A former Chelsea supporting colleague informs me that ‘The Blues’ have always been bigger than Spurs. And he says that he can prove it.
In football, the past is in a permanent state of being re told out of context and I think that this has confused him. The demand for this ‘new history’ is driven by over exposure, one eyed punditry, an expanding army of hired bull _______ to push it onto the millions of cultural grazers caught in the headlights and who suck it all up to satisfy their own immediate desperation to smell like a winner.
But even without the sure footedness of the real past, we still have an understanding of how great and legendary things sometimes are, how real footballing ideals develop, how clubs grow and the difference between things being won and things being bought. Every now and then, under good leadership that is backed by the board and fans, the energy and will of a whole ideal can gather momentum and become something bigger.
In these instances you are more than just a witness, you have a responsibility to be there in the moment because you know that without your intention and emotional input things just might be different. It is a calling where you can no longer be a mere supporter but something different, something both logical and weirder at the same time – a sort of gonzo supporter. By making this ‘self’ your personal gift to your club, you become as integral to your team’s story as your team is part of yours.
In manufacturing their continued momentum with money and a production line of Europe’s elite managers, Chelsea no longer require this personal gift from their own supporters. The is no need for the ‘self’. The faithful no longer have any sway on the guts, reasoning or imagination over what was once their own. It has been taken from them and they haven’t realized. What will happen will happen, whether they remain interested or not. The required new role of the Chelsea supporter is to watch matches, buy merchandise, sing the TV friendly songs, and bow to the icy wisdom of the board. Just like at The Emirates. The future for Chelsea is Arsenal. It is their ultimate prize.
What is amazing is that both sets of supporters see themselves as being different, when in fact they are quintessentially the same. I give you Charsenal. Charsenal – A football supporter whose sole function is to increase the revenue of a football club through the procurement of merchandise, match day tickets and over priced snacks. And nothing else.
Stadium Meat – See Charsenal.
My thanks to Bill for a great read – HH
It’s my birthday today …..I’m 58 you know (said in old timer quavering voice)!
I’m old school, and came into supporting the Tottinghams in the early sixties when most of my West Essex school chums were Hammers, Spurs, the odd Chelsea, and a smattering of Arse, Charlton, Orient and Millwall fans. Mostly local oriented but other wise driven by being told by your Dad ‘We’re a xxxxxx family'(insert his team) and being taken along to your first home game as a nipper, wide eyed with wonder. Rivalry was rivalry, but usually driven by the knowledge that today’s victory/ defeat by a rival would be equalled by tomorrows defeat / victory. Winning was transitory and was recognised as such (sic transit gloria mundi – for you, Mus) – football was in the main cyclical and you took the good with the bad. We all did (well there was the odd irrational zealot and of course the ‘Saturday afternoon’ transition into the ” you’re gonna get your head kicked in” songsters in the Park Lane/North Bank /Shed / Den blah blah). I do believe however (fading memory?) that we were tied to our clubs, all of us, irrespective of which club, by history (our version of it), emotion, style of play, heroes (it was Jimmy Greaves and Dave Mackay for me) …but it was supported by know more than a scarf and rattle (hand painted), the odd shirt if your local sports emporium stocked them, and if you were lucky a badge that came separate that you Mum sewed on your shirt with love just for the price of a card on Mother’s Day.
Today you’re not a fan of the ‘big clubs’ unless you a) have a season ticket ( I’ve seen this sentiment on this site too, sadly)b) can afford the new shirt to show off at every game, c) think it’s important to boast ‘my clubs bigger/won more/ has more history than yours’.
To today’s “attender of football matches”, rather than “fan”, having a club is a disposable status symbol, nor more a trinket than the next consumer society fashion item. “This club/car/suit/shirt / watch/mobile phone/laptop/ has status so if I have one/ can show it off I too have status.
Ultimately shallow, transfixed with being socially superior – replace ‘football fan’ with ‘ consumerist parvenu’.
Personally I’d rather shed my tears of football happiness or grief as a reflection of what I am, and what I hold dear, not as a symbol of “look at me I’ve got more than you “.
Harry – do us a favour will you? Tell your Chelsea colleague to fuck the fuck off.
I couldn’t ever fathom how an Ian Ure playing card was ever valued over a Mike England by my brother, and as for a Chopper Harris?
Fortunatly us old school yids have been spoiled and formed by our experiences from those days ,on the pitch and on the terraces.We demand and expect that certain spurs swagger and style and the players respond to the crowd if they are capable of drawing that something special deep from within if it is there.This is the place where legends are made if not ,FRO
:daumen: I really enjoyed reading that, brought a tear to my eye….
Top stuff. And many happy returns fella
eek “Know more ” = “no more”
Happy Birthday :lol: :daumen:
Fairweather fans are the “bane” of any successful club (I say bane, but their money is as good as ours). There always have been. If we return to our rightful place in amongst the European elite, and stay there for a few years, see if they don’t start flocking to WHL.
The thing is, for some people (often the ones who waste their free time blogging about it) football is life. These people pick a side based on some emotional connection (becuase of a favorite player, georgraphic locale or family indoctrination), and stick by it through thick and thin.
For a lot of others, football is a great excuse for a day out (either to the game, the pub, or a mate’s house). Once the game is over, they stop thinking about it. As it’s just a pasttime, and winning seems more fun than losing, they tend to pick whoever is doing well at the moment.
So Chelsea and Arsenal have ended up with most of the “recreational” fans in London, as they have been doing better than us in terms of results over the past 20 years (10 years for Chelsea). Don’t think for a second that they don’t have a core of ACTUAL supporters every bit as commited as us. If they were relegated there would still be plenty of people at their games, just as there would be at WHL.
And “Charsenal” are no different on that front than ManU. Probably no different that ManC in a couple years.
Money is/has taken over the game. But Spurs are part of the same game.
I dislike Le Arse as much as the next Spurs fanatic. This dislike will continue in full vigour even if they are relegated (well I can dream, can’t I?) and the fairweather folk walk away from them. That’s not why I dislike them.
We have a glorious history, and I revel in it. Other, lesser clubs also have history. There’s nothing wrong supporting a club without our illustrious past, and their fans are just as much fans (if they really care about their club) as we are.
Claiming that our club is any more or less succeptible to moneythink, or success-whores, than anyone else is ludicrous.
Have to say, agree totally.
I come from Stamford Hill, yet my elder brother was a passionate Gooner. We’d alternate between games and stand in the Clock End or Park Lane, because you could pay on the day. I can recall wearing a huge Beveren and Sporting Lisbon rosette during the Goons Fairs cup run. We did get evicted (forcibly) from the Lane for fighting after Willie Young got flattened by Rimmer and the argument just got out of hand. Now it appears every things expected immediately and no-ones prepared to pay for it. I wonder how many of our current crowd are still about who chaired Perryman off the field after that Leicester game in 1977, and what the reaction would be if it happened now!
I was there mate !!!
I think most fans who attended pre-prem and still go now realise that the game is now a farce, but just turn up because that’s what they’ve done for so long.
The article has less to do about the fans, and whether or not they’re ‘fair weather’ or ‘real’, but more to do about a bigger picture, namely that fans of successful clubs have had their club pulled from under their feet by money/status mad owners, and in most cases, haven’t even realised it.
We’ll be supporting a ‘Brand’ rather than a football club in the not too distant future too, along with your red/blue scums, Manure, City, Liverpool etc. It’s the price of success in a game, turned business, which has been totally corrupted by cash.