Why do Irish people support English teams?

8-10

forzacalcio wrote: »

Can't understand it myself tbh. Nothing comes close to the feeling when your home town team are playing and winning. I really don't get how someone can feel this affiliation to a club in the UK or any club outside of where they are from.

I love football in general and I really enjoy La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga but I watch any game in those leagues, I don't really support anyone bar maybe at a push Union Berlin as I lived there for a while but I've no real annoyance if they lose.

Get out and support your local club. It's some feeling when they win.

I’m going to be looking out for Union Berlin this season. First ever time in the Bundesliga after getting promoted and a great fan base. A few years back the fans literally built part of the stadium because the club couldn’t afford it. And they also raised money though a blood drive. They literally gave up their own blood for the club.

I’d love to go see them play, Berlin is such a fun city to visit.

But overall I think it comes down to the fact that you’ll never fully understand what motivates other people and other views. Our diversity and independent free will is part of what makes us human. You like to follow a local club, I like to follow a club in the UK. That’s just how it is. If we all liked to do exactly the same thing then it’d be boring, and there probably would be no soccer for anyone!

I think it’s completely reasonable and acceptable for us to do whatever we want as long as it doesn’t break the law or infringe on the rights of others. Too many people in this country fall into issues with depression. If you find joy in doing something and it helps you escape everyday problems then do it. For me that’s following my favourite football team, Liverpool. They bring me incredible joy

D14Rugby

8-10 wrote: »

If we all liked to do exactly the same thing then it’d be boring, and there probably would be no soccer for anyone!

Actually if everyone did the same thing in supporting their local club there'd actually be more football for everyone and it'd probably be cheaper to be a fan and cheaper to watch any football on tv

8-10

D14Rugby wrote: »

Actually if everyone did the same thing in supporting their local club there'd actually be more football for everyone and it'd probably be cheaper to be a fan and cheaper to watch any football on tv

At what point in your life is your local team chosen then?

Or do you switch teams when you move house?

odyssey06

D14Rugby wrote: »

Actually if everyone did the same thing in supporting their local club there'd actually be more football for everyone and it'd probably be cheaper to be a fan and cheaper to watch any football on tv

No, the clubs would get greedy and start looking for Sky sports to pay them more for their TV rights, just as happens in soccer elsewhere and GAA & rugby here.

odyssey06

8-10 wrote: »

At what point in your life is your local team chosen then?
Or do you switch teams when you move house?

Your great grandparent bought a house in an area where soccer was being established as a spectator sport. Only 5th generational fans count. See earlier posts on thread.

Church on Tuesday

NIMAN wrote: »

I was always led to believe that there was more people participating in soccer than gaelic games in Ireland?

There was a competition in Derry and the NW this last week. Had 450 teams playing 1500 games over the week. Plenty of interest in soccer in this country.

Yes, but the GAA has greater resources, has clubs in every other parish and greater marketing and coverage.

There's simply no comparison.

D14Rugby

odyssey06 wrote: »

No, the clubs would get greedy and start looking for Sky sports to pay them more for their TV rights, just as happens in soccer elsewhere and GAA & rugby here.

They couldn't do that because there would be more clubs, spectators would be more spread out, so money would spread out, causing the players to spread out so the TV coverage would spread out. Just now it's all so concentrated on the EPL with La liga, Seria A, and Bundasliga up there too that TV companies pay over the odds for their rights because they're the leagues people all over watch, if people watched their own league first and foremost then the odd other game elsewhere the TV money would spread out.

8-10 wrote: »

At what point in your life is your local team chosen then?

Or do you switch teams when you move house?

We've been over this multiple times, you can have multiple teams, nobody is saying otherwise, but generally the local team you first start going to is your team but it's not a one size fits all rule. It's like nationality it's different for everyone that moves around.

odyssey06

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Yes, but the GAA has greater resources, has clubs in every other parish and greater marketing and coverage.
There's simply no comparison.

For most of the country supporting your 'local' team means a GAA team - reflecting the parish level penetration & schools. My school didn't have a soccer team. It had a gaelic football team and a hurling team.

For some of the country, it's a soccer team.
And for some of the country, it's a rugby team.

The elephant in the room is the GAA. Take the GAA out of the equation and Irish soccer attendances would probably look a lot like Denmarks.

8-10

D14Rugby wrote: »

but generally the local team you first start going to is your team but it's not a one size fits all rule.

Exactly. It can’t be one size fits all. We’re all different.

First team I started going to is Liverpool. It’s a 30min flight from where I live

odyssey06

D14Rugby wrote: »

They couldn't do that because there would be more clubs, spectators would be more spread out, so money would spread out, causing the players to spread out so the TV coverage would spread out. Just now it's all so concentrated on the EPL with La liga, Seria A, and Bundasliga up there too that TV companies pay over the odds for their rights because they're the leagues people all over watch, if people watched their own league first and foremost then the odd other game elsewhere the TV money would spread out.

Irish people already do this with GAA and Sky would snaffle up the rights to it if they could. What you are presenting is a fantasy.

RasTa

No problem with anyone living in Ireland supporting a British team but you should be going to a few local games as well. Especially if you travel to the UK to watch Liverpool or United.

D14Rugby

8-10 wrote: »

Exactly. It can’t be one size fits all. We’re all different.

First team I started going to is Liverpool. It’s a 30min flight from where I live

It's a 50 minute flight, a 30 minute drive from the airport to anfield, and you're at least 30 minutes from Dublin Airport. That's before adding in security time etc.
As has been said multiple times support as many teams as you like but the minimum expectation is to support local football because without that we may as well pack it all in.

odyssey06 wrote: »

Irish people already do this with GAA and Sky would snaffle up the rights to it if they could. What you are presenting is a fantasy.

Not exactly the same thing as the GAA basically has a set number of teams and no rival leagues but you keep trying.

8-10

D14Rugby wrote: »

It's a 50 minute flight, a 30 minute drive from the airport to anfield, and you're at least 30 minutes from Dublin Airport. That's before adding in security time etc.
As has been said multiple times support as many teams as you like but the minimum expectation is to support local football because without that we may as well pack it all in.

Expectation of who? As I’ve said multiple times I do go to local games.

But I don’t feel for a second like I have to and it doesn’t change the fact that my team is in the UK. I don’t feel a connection to my local team at all and I call Liverpool we not my local team.

But I don’t think there should be an expectation on anybody to do anything. As I say I’m a Red Sox fan, is there an expectation that I go to my local Baseball Ireland team? Do NBA or NFL fans have an expectation to support local basketball and American football teams here? I’ve only ever heard this from one sport: soccer

D14Rugby

8-10 wrote: »

Expectation of who? As I’ve said multiple times I do go to local games.

But I don’t feel for a second like I have to and it doesn’t change the fact that my team is in the UK. I don’t feel a connection to my local team at all and I call Liverpool we not my local team.

But I don’t think there should be an expectation on anybody to do anything. As I say I’m a Red Sox fan, is there an expectation that I go to my local Baseball Ireland team? Do NBA or NFL fans have an expectation to support local basketball and American football teams here? I’ve only ever heard this from one sport: soccer

You seem to constantly want to bring stuff back up we've been over already. Franchise sports by their nature are completely different. No the only one you've chosen to hear it for is soccer, same theory behind GAA, rugby, every non franchise sport.

8-10

D14Rugby wrote: »

You seem to constantly want to bring stuff back up we've been over already. Franchise sports by their nature are completely different. No the only one you've chosen to hear it for is soccer, same theory behind GAA, rugby, every non franchise sport.

Baseball isn't a franchise sport in Ireland?

And expectation of who?

You seem to constantly want to ignore direct questions which is why we keep returning to things.

D14Rugby

8-10 wrote: »

Baseball isn't a franchise sport in Ireland?

And expectation of who?

You seem to constantly want to ignore direct questions which is why we keep returning to things.

Baseball isn't a sport in Ireland, doubt there's even double digit teams, never even seen a baseball field, nor do many support MLB teams, you'll see yankees stuff around but not because people support them, they just may as well be a hat brand here as far as most are concerned.

A societal expectation, to preserve football for future generations.

Whatever you want to claim i ignore isn't the ****e you keep bringing up

8-10

D14Rugby wrote: »

Baseball isn't a sport in Ireland, doubt there's even double digit teams, never even seen a baseball field

Ah yeah you haven't seen one, so it doesn't exist

There's also a national team you know as well as clubs across the country.

This idea that supporting a local team here is different if it's a sport that is a franchise sport in a different country is what I find bizarre.

Jim Gazebo

Occasionally dropping in here these days just to depress myself about the state of affairs with football in Ireland.

8-10

D14Rugby wrote: »

It's a 50 minute flight

No, it's 30.

You counting taxi time to try and win anything argument? Flight itself is 30mins

D14Rugby

8-10 wrote: »

Ah yeah you haven't seen one, so it doesn't exist

There's also a national team you know as well as clubs across the country.

This idea that supporting a local team here is different if it's a sport that is a franchise sport in a different country is what I find bizarre.

I just googled it there. Across the country is a very generous way to put it. There's about 5 grounds in the country. The idea of supporting local doesn't extend to pub leagues. And nobody supports baseball in Ireland anyway so you're arguing about something that doesn't happen.

8-10 wrote: »

No, it's 30.

You counting taxi time to try and win anything argument? Flight itself is 30mins

I'm counting time you're on the plane you can't just ignore the parts that are inconvenient to your argument.

8-10

Jim Gazebo wrote: »

Occasionally dropping in here these days just to depress myself about the state of affairs with football in Ireland.

In fairness this thread is supposed to be about football in England and why we support it rather than football in Ireland. But it has many tangents

8-10

D14Rugby wrote: »

The idea of supporting local doesn't extend to pub leagues.

Are these rules written down anywhere? Seems like new ones are invented everyday so would be good to know where I can find these rules to be a supporter?

Today it's "you can support a team if you also support your local team, which is the team you started going to first unless that team plays in a pub league or is a franchise sport in the USA" is that right?

D14Rugby wrote: »

And nobody supports baseball in Ireland anyway so you're arguing about something that doesn't happen.

If course they do. The lack of knowledge into the modern world and having people following interests outside this island is why people have this archaic view of soccer and are unable to understand how people can follow a team in another country. We have tv, internet etc. Just because you haven't seen a team play here or seen a field or met a supporter (newsflash, I'm one so you have but you likely don't count it because it's online) doesn't equal no supporters in the country.

As I've already said I'm a Red Sox fan, and you can freely visit the Baseball forum on this Irish website you'll see how ridiculous it is to claim nobody follows the sport.

Secondly, I mentioned NBA and NFL too which you are ignoring, are you saying there's no fans of that too?

What appears to have really happened is that you made an argument that franchise sports are different, I pointed out that those sports are franchised in a different country not here, and you have changed the argument to "nobody watches it anyway" and "actually it doesn't count unless the league is of a certain standard"

Transparent

D14Rugby

8-10 wrote: »

Are these rules written down anywhere? Seems like new ones are invented everyday so would be good to know where I can find these rules to be a supporter?

Today it's "you can support a team if you also support your local team, which is the team you started going to first unless that team plays in a pub league or is a franchise sport in the USA" is that right?



If course they do. The lack of knowledge into the modern world and having people following interests outside this island is why people have this archaic view of soccer and are unable to understand how people can follow a team in another country. We have tv, internet etc. Just because you haven't seen a team play here or seen a field or met a supporter (newsflash, I'm one so you have but you likely don't count it because it's online) doesn't equal no supporters in the country.

As I've already said I'm a Red Sox fan, and you can freely visit the Baseball forum on this Irish website you'll see how ridiculous it is to claim nobody follows the sport.

Secondly, I mentioned NBA and NFL too which you are ignoring, are you saying there's no fans of that too?

What appears to have really happened is that you made an argument that franchise sports are different, I pointed out that those sports are franchised in a different country not here, and you have changed the argument to "nobody watches it anyway" and "actually it doesn't count unless the league is of a certain standard"

Transparent

We've been through this before with your Sunday league ****e.
I really don't know how you haven't got why a franchise aspect changes everything, especially with ****ing baseball, I mean come on the only sport its more obvious with is American Football.

I've met people that might watch baseball on tv, but it's not something people declare they support one franchise of. And if they did grand because there is no baseball here of not, just some sunday league.
Do you realise what the N in these stands for? It is literally impossible for people to have a local team.

I didn't change my argument to it I added it in, and the fact they're franchised changes it for everyone in the world, they're not clubs for the city or town or wherever they're in, they're for the world and just happen to play their home games somewhere, that's the whole basis of the franchise model.

odyssey06

Once upon a time there were only Sunday league teams. It was successive generations of glory hunting fans, local, new arrivals and elsewhere, who turned some teams into bigger clubs than others.

Most sports fans in Ireland support their local team. The problem for soccer is that in most cases the local team isnt a soccer team. It is GAA or in pockets rugby.

D14Rugby

odyssey06 wrote: »

Once upon a time there were only Sunday league teams. It was successive generations of glory hunting fans, local, new arrivals and elsewhere, who turned some teams into bigger clubs than others.

Most sports fans in Ireland support their local team. The problem for soccer is that in most cases the local team isnt a soccer team. It is GAA or in pockets rugby.

Not historically accurate as to what happened whatsoever.

SHOVELLER

Greyfox wrote: »

Of course they are, saying there not is like saying Irish people dont like alcohol, there's no logic or common sense in saying that, saying there not shows a major lack of football knowledge. Barstoolers can tell the difference between a high standard of football and a good standatd of football and If you love football you will always be interested in watching great players play and with the EPL you have players far far better than Jack Byrne will ever be. You can't tell people what they can and can't watch as we live in Ireland and not North Korea.

Actually there is logic to it. Barstoolers "follow" the same english teams because they are successful and everybody else does. Your posts show a major lack of football knowledge. But hey enjoy your remote control.

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I don't think it's productive to call fans barstoolers. We should be trying to promote our league to them. They are already football fans and understand the game. Some of them go to games abroad and if a "barstooler" was at Rovers last two European games they would certainly have been turned, such was the quality of play and atmosphere. Efforts would be better spent promoting the positives of our league, such as sitting in a fantastic stadium like Tallaght, rather than knocking people for following a foreign league, they're never going to attend matches here if we knock them. Here are the highlights from Rovers win on Thursday, unfortunately it doesn't show the amazing footwork of Jack Byrne, he's unreal, if I accurately said how good he is, you wouldn't believe me. Other highlights not included are a Joey O'Brien mazy run and Greg Bolger's trojan work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJF4Ni0T2_c

I was at the game and agree about the quality. But barstoolers are so brainwashed there really is not turning them. I've met them in Tallaght when we had the misfortune of playing these teams and they are beyond saving. One guy had qpr on a tricolour and didnt see anything wrong with it:rolleyes:

We need to attract kids to going to games in their own country as these people are a lost cause. Sure you only have to look at their "logic" here.

8-10 wrote: »

I’m going to be looking out for Union Berlin this season. First ever time in the Bundesliga after getting promoted and a great fan base. A few years back the fans literally built part of the stadium because the club couldn’t afford it. And they also raised money though a blood drive. They literally gave up their own blood for the club.

I’d love to go see them play, Berlin is such a fun city to visit.

Why dont you look out for a club in your own country???

Omackeral

SHOVELLER wrote: »

I've met them in Tallaght when we had the misfortune of playing these teams and they are beyond saving.

I remember Shamrock Rovers played Spurs in the Europa League and there were a tonne of Irish there to cheer on the British club against the Irish one. Now I'm no lover of Rovers but when their fans chanted ''does your telly know you're here'' I had to admit it was a cracker.

Dr. Bre

Omackeral wrote: »

I remember Shamrock Rovers played Spurs in the Europa League and there were a tonne of Irish there to cheer on the British club against the Irish one. Now I'm no lover of Rovers but when their fans chanted ''does your telly know you're here'' I had to admit it was a cracker.

Classic! Does your telly know your here lol

The Moldy Gowl

I was talking to a lad after work yesterday about going for a pint with the rest of them.
He said he would because celtic were on who had a 5 nil lead from the first leg.

I said dundalk would be on as well and are drawing against qaraburg, you know the team who drew against atletico last year.
He was having none of it.

You can't get through to people like that

The Moldy Gowl

And I know they are on tonight. What can I say, I'm a plastic