The Rationale Behind 'Support'

[Feicarsinn]

Is Kilkenny not in Munster though?

It's not in the Pale... Yeah must be then.

 

[Teh Mite]

Seriously? Even though they are the same team and still represent where you are from, albeit in a different location.

EDIT: I've seen the post above! No need to answer!

Timing is an art form it seems:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/12988876.stm

 

[Seaton]

Gloryhunters= Unpatriotic (*nts
Especially old firm 'fans' that live/come from outside weegieville

I think this is a very good thread, it illustrates the psyche behind a continuingly regressing society
Imagine what the Irishmen/ Scotsmen during their fights for independence would have to say about one of their 'countrymen' supporting a team from across the sea/ border?
Its an insult to their dedication to improve their own domestic affairs


characteristics of glory hunters.....

1. will often choose a big club which is guaranteed of years at the top bracket of clubs
2. have no connection to the club
3. foreign to the country and city of the club
4. will overuse club mottos (which makes it more evident)
5. never been to many games (if not any)
6. will never go any games ever
7. will use the excuse of geography to not go to games
8. have limited merchandise before the successful years (most likely none)
9. does not know the history, chants or culture of the club
10. always in the armchair during matchdays
11. uses the talk of tactics and transfers to compensate for the lack of all round knowledge of the club (history and culture of the clubs, attendance of games, lack of knowledge or care factor about the direction of the club off field etc.)
12. will not be effected by football tragedies as much as locals
13. will often be the most biased towards to compensate for the glory hunter status
14. will show more hate for other clubs to compensate for their glory hunter status
15. have a club in their own country, don't have the guts to support them
16. will never talk about the years before the club started to become successful
17. at games (if attended) will be the quiet ones who never chant or make a noise

Hi, my name is Coconut Baron. I am from USA. Never been to any games, only have 5 jerseys, only supported after 1999 and think i am a true manchester united supporter. I never miss a game on tv and always on the internet a minute after fulltime. I live too far away to attend any matches. I guess that doesn't matter. Glory, Glory, Man Utd.

 

[Teh Mite]

Gloryhunters= Unpatriotic (*nts
Especially old firm 'fans' that live/come from outside weegieville

I think this is a very good thread, it illustrates the psyche behind a continuingly regressing society
Imagine what the Irishmen/ Scotsmen during their fights for independence would have to say about one of their 'countrymen' supporting a team from across the sea/ border?
Its an insult to their dedication to improve their own domestic affairs


characteristics of glory hunters.....

1. will often choose a big club which is guaranteed of years at the top bracket of clubs
2. have no connection to the club
3. foreign to the country and city of the club
4. will overuse club mottos (which makes it more evident)
5. never been to many games (if not any)
6. will never go any games ever
7. will use the excuse of geography to not go to games
8. have limited merchandise before the successful years (most likely none)
9. does not know the history, chants or culture of the club
10. always in the armchair during matchdays
11. uses the talk of tactics and transfers to compensate for the lack of all round knowledge of the club (history and culture of the clubs, attendance of games, lack of knowledge or care factor about the direction of the club off field etc.)
12. will not be effected by football tragedies as much as locals
13. will often be the most biased towards to compensate for the glory hunter status
14. will show more hate for other clubs to compensate for their glory hunter status
15. have a club in their own country, don't have the guts to support them
16. will never talk about the years before the club started to become successful
17. at games (if attended) will be the quiet ones who never chant or make a noise

Hi, my name is Coconut Baron. I am from USA. Never been to any games, only have 5 jerseys, only supported after 1999 and think i am a true manchester united supporter. I never miss a game on tv and always on the internet a minute after fulltime. I live too far away to attend any matches. I guess that doesn't matter. Glory, Glory, Man Utd.

By that theory, if I liked the an NHL team - for the sake of argument let's say Blackhawks - I'd be a glory hunter because I watched them on TV but don't go to watch the boring shower of shite that is the UK hockey leagues*?

*UK hockey is extremely boring as I discovered at the Milton Keynes ice rink 12 months ago.

 

[Seaton]

By that theory, if I liked the an NHL team - for the sake of argument let's say Blackhawks - I'd be a glory hunter because I watched them on TV but don't go to watch the boring shower of shite that is the UK hockey leagues*?

*UK hockey is extremely boring as I discovered at the Milton Keynes ice rink 12 months ago.

As other posters have pointed out, there is a difference in liking a team and supporting a team.
Often in games I'd prefer it if the underdog won, however I certainly wouldn't root for them or go out and buy a jersey/the equivalent merchandise

To use the example you have given, I would like for Edinburgh and Dundee to do well, however I can't say that I support them, because I do nothing that would warrant calling me a supporter.

Likewise I'd expect that you would wish for your local hockey/netball/ flyfishing/ching-chong-cha teams to do well, as they represent your area, if you don't fancy the sport/quality that is on offer, then thats fine. However the issue arises when you start 'supporting' a foreign team, and ignore domestic matters. If the locals don't want to see an improvement in their local teams, who would?

Its like taxes, you may not like what the end result for your area is, but you have to pay them, because if you didn't, know matter how bad you thought the area was before with money, imagine what it would be like without, and chances are if you continue to pay taxes, eventually the right people will get voted in, the money used wisely and the area improves. The area would never improve if there were no taxpayers/supporters.

 

[nickdnz]

Wow, some very broad reaching teams there! Would you say you 'support' these teams though, or simply 'follow' them? I know with the teams I follow that if they lose I might be slightly annoyed, but nothing compared to the team I support losing.



Would you not say though that a love for the sport overall would not be enough to turn you off the sport in general? Both the teams I support are playing exceptionally bad at the moment so I think it is one of the key ideas in sport you have to learn in that your team will not always be in the ascendancy.
.

Good points I guess, I would have to say I follow them more than support them. I have plans to go and watch a Quins game and a Biarritz game live, when I head up there, but it's not quite what I feel for my home team. With that in mind, my father is a huge supporter of the Boston Celtics, despite never seeing them play. So when they lose, it ruins his day.

As for your point of "the love for the sport" it's not always something which is inherent. If my first experience of a rugby match, was a 3-6 win from the Crusaders over the Highlanders, then I may well have gotten bored of rugby. If I then watched the 68-75 score of the Chiefs over the Lions, and felt this was more my type of game, I may support the team that's the most exciting for me to watch in the Lions, who lost an exciting match, rather than the Crusaders who won a boring match.

 

[Amobokoboko]

For me it's a different story:
Rugbywise I follow: Waikato, Chiefs and AB's as I used to live in Rotorua, NZ. We had some visiitng teams that stayed in the hotel I was working and after work we quiet often went to see a game.

I also support Italy, there just a great nation to see.
For the rest I just follow teams as I like rugby ( League and Union)

 

[Peat]

I believe in supporting teams where you have a natural connection - geography, family, tradition, whatever.

I also support a team where I have zero natural connection - I live on the other side of a sea to the, my family have never had much of a rugby tradition... I do have a tiny family connection I suppose, my father's parents lived in Newtownards for 3 years during WW2. I'd forgotten about this until after I'd picked Ulster though.

In football, I support Crystal Palace. I am a South Londoner, they are my local team (excluding the Bermondsey Neanderthals). In rugby, I support Ulster.

When I went to pick a rugby team to support, I did first look at teams I have a connection to. But - Wasps don't play in London, LI don't play in London, Saracens don't play in London. Quins do, but that was the summer of Bloodgate. I might have supported Leeds, as I went to Uni, but I wasn't going to support them with their connections to the local polytechnic. So... I went for a ML team - easier to follow on TV anyway. I fundamentally loathe the Welsh when it comes to rugby and am not that much fonder of the Scots when it comes to sport; Leinster and Munster were too succesful, Connacht too poor. Which left Ulster - a proud team with a good youth policy and a recent tradition of ******* up (very reassuring to a Palace fan).

And yes, I do regard myself as a supporter, rather than a follower. I've been to Ravenhill twice this year (would be three times but I failed at buying air tickets), been to see the Ravens once and am going to Milton Keynes to watch the quarter-final, despite having a night shift before and after the day. Plus I know a disturbing amount about Ulster rugby in general.

Sometimes, thats the way it happens. Sometimes people form real bonds of affection for a club a long way away and go a long way to support them. I know Yorkshire born and bred Palace fans who just ended up supporting them... because... and if they follow through, then they're a supporter.

 

[Squigley]

Funny ye should mention this. I'm from Kilkenny which is in Leinster yet I support Munster. Now I have followed Munster rugby since before their European successes, the reason being my dad is a big Munster fan and I have always admired their never say die attitude and their pride in the jersey. Up until recently Munster were the team to support, even if you were in Leinster, once you were outside of Dublin yet because of the turn around in fortunes of the respective clubs this has changed dramatically. A lot of people have switched allegiance and this in my opinion is the definition of a fairweather fan. I have stuck with Munster through thick and thin and would never have dreamed of shouting for Leinster, even when things were starting to look dire (when they had beaten us 5 times on the trot). However this is not to say I won't be shouting for the lads in the Heineken cup as a win for an Irish team is a win for Irish rugby.

 

[Webby the Bear]

Hello there,

good thread. i think (and i dont mean any offence by this) you have some very nutty mates: one supports wales in rugby and england in football? lol wtf???

i much prefer rugby to football but in the past i had season ticket for years with the cobblers (northampton town). if man utd are playing arsenal i dont see how you can be anything other than a neutral if you're from anywhere else other than manchester or north london.

the great thing about rugby crowds is they're almost always from the place where the team are based which means when you get in to some banter at a leicester vs saints match for example you know your verbal opponent is from leicester (god help them).

however one thing against this IMO is that wherever you live in the country you're guaranteed to have a local footy club on your door step that play in the league. bit different with rugby as there are a lot fewer decent teams. im lucky to live and grown up 5 miles away from the saints so its in my blood. always will be

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I support Leinster in the magners as I was born there, grew up there and love riugby simple. In the English premiership I support Northampton because that's where my dad grew up and I have loads of family their (It used to be London Irish back when they were Irish and not just London Casey). I support Western Force in the Super 15 although next year it'll be the rebels so I really just support James O'Connor. In France I support Stade Francais don't know why just always have. I support Dublin in Gaelic Football for the same reasons as I support Leinster and after Dublin I'd support Fermanagh because my grannys from their. IMO you don't need a particulary good reason to support a club and as long as it's not for success you can't be ''wrong'' to support them.

 

[Webby the Bear]

by the way Bullitt, what is your opinion on the stadium development? i personally can';t stand the thought of the sturtridge being pulled down.

also this thing about us permanently moving to mk, is that serious? i watched the video you posted and it only mentioned about the quarted and semi finals being there. i also cant find anything on the net about a permanent move?

 

[Teh Mite]

London Irish haven't been "Irish" since the mid 90's (a very loose description even back then).

 

[Teh Mite]

by the way Bullitt, what is your opinion on the stadium development? i personally can';t stand the thought of the sturtridge being pulled down.

also this thing about us permanently moving to mk, is that serious? i watched the video you posted and it only mentioned about the quarted and semi finals being there. i also cant find anything on the net about a permanent move?

FG - I can't wait. the Sturtridge is a naff old building which has long passed its sell-by date. FG happens to be one of the best and modern stadia in the country, but the old clubhouse holds it back. It served its purpose in the 60s (and the 2nd story extension in the 80's), but it's long passed its useful life. If the stadia was brought up to 17,000 it's be up there with the best in the world. As it stands, Parc Y Scarlets shows where FG should be in development.

The permanent MK move is speculation on my part. However, if the combination of factors including Brian Hoare (along with rest of he Lib-Dem council/WNDC) stonewalling on the Asda issue, Pete Winkelmans constant enthusiastic pandering and (more then anything else) money mean that something has to give. It'll start with HEC games in MK, then move onto big Premiership games (Tigers, Gloucester etc) then eventually everything.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Saints would have to buy Stadium:MK off of Milton Keynes to be able to do that though - There's a rule that Aviva teams can't play in a football stadium unless they're the owners/main tenants (or at least that's what Sale Sharks said when everyone was speculating that we could be moving to the Reebok in the near future - but it still leaves it ok for us to move to Salfords RL stadium in the future as it's only football stadiums that thats the problem with)
This must be one of the new rules that don't apply to current teams though, as London Irish are fine at the mad jetski stadium as tenants

 

[dangandan]

i was born in England but was registered with an Irish passport because of my mother. from then on, even though i had never lived in Ireland i felt very passionately about my Irish roots through the way i was brought up. we'd go back to my mum's family every year in Longford where i always felt at home. i only started playing rugby after watching the 2003 world cup when i heard about the almighty BOD. having witnessed such an influential figure to come out of Ireland made me focus on rugby a whole lot more and the whole rugby system in Ireland. i'd follow any team whether it was Ulster, Leinster, Munster or Connacht just because they were Irish. however, i didn't support just one club until i was 15 because i wanted to follow one that was linked with Longford. turns out Leinster was that team and it made it even better that my favourite player BOD and the majority of the Irish backline were playing for them. from then on i've been a die hard Leinster fan while keeping a keen eye on the academy etc etc. so in a way it's strange, i think of Longford as a home even though i've never lived there, which is also the reason why i support Leinster and Ireland as a national team. i guess support for me is a mixture of my roots and whom i feel most connected to.

 

[Webby the Bear]

FG - I can't wait. the Sturtridge is a naff old building which has long passed its sell-by date. FG happens to be one of the best and modern stadia in the country, but the old clubhouse holds it back. It served its purpose in the 60s (and the 2nd story extension in the 80's), but it's long passed its useful life. If the stadia was brought up to 17,000 it's be up there with the best in the world. As it stands, Parc Y Scarlets shows where FG should be in development.

The permanent MK move is speculation on my part. However, if the combination of factors including Brian Hoare (along with rest of he Lib-Dem council/WNDC) stonewalling on the Asda issue, Pete Winkelmans constant enthusiastic pandering and (more then anything else) money mean that something has to give. It'll start with HEC games in MK, then move onto big Premiership games (Tigers, Gloucester etc) then eventually everything.

I started watching saints when i was 8 in 1991 so its been there for the whole of my saintly life. thats why i'd miss it. imo, and im not trying to argue btw, i think it's a reminder of times of old and i think is great alongside the relatively new ''horseshoe''. having said that i am glad we replaced the gordon with the tetleys. thays where i hang out @ full time

im getting my first season ticket for the first time ever next season. assuming there's two places (for me and me mum) i want to go for ''bronze'' block S in the churchs stand. ill be wandering around trying seats after the leeds match lol

 

[Shaggy]

I've got to admit this has made me think not so much about why I support the teams that I do, but why I don't support some other teams.

First the teams I do support and why:

The All Blacks (because i'm a New Zealander), the Canadian Rugby team (because I'm living in Canada), the Crusaders Super Rugby team, because I was brought up in Nelson, which is one of the regions in that franchise's area (we don't all have to be from Canterbury Nick ), the Tasman Makos and Nelson Bays, for the same reasons, Stoke Rugby Club, because I played for them.

Other sports - i'll support New Zealand national teams at anything, but it's getting harder to see the games etc, so I guess i'm a bit of a part time fan with many sports now ... the Edmonton Oilers NHL team ... i'm surprised how quickly the pain of them losing so often has affected me ... perhaps it's to make experiencing pain more regular, I usually experience it once every four years due to Rugby World Cup losses ... the local Canadian Football team, the Eskimoes ... I take a passing interest in the local regional Canadian Rugby team, the Prairie Wolf Pack, but haven't seen a game yet as the local games are a 3 hour drive away.

Now, the teams I don't support, but probably could ... The Highlanders (I was born in the region, but left when I was three) and the Hurricanes (I lived in Wellington for six years) - I'll support them when they aren't playing the Crusaders though

The Warratahs and the Wallabies, I lived in Sydney for seven years, but could not bring myself to support them even when they weren't playing NZ teams ... I guess they are just the old enemy

... I used to hate any teams from the Auckland region with a passion, but I find that I can now take the eye patch off and even occasionally cheer for them, and enjoy their rugby ... probably moving away from NZ has helped me in that regard

I am developing an interest in NH rugby, but can't see me being a true believer with any Heineken Cup, Aviva/Magners league sides ... I guess i'll just enjoy the rugby

Ezequiel told me I had to support the Sharks for my South African side ... but that's still a work in progress

 

[Webby the Bear]

well shaggy make your english side the saints

 

[Shaggy]

well shaggy make your english side the saints

... Hmmmn ... I don't know ... what's your position on if "The Saints Go Marching" ... will you still support them if they shift to (Milton Keys?)