Why do you support your club?

[BloodRet]

Not sure if this has been done, couldn't find a thread on it. Anyway, quite simple really.

I support Norwich because my grandfather was born there. Couldn't find any other reason to support another team, so that was the best I came up with. Only really started following the English Football in 2009, before then I was neutral before discovering a small piece of family heritage which gave me the right to support a club.

So, specifically calling on all those with legitimate reasoning behind their support and not bandwagoners and/or glory supporters, why do you support the club you support?

 

[Loonerty]

Watched Drogba at the 2010 World Cup, thought "That guy is awesome." and didn't do anything more with it.

A while later, I bought an old copy of FIFA 08 and played with Chelsea because of Drogba and that's that.

 

[Flameboy]

Because we're rich and win everything.

 

[TooUglyForFugly]

I wanted obscure clubs with who I hope will be prolific Socceroos. So I bounce between Preston and Swindon.

 

[Redalert]

Support Blackburn for a number of reasons.

1) When I got into football in the early 2000s they had a lot of Aussie players in their ranks, guys like Emerton, Grella, Neill etc.
2) Got some tenuous family links there.
3) Alan Shearer, Jack Walker & the 1994/1995 Premier League title.

 

[Flameboy]

In all seriousness I read a blog (of sorts) a while ago on how this Aussie bloke came to support Chelsea, and his journey basically mirrors mine:

Australian football fans are often challenged about our allegiance to European clubs. How can you call yourself fans, goes the argument, when you’re not from there, never been there, never seen ‘your’ team play live?

It’s true there are thousands of self-identified United fans whose involvement is limited to posting on Facebook once every couple of years. But for others, loyalty forms in any number of ways.

My own journey to Chelsea wasn’t born of a London connection or a burning love of the world game, nor undertaken on the back of a groaning bandwagon.

My affection dated back to high school. The Playstation was king, and many an afternoon was spent smoking the kind of cigarettes whose sole side-effect was an intense focus on playing FIFA ’98.

The long-term FIFA enthusiast played season mode, and the greatest challenge was to beat the top-ranked Man United on the highest difficulty setting using one of the bottom teams. Chelsea was one of those underdogs.

They became my default because I liked their stupid name, and thus I got to know the pixelated forms of players who would become my agents of victory. The smooth-running Marcel Desailly backed by the ponytailed Emmanuel Petit. The ridiculous Mario Melchiot. The splendidly titled Eidur Gudjohnsen. Grahame Le Saux as an aggressive wing-back, Boudewijn Zenden with the cross.

And of course, up front, the Of Mice and Men pairing: the idiosyncratic giant Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thundering through defenders, playing in the sprightly Gianfranco Zola to curl another strike across the keeper and into the far corner.

Through them, I started following the real team’s fortunes. Coverage was sparse. We were a largely pre-internet society. Cable was an extravagance. TV had only the latter stages of the Champions League on SBS.

I read league standings in fine print at the back of the sports section, trying to conjure a narrative out of “Bolton 1-2 Chelsea” in point-four font.

One day I was stunned to turn a page and see a photo – an honest-to-god large photograph – of Tore André Flo mid-leap, levitating into the crowd in celebration. There was a whole article. On a Chelsea game.

The theoretical team had been made flesh.

By coincidence I started visiting friends with cable when game day rolled around. The 2002 FA Cup final was a rare sighting on free-to-air, fittingly stretching late into the night as Freddie Ljungberg destroyed my ability to dream.

I tracked the news about Abramovich’s takeover, unsure what was next. Claudio Ranieri reached unheard-of territory, denied in the Premier League only by Arsenal’s perfect season while also making the Champions League semi-finals.

Then at the end of 2004, my own game changed when I moved to Malaysia. In that land, football ruled the television, punctuated only by the odd spot of darts, billiards or golf. Suddenly I was feasting: every game live, across four competitions. And a chap named José Mourinho had just taken charge.

 

[Shoei]

Family is from London.

Dad's a spurs fan, his dad is a Arsenal fan.

Grandad brought an Arsenal top for me back from the UK in the late 80's and I've been a Gooner since.

Dad doesn't really care, he's been over here for 40 odd years and is now a bigger Eagles fan than Spurs. We'll still chat about the results and whatnot but he couldn't name most of the players (he is 70+ so I don't expect him to either).

So, specifically calling on all those with legitimate reasoning behind their support and not bandwagoners and/or glory supporters, why do you support the club you support?

Everyone has to start somewhere.

I don't mind if people Bandwagon/Glory hunt but if you are going to do it commit to it. Don't be a campaigner that changes teams every 2-3 years or try and pretend that you were there during the s**t/ difficult times.

 

[windyhill]

House rules, Essendon/Arsenal or Arsenal/Essendon or * off son.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Found out family name is traced back to the Manchester area.
When ignorant of the game not knowing anything other than Manchester United and Liverpool, I chose United because of family heritage.
Fell in love with a few player due to FIFA (Tevez, Ronaldo to name a few.............Heck, ill name them all, Nani, Anderson, Rafael, Fabio)
I read about the Glazer takerover and got turned off United.
I was then tossing up a couple of teams. Girl I was interested in was a Chelsea fan and Tevez went to Manchester City. Ended up going City because Tevez was my favourite player.
Then it hit the news about the rich Arabian Sheik (yeah, I ignorantly followed them under the Malaysian billionaire ) so left City again.
Was reading about United on Wikipedia one day and I saw a link to FC United on their Wikipedia page.
For about a season or so I was just paying minor interest. Checking their league position maybe once a month.
Then they made a cup run. Got through qualification and into the main rounds for the first time. Watched the Rochdale game (was one of the selected games on ESPN that week) and the game won me over. Tier 7 team vs Tier 3 team. Take 2-0 lead. Relinquish lead and tied 2-2. Then score at 93:47 (+4) (Yes, I know that off the top of my head due to there being merchandise available for sale based on that) to win it.

A game like that is enough to win me. Underdog story, last gasp finish. Amazing.

 

[FAITH]

Support Lfc because we aren't plastic like cfc united city but aren't Shiite like every other club.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Support Lfc because we aren't plastic like cfc united city but aren't Shiite like every other club.

I don't think Liverpool fans have the right to call Chelsea plastic considering their fans are outsinging Anfield.......

BTW. Haven't the Fenway Park group pumped more money into LFC than the Glazers have to United? If they have, bit rich you calling them plastic too.....

I will give you City though.

 

[Cruyff14]

Faith you're probably the youngest on here and were probably still in nappies when Roman took over.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Started watching sport in 1995 and liked Carey and Mick Martyn so followed North. Moved to Hertford in England in 96 and loved watching Cantona and Giggs so followed United and dad bought me season tickets for a couple of years before he got fed up with the travel. I then started going to watch Stevenage play in the conference as a school mate of mine is a die hard. They had a very young George Boyd in AM and Steve Morison up front who were a class above.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Support Lfc because we aren't plastic like cfc united city but aren't Shiite like every other club.

Your team were the Marquee team the year u were born and now you've got a Marquee player.

 

[FAITH]

Your team were the Marquee team the year u were born and now you've got a Marquee player.

Marquee player?

 

[Tulip]

Dad supported them, same with the Dees, when I was born. I just fell into it. I expect my possible future children to do the same to be honest, these things should run in the family.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Marquee player?

The one that stops u watching

 

[ossie_21]

Only started playing soccer when I moved to WA from Victoria when I was 10. Was a goalkeeper because of the AFL related skills with the hands.

Was watching a Premier League highlights show which was Arsenal v Everton. Being a GK I was fascinated with just how good the goalie was so decided they would be my team. Pretty sure I was meant to choose Arsenal because because Arsenal won the match, couldn't really go wrong with Southall v Seaman anyway in the end.

The year after I met my best mate who's dad was from Liverpool & they are all Evertonians, never looked back from there.

 

[Milang_Panthers]

Was watching Sports Tonight one day and the play of the day was this awesome goal from outside box which was pretty cool but then they said the name 'Crystal Palace' and I loved it. Followed them ever since that day 12 years ago. Even now that we are in the PL people still say to me 'Crystal who?' Just the way I like it

 

[CotchNCo]

One of my idols Davor Suker signed for Arsenal so i started following Arsenal closely. He only spent a season there but the man that became my other idol, Theirry Henry, then came into his own and i continued following them. Rest is history.

 

[Tulip]

Was watching Sports Tonight one day and the play of the day was this awesome goal from outside box which was pretty cool but then they said the name 'Crystal Palace' and I loved it. Followed them ever since that day 12 years ago. Even now that we are in the PL people still say to me 'Crystal who?' Just the way I like it

Bandwagon supporters will never understand the true pleasure that comes from supporting a club IMO.

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

Saw Van Nistlerooy, Scholes, Beckham on tv one night and they captivated me and i liked the football they played.

Also seeing red white and black in the crowd also helped.

 

[Magma]

went to watch the derby at a mates house in 05-06, mate was trying to get me to support united, didn't like the arrogance, liked city ever since

and i loved the name darius.

 

[Redalert]

Bandwagon supporters will never understand the true pleasure that comes from supporting a club IMO.

It has its ups and downs. When you genuinely support a side the lows are terrible, but then when you finally see some success the feeling is unreal.

 

[BloodRet]

Oh and I forgot to mention that I supported, well kind of followed rather than supported, Bolton for a year or so before discovering family routes in Norwich because Jude Bolton was one of my fav Swanies. Pathetic I know.