I don't really support a team, i support my country...

[Jer1cho]

So, Dale sent me a message and asked why i support The Stormers when i live in Johannesburg, i thought i would clear something up...

I'm one of those guys that don't really have just one team. I am not really interested in our local competition (Currie Cup), because i only truly love rugby when international opposition are involved. I do of course watch the Currie Cup, but generally i don't really mind who wins or loses. In the Super 14 however, I don't support just one team in the competition, I support all South African teams.

When any of our teams play against teams from Aus or NZ, i always support our guys. When they play one another, i support whichever team has the best log position so as to support South Africa in the competition. I'm actually only living in Johannesburg for work, and come from a town in the province of Mpumalanga known as Middelburg (which was part of the Transvaal back in the day).

Anyway, i guess i picked The Stormers cause i just had to take someone. I watched a game with Steve-O last year in the Currie Cup, which was The Sharks vs The Lions. He can tell you that even though Western Province (The Stormers) would have wanted The Sharks to lose, i supported them as they were playing better rugby.

I guess i'm an International fan first and foremost! Living in Johannesburg has also made me really start to love this city, and i am also starting to develop a soft spot for the Lions. So yeah, that's about it. A lot of guys will disagree with me, as i know there are many Reds fans on this forum who hate the Waratahs, and vice versa...

Would be interesting to see how many others there are who share my views and/or disagree with them. I also think that in light of this i am going to actually change my 'team supported' item from The Stormers to The Lions. The poor team try their asses off, and have no supporters! Well let me be the first!!!

PS. Don't hate me stormers fans...

*EDIT: Can someone change 'The Cats' picture to 'The Lions' - as well as the name.

 

[An Tarbh]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jer1cho @ Mar 25 2009, 02:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

*EDIT: Can someone change 'The Cats' picture to 'The Lions' - as well as the name. [/b]

Done, haven't removed The Cats but The Lions option is now there.

 

[Jer1cho]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (An Tarbh @ Mar 25 2009, 03:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jer1cho @ Mar 25 2009, 02:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

*EDIT: Can someone change 'The Cats' picture to 'The Lions' - as well as the name. [/b]

Done, haven't removed The Cats but The Lions option is now there.
[/b][/quote]

Wow that was fast. +rep for you man.

 

[munross]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jer1cho @ Mar 25 2009, 03:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

PS. Don't hate me stormers fans... [/b]

TRAITOR :huh: :mellow: , haha no its all good Jer1cho, I myself support a number of SA teams (overseas teams aswell).

I live near Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, my whole family are Bulls supporters and I'm the only Stormer , but luckaly I have a few mates that are also Stormers supporters so thats good.

The Lions are my 3rd team that I support after the Stormers and Sharks, then its the Cheetahs, Boland, Pumas, Valke, Elephants, Griquas, SWD, Leopards, Griffons, Border....did I forget any team...? (maybe the <strike>Bulls</strike>)....no I think thats all the teams I support....(<strike>Bulls</strike>).

Yeah I will admit it, I CAN"T STAND THE BULLS :rahh: :rahh: :bleh!:

 

[Steve-o]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Intercept King JdV @ Mar 25 2009, 04:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Yeah I will admit it, I CAN"T STAND THE BULLS :rahh: :rahh: :bleh!:[/b]

I like the Bulls brand of rugby but don't like their supporters

 

[Jer1cho]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Steve-o @ Mar 25 2009, 05:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Intercept King JdV @ Mar 25 2009, 04:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah I will admit it, I CAN"T STAND THE BULLS :rahh: :rahh: :bleh!:[/b]

I like the Bulls brand of rugby but don't like their supporters
[/b][/quote]

I am not too big a fan of their style of play. They kick waaaaaay too much in my opinion. It's mainly thanks to Zane Cotchnaar and Moer-net Steyn. I think their kicking trend started way back when Naas Booter played for them.

I am also not too keen on their fans. I have had one too many fist-fights because i'm simply speaking english at Loftus.

* Sorry about the horrible puns.... :huh:

 

[Boggle]

I think the Bulls are the one team that is the most hated because of its supporter base, obviously not everyone is the big fat arrogant drunk with the ring in his nose, but living in Pretoria and having gone to Loftus a few times there sure are a shitload of them.

I support my country in the Suoer 14, Stormers first obviously, but I want all SA teams to win, I'm quite happy that the Bulls are playing so well, and you wouldn't catch me ever saying that in the Currie cup.

I do have a second favorite team in the Sharks, the only other team I'd root for in the Currie cup.

 

[Jer1cho]

All my favorite players feature in every team, except the Cheetah's. I don't really like the Cheetahs...

Bulls:

Bryan Habana
Pierre Spies

Stormers

Jean de Villiers
Tonderai Chavhanga

Lions

Jacques Fourie
Heinke van der Merwe

Sharks

Francois Steyn (Yes, he is one of my favorites! BACK HIM - DONT BASH HIM!
JP Pieterson
Ryan Kankowski (My number 1 favorite player!)
Ruan Pienaar
Rory Kocket


I actually have a lot of favorites in The Sharks team. But yeah! I love watching all our boys play!

 

[Bull]

Mmm, thinking of a good way to type this.
There are arrogant supporters from any team and there's no way to deny it, it differs from every individual and how you look at it. The same with players, one person says Bakkies Botha is a dirty player I see him as a hard player, in the end it's probably a bit of both. The Du Plessis brothers IMO are arrogant and dirty. The Cheetah team and their supporters have grown pretty arrogant over the last few years, ie. Ollie Le Roux, Heinrich Brussow. Crowds I don't like are the Stormers and Sharks, they'll boo their own team and leave the grounds when their teams are losing before the match has even ended.

I support the Bulls and only the Bulls and anyone that plays against the Stormers/WP. If a team from SA does make the final then I'll most probably support them. I don't care if everybody is against the Bulls, that's why it's so much sweeter when we win.

 

[QLD]

Didn't mean to put you off in anyway Jericho. Good to see a Lions fan here though.

I'm the opposite SA fans here, I support the Reds only and don't take any interest at all from the other Aussie teams. Especially with the Queensland NSW rivalry. From NZ I like seeing the Highlanders win and the Sharks from SA.
Just saw that Pretoria and Joburg are right next to each other. I'm guessing its a huge rivalry in general, and the Bulls Lions game is one of the biggest rivalries?

 

[Jer1cho]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dale @ Mar 26 2009, 10:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Didn't mean to put you off in anyway Jericho. Good to see a Lions fan here though.

I'm the opposite SA fans here, I support the Reds only and don't take any interest at all from the other Aussie teams. Especially with the Queensland NSW rivalry. From NZ I like seeing the Highlanders win and the Sharks from SA.
Just saw that Pretoria and Joburg are right next to each other. I'm guessing its a huge rivalry in general, and the Bulls Lions game is one of the biggest rivalries?[/b]

Well, Pretoria and Johannesburg are only about 50km apart, and eventually, they will become one city. It's going to be the largest city on Earth if that happens as far as i know. Anyway, It is a rivalry, but not the biggest. I think that the biggest rivalry is the Bulls vs Western Province (Stormers). Especially now that Luke Watson went and said the Dutchmen thing. Afrikaners are touchy about that...

@ Bull, i agree 100% with what you say about the fanbase. I have seen asses from all teams. I think i just have a grudge because Bulls fans are the ones that i have had to deal with physically.

 

[Bull]

Bulls and Lions are quite big rivals, a lot of other rival games/teams have developed over the years but in my mind the Bulls and WP/Stormers are still the biggest rivals. Almost like the Reds and Waratahs ala State of Origin.

 

[Bull]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jer1cho @ Mar 26 2009, 10:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

@ Bull, i agree 100% with what you say about the fanbase. I have seen asses from all teams. I think i just have a grudge because Bulls fans are the ones that i have had to deal with physically.[/b]

Agreed, and I can see where you're coming from I've had numerous physical encounters at Loftus because of people that can't behave, I actually stopped going there for a while. I can tell you the Cheetah crowd is also pretty hostile.

 

[QLD]

Sorry one more question, which areas speak Africaans/not English as their first language. I've always wondered.

 

[Jer1cho]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dale @ Mar 26 2009, 10:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Sorry one more question, which areas speak Africaans/not English as their first language. I've always wondered.[/b]

Pretoria: Majority is Afrikaans (I would say about 80% of the white people there)
Johannesburg: Majority is English
Durban: Majority English
Bloemfontein: Majority Afrikaans
Cape Town: I'm gonna go out on a limb and say 50-50 split.

Basically, both languages are spoken across the entire country. In the end, i would say that it's a 60-40 split, with there being slightly more Afrikaans speaking white members of the community.

 

[Bull]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dale @ Mar 26 2009, 10:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Sorry one more question, which areas speak Africaans/not English as their first language. I've always wondered.[/b]

Afrikaans - Pretoria, Bloemfontein and large parts of Cape Town and it's surroundings. Jo'Burg has a lot of English speaking people but there are still areas that are predominantly Afrikaans.

English - Durban is almost only English, Jo'Burg like I said and Cape Town also have a lot of English neighborhoods.

These are only the big/bigger cities that I'm referring to, there are a lot of smaller cities/towns that are either mostly Afrikaans or English. It depends in which province you are. Also I'm referring mostly to whites here as blacks have their own native languages. Coloureds speak Afrikaans or English but it's difficult to say which one they prefer. Indians speak mostly English.

 

[Incredible Schalk]

I can relate to this article although South Africa is a huge country i feel guys supporting all the SA teams is a good thing because when you look back 6 or 7 years the sides couldnt beat anyone except each other, so its perhaps a bit of insecurity of building that reputation again. Its similar in Scotland i support both the Scottish pro teams because if forges the reputation for the whole country which imo is more important than anything else.

In our football premier league for example theres two standout teams Glasgow Rangers and Celtic, massive rivals which have seen many ugly incidents over the years, ive always preferred Rangers but when their in the champions league i support both sides equally because it benefits the country if you have two successful sides showcasing our clubs and players to the world. So i see Austraia in rugby terms as similar to England in football terms, both have some great historical clubs and because of their success in that they know their club can get the job done they will support their club and their club alone which i cant fault either. I notice a similar ethos in NZ rugby although not to perhaps the same extent, club first or country first it seems different in every country and i can fault neither approach.

For what its worth i support all SA teams too perhaps because of the Scottish thing as well. Sorry if ive gone a bit off topic here, hope it makes sense

 

[Woldog]

I support the Reds and Australia, that's it, I don't share the view that some people have where NSW's are the arch enemy, sure I enjoy the rivalry and I like it when QLD win but I don't tip against them just because of that mentality, Sure I have my preferences when teams play i.e. Chiefs vs Hurricanes, I want the Chiefs to win because they have pretty colours in their jersey.... but at the end of the day it comes down to;

1. The team you back the most i.e. the Reds
2. Your Country of origin, I don't like it when people say (from a Fijians point of view in this example) "Oh Fiji is playing **** and have no hope at winning the world cup, I think I'll support New Zealand because they have some black people in their team who remind me of Fijians." That type of mentality goes against the natural order of things, You should always be proud of where you come from and should support that team to the death.
3. Your views be proud of your views, it's what makes you and individual, don't let someone bully you into changing them. No ones views can be right, it's just simply not possible.

I don't care when people say the Reds suck, what really annoys me though is when people say "What a mob of gays." Just because they did a victory lap, if the Cheetahs beat the Sharks they would party like it was 1969..... in the end YOU weren't on the field, YOU didn't spend 80 minutes getting battered around by some of the greatest players on the planet, YOU didn't feel the flood of emotions they felt when all their hard work for those 80 minutes paid off and they beat a fantastic team (Don't want to see any of those crybaby remarks "Oh the Sharks were tired from touring boohoohooo *sob*" if that's the case the Reds were tired from touring when they lost to the Bulls, get over your stupid pride and admit you got beaten fair and square.

 

[Jer1cho]

Good post. Don't worry though the Reds could never EVER be even half as gay as the Waratahs. arting:

 

[Woldog]

The Reds used to be the Powerhouse of Australian Rugby, but then they ate a whole lot of we Suck and the inevitable set in, I have no doubt they will be a team to watch in these coming seasons.