There appear to me to be two distinct types of Geelong supporters and they do not understand each other and therefore end up in giant fighting matches that result in them not understanding each others point of view. I have a feeling after last nights loss this will get worse and it will be a long summer on here.
And before I go through this I will put in the obvious caveat that this is an extreme simplification of a population that doesn't cover everyone and probably completely explains no one. But nonetheless these simplifications can be a usefull way understanding a population.
First of all there are the tribalists. These are the supporters who started following the team because they see themselves as belonging to the Geelong tribe. Usually because their other family members supported Geelong or they lived/moved to Geelong at some point in their lives. The tribalists follow the club unconditionally. through thick and thin. No matter what the club does they will continue to follow Geelong just as strongly as before. However, if in an alternative reality the tribalists family followed a different team instead or they never lived in Geelong but lived in another location instead the tribalists would probably support another football team just as strongly as they currently support Geelong. The reason they value Geelong is because its their tribe. If they were born into another tribe then they would be a tribalist for another club.
The second group is the ideologists. These supporters may also have started following Geelong because of their family or their location just like Tribalists but that's not the reason they follow Geelong so strongly. They follow the Geelong football club strongly because they see something special about the Geelong football club that makes them distinct from other teams. For many ideologists it was because of their attacking nature the club had for so many decades. But there are other reasons as well. It might be because the club never got unjust advantages like the big clubs, grew its young talent rather then raided other clubs talent pools, had rural values, could rise up against a better team when it got its momentum going (i.e. a team that could run on emotion which means they were always a shot). Geelong has had a lot more ideologist supporters then other clubs over the years because of the attacking nature they have employed. A lot of new supporters who didn't start with a tribe from an early age choose Geelong as their club of choice over the years because of these factors. Ideologists will not support the club unconditionally. This is because Geelong is special and if you take away what is special then Geelong is no longer Geelong to an ideologist. Some ideologists may always follow the club no matter what but the strength of that support will change depending on how the club evolves. And some ideologists have a tipping point when they will stop following the club altogether even though they might not know it. However, if in an alternative reality the ideologists had different family or lived in a different location then they probably wouldn't follow another team as strongly as Geelong. Or they may have found their way to supporting Geelong anyway. Unlike the tribalists. Geelong ideologists were only ever meant for Geelong.
Now why does this matter. Many of the ideologists have been wounded by the clubs approach to football over the past decade. They feel like Geelong is losing what has made them special (or has already lost it). The club has lost its attacking flare and become the club of control football. It has turned to stealing players from other clubs like the Carltons and Hawthorns of the past rather than recruit young kids and train them up. Geelong has lost the ability to rise up on emotion and momentum football and pile on goals in quick succession against anyone. For many ideologists the club right now looks like the clubs they used to hate. And this makes these supporters angry and sad as they see part of what they love drift away. Its not about the win loss record (although they are often positively correlated).
Tribalists confuse this loss of love or anger with bandwagonism or being spoiled. Tribalists feel Ideologists are not real supporters. Ideologists on the other hand don't understand why Tribalists aren't as upset by the change in the club. They also see Tribalists as not real supporters because what they love about Geelong doesn't appear to be loved by the Tribalists. I.e. the ideologists have come to the realisation that the tribalists don't see what was special and perhaps never did.
And this is where we are at. Tribalists don't see Ideologists as real supporters and Ideologists don't see Tribalists as real supporters. Ideologists are drifting away from the club as they feel the club lose what made it special to them in the first place. A number of supporters have drifted away from this board over the years and they appeared to me to be the ones that fit more into the ideologist category and these boards have been left with mostly Tribalists.
For many ideologists they would rather the club go back to its roots even if that means a number of poor performing years. Its better to be a Geelong struggling with a path to a future then to not be Geelong at all.
Now no one fits perfectly into these descriptions. They are simplified descriptions after all. But I do see many lean one way or the other. How do we better get along? Can we atleast understand our point of views or where they are coming from? Can tribalists understand the pain some supporters are going through is not just because of the results but is an existential threat to what they value about the club? They are not just non stop whingers.
Can we learn to be more like each other? Can Tribalists also think about what they love about the club that is distinct from others so we can share in what is special about Geelong? Can ideologists come to terms with the idea that there is value in tribe identity for no other reason then that is your tribe. I.e. Can they embrace unconditional support for geelong no matter where the club goes? As an ideologist this last concept is something I struggle with but I'm trying. All the data suggests belonging to tribes does make people happier and happiness is the meaning to life (or as close as we will get one). So there must be good in it. Plus no matter why we started following geelong we have become a family in some ways. And family stick together.
Anyway that's all I have. Hope people are recovering ok from last night. Regardless of who you are.
Go Geelong
And before I go through this I will put in the obvious caveat that this is an extreme simplification of a population that doesn't cover everyone and probably completely explains no one. But nonetheless these simplifications can be a usefull way understanding a population.
First of all there are the tribalists. These are the supporters who started following the team because they see themselves as belonging to the Geelong tribe. Usually because their other family members supported Geelong or they lived/moved to Geelong at some point in their lives. The tribalists follow the club unconditionally. through thick and thin. No matter what the club does they will continue to follow Geelong just as strongly as before. However, if in an alternative reality the tribalists family followed a different team instead or they never lived in Geelong but lived in another location instead the tribalists would probably support another football team just as strongly as they currently support Geelong. The reason they value Geelong is because its their tribe. If they were born into another tribe then they would be a tribalist for another club.
The second group is the ideologists. These supporters may also have started following Geelong because of their family or their location just like Tribalists but that's not the reason they follow Geelong so strongly. They follow the Geelong football club strongly because they see something special about the Geelong football club that makes them distinct from other teams. For many ideologists it was because of their attacking nature the club had for so many decades. But there are other reasons as well. It might be because the club never got unjust advantages like the big clubs, grew its young talent rather then raided other clubs talent pools, had rural values, could rise up against a better team when it got its momentum going (i.e. a team that could run on emotion which means they were always a shot). Geelong has had a lot more ideologist supporters then other clubs over the years because of the attacking nature they have employed. A lot of new supporters who didn't start with a tribe from an early age choose Geelong as their club of choice over the years because of these factors. Ideologists will not support the club unconditionally. This is because Geelong is special and if you take away what is special then Geelong is no longer Geelong to an ideologist. Some ideologists may always follow the club no matter what but the strength of that support will change depending on how the club evolves. And some ideologists have a tipping point when they will stop following the club altogether even though they might not know it. However, if in an alternative reality the ideologists had different family or lived in a different location then they probably wouldn't follow another team as strongly as Geelong. Or they may have found their way to supporting Geelong anyway. Unlike the tribalists. Geelong ideologists were only ever meant for Geelong.
Now why does this matter. Many of the ideologists have been wounded by the clubs approach to football over the past decade. They feel like Geelong is losing what has made them special (or has already lost it). The club has lost its attacking flare and become the club of control football. It has turned to stealing players from other clubs like the Carltons and Hawthorns of the past rather than recruit young kids and train them up. Geelong has lost the ability to rise up on emotion and momentum football and pile on goals in quick succession against anyone. For many ideologists the club right now looks like the clubs they used to hate. And this makes these supporters angry and sad as they see part of what they love drift away. Its not about the win loss record (although they are often positively correlated).
Tribalists confuse this loss of love or anger with bandwagonism or being spoiled. Tribalists feel Ideologists are not real supporters. Ideologists on the other hand don't understand why Tribalists aren't as upset by the change in the club. They also see Tribalists as not real supporters because what they love about Geelong doesn't appear to be loved by the Tribalists. I.e. the ideologists have come to the realisation that the tribalists don't see what was special and perhaps never did.
And this is where we are at. Tribalists don't see Ideologists as real supporters and Ideologists don't see Tribalists as real supporters. Ideologists are drifting away from the club as they feel the club lose what made it special to them in the first place. A number of supporters have drifted away from this board over the years and they appeared to me to be the ones that fit more into the ideologist category and these boards have been left with mostly Tribalists.
For many ideologists they would rather the club go back to its roots even if that means a number of poor performing years. Its better to be a Geelong struggling with a path to a future then to not be Geelong at all.
Now no one fits perfectly into these descriptions. They are simplified descriptions after all. But I do see many lean one way or the other. How do we better get along? Can we atleast understand our point of views or where they are coming from? Can tribalists understand the pain some supporters are going through is not just because of the results but is an existential threat to what they value about the club? They are not just non stop whingers.
Can we learn to be more like each other? Can Tribalists also think about what they love about the club that is distinct from others so we can share in what is special about Geelong? Can ideologists come to terms with the idea that there is value in tribe identity for no other reason then that is your tribe. I.e. Can they embrace unconditional support for geelong no matter where the club goes? As an ideologist this last concept is something I struggle with but I'm trying. All the data suggests belonging to tribes does make people happier and happiness is the meaning to life (or as close as we will get one). So there must be good in it. Plus no matter why we started following geelong we have become a family in some ways. And family stick together.
Anyway that's all I have. Hope people are recovering ok from last night. Regardless of who you are.
Go Geelong
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