo wrote: »

I'm a big League of Ireland fan and go to games week-in and week-out. That said, nothing irks me more than the holier-than-thou attitude exhibited by some of its fans. So what if most people prefer English/Spanish football? They enjoy it and we enjoy domestic football. Everyone is happy.

In my opinion, what I think that grinds the gears of most loi fans is that the type of person you mentioned above, usually goes on about being such a massive fan and loving football so much without ever stepping inside a stadium.
The type that really annoys me is your man Ken Early. Yeh he can talk on and on about the Premiership or whatever but he doesn't have a clue when it comes to football in his own country or city unless its the national team.

Also people seem to forget that in the long run if we have a better supported and run national league then we will have the potential of having a more competitive national team. If the League was to go bust, UEFA will expel the national team from their competitions and rightly so.

tfitzgerald

No I don't. Not because they are British but because I have no interest in sport what so ever

Davidth88

No

Snakeblood wrote: »

I'm not having a go, but it just seems weird. Like there's a guy I know, who says 'Scumchester united' every time he is talking about manchester. It makes him sound mental\thuggish. That sort of thing puts me off fandom to be honest. It seems petty to me. Although to be fair I'd think the same if someone kept saying '****ney Spears' instead of Britney, despite not caring a damn about her.

No offence taken ..... I tend to only do this when talking about certain clubs, you can see I even admit it's just me being petty:)

You will see Spurs/Tottenham often referred to as Rottenham in Chelsea Fanzines and Manchester United as Manure.

I dislike the word scum in this context , it seems rather too aggressive .

Snakeblood

No

Davidth88 wrote: »

No offence taken ..... I tend to only do this when talking about certain clubs, you can see I even admit it's just me being petty:)

You will see Spurs/Tottenham often referred to as Rottenham in Chelsea Fanzines and Manchester United as Manure.

I dislike the word scum in this context , it seems rather too aggressive .

Yeah, I thought that Scumchester was worse, sounded poisonous. It's a bit tribal, I suppose.

dan1895

I don't support any teams/not interested in sport

I can understand people in those locations maybe using terms such as scum but its cringe worthy when people here do it, referring to people they've never met and places they've never been.
Funnily enough a United fan I know started ranting about "scummy scousers". Shut him up pretty quick when I told him my family are from Liverpool and I'm half scouse myself.

DjFlin

I support a British team, and a Polish one too. I don't see why I shouldn't. I watch British/American TV/Movies, and I listen to their music too. Whats the big deal?

SEPT 23 1989

No

I have supported Manchester City for the last 21 years but my father brought me to League of Ireland/rep of Ireland matches when i was a young.You cant understand the game of football properly watching it in a pub and i would urge parents of young kids who are getting into football to bring them to watch your local club and give them a good grounding in the game of football.

gustavo

I don't support any teams/not interested in sport

DjFlin wrote: »

I support a British team, and a Polish one too. I don't see why I shouldn't. I watch British/American TV/Movies, and I listen to their music too. Whats the big deal?

The tv/movies/music thing is a load of crap , Football at any rate is a tribal thing

Snakeblood

No

gustavo wrote: »

The tv/movies/music thing is a load of crap , Football at any rate is a tribal thing

Does it have to be? I know it is generally, but people can like watching a team because the team plays good football, or for a multitude of reasons.

gustavo

I don't support any teams/not interested in sport

Snakeblood wrote: »

Does it have to be? I know it is generally, but people can like watching a team because the team plays good football, or for a multitude of reasons.

I'm just saying in general - I know people have to justify it to themselves for whatever reason so they'll bring up the tv/music argument. If it really were the case surely everyone would support Barcelona and Spain. Don't see why people bother with Ireland seeing as we hardly ever qualify for anything.

getz

first i am a football fan,i watch any team at any time ,i just love the game,yes i do follow certain teams for many reasons,like altrincham fc because i was born near the ground and my son played for them,man u because it was only a few miles down the road, now i have moved to the coast i support fleetwood town[cod army] or even blackpool,when on holiday i once went to see bray ,so i now try too see how they are getting on,all in all i would watch two flies in a saucer playing for the cup.fooot ball fooot balll

Snakeblood

No

gustavo wrote: »

I'm just saying in general - I know people have to justify it to themselves for whatever reason so they'll bring up the tv/music argument. If it really were the case surely everyone would support Barcelona and Spain. Don't see why people bother with Ireland seeing as we hardly ever qualify for anything.

It doesn't necessarily follow. For a start, Barcelona and Spanish games are harder to see in Ireland, the commentary can be in Spanish.

People gravitate to what is easily accessible with the least hardship and greatest reward. The Premiership offers that what with the widespread availability on tv, the massive coverage in papers, the relatively high level of skill, and the ability to sit in the pub criticising. Ireland's football team offers great potential reward because of national identity and that, but you have to factor in the hardship of watching them play.

League of Ireland offers hardship in standing out in the rain rather than sitting in a pub to watch, less reward in terms of skill displayed etc, and a smaller group to feel part of. And crappier merchandise to wear than any of the other options available.

If they want LOI to take off properly they should get some tv on there. There might be a little more money sloshing around to pick up the odd player then.

CoalBucket

I support a priemiership football team. I watch spanish footballl on TV. Sometimes I watch the eriedivise on ESPN.

Do I support British teams because they are British, No.

I'll be following Ireland at the Rugby World Cup ............some of them are British.

gustavo

I don't support any teams/not interested in sport

Snakeblood wrote: »

It doesn't necessarily follow. For a start, Barcelona and Spanish games are harder to see in Ireland, the commentary can be in Spanish.

Barcelona and Real Madrid games are live every week on Sky Sports. Presumably the same place people watch their British teams.

League of Ireland offers hardship in standing out in the rain rather than sitting in a pub to watch, less reward in terms of skill displayed etc, and a smaller group to feel part of. And crappier merchandise to wear than any of the other options available.

Funnily enough crap weather doesn't seem to stop people going to games in Manchester in their thousands. The point about merchandise is laughable .

Snakeblood

No

gustavo wrote: »

Barcelona and Real Madrid games are live every week on Sky Sports. Presumably the same place people watch their British teams.

Funnily enough crap weather doesn't seem to stop people going to games in Manchester in their thousands. The point about merchandise is laughable .

Didn't know that about Barcelona, I stand corrected. Do I have a point about the massive coverage of the Premiership seeing as you didn't correct it?

People get more out of going to manchester. They get a good football match, quite likely, and see stars. The quality of play in Ireland isn't up to it. It's also a big day out with large crowds and a feeling of belonging. There's also covers, for the rain.

How is it laughable? People like wearing their shiny man u tops. There's always a clamour for them when the new season starts. People like them because they're man u and they look nice. How much merch is out for the LOI teams?

Bergkamp 10

No

People have been supporting British sides for 50 years in some cases and their children follow etc. Why do some people think that will change now?
It's really tiresome hearing LOI fans continue these bashing of foreign football fans.

Also I've never understood: if there is no team in your town or county, who are we meant to support?

Sure half the country doesnt even have a team in the Irish league, its mostly Dublin sides. Sure I would support a local team if I had one, I support my local GAA club and county and they are ****e, so why not the local football team? If there was one.

Although I do agree the country is filled with lots of gloryhunters. Every man and his dog supports Man United. Leeds United used to have a massive fan base here, probably top 5 in the country, which has basically disappeared. It's a bit sad, but I know lots of "Leeds fans", who just deserted the club when they were relegated, I would hesitate to call them fans in the first place. I'm sure proper Leeds fans wouldnt have much good to see about these "supporters" who just desert the club and would probably come running back when they get promoted.

dan1895

I don't support any teams/not interested in sport

Are you saying there is not one football club where you live? Why do they have to be in the League of Ireland for you to support them? Standard and level doesn't come into it when supporting a team/club.

Snakeblood

No

dan1895 wrote: »

Are you saying there is not one football club where you live? Why do they have to be in the League of Ireland for you to support them? Standard and level doesn't come into it when supporting a team/club.

I'm a bit confused why geography does if talent doesn't.

4leto

I use to follow the fortunes of Man City now I couldn't be bothered, 1 bunch of millionaires playing with another. I don't really support any teams with the exception of Dublin GAA and Ireland in whatever sport.

But I don't have a problem with anyone who does support a British side. Why not, we watch their tele, read their papers, speak their language, even get uptight with, and vote in their reality TV (XFactor). Culturally there is not much between us.

Like it or not Britain does contribute a hell of alot to Irish life more then we contribute to theirs.

One thing I am grateful for is we get the BBC IMO the best tele station in the world.

prinz

Bergkamp 10 wrote: »

People have been supporting British sides for 50 years in some cases and their children follow etc. Why do some people think that will change now?

+1. My old man started getting interested in Man Utd in the late 50's as a teenager. His interest in the club was confirmed in '58 with the Munich Air Disaster. It's only in the last few years that he has had the disposable cash and free time to get over and attend a few matches himself but for over 50 years he has been a united fan.

He remembers trying to keep track of results from newspapers and the odd radio report back in the days when you'd still get a suspension or ban from the GAA for even attending a soccer match. If anyone thinks that somehow makes him any less Irish it just goes to show how bitter and twisted they are.

4leto

Also its a quality thing, the premiership is the best and most exciting soccer league in the world, why not see a sport people love played at its best and that could only engender an interest in a team.

I know someone who supports an American football team and I am sure there are others who like basketball who would follow a team in the NBA.

Where we do have a local team who are world class you do get a lot of local support. For example Leinster and Munster rugby does attract local support.