QuoteGreat Post Stuttgart, Agree with everything in it.
It seems that many threads digress completely off topic into some kind of "if you're not a fan of domestic football or if you don't know the Irish referees' names" then you're somehow tainted. How could any forum regular think that a fan like "the accused" in the referee example from this morning is in any way symptomatic of a problem in this country?
Give it a rest lads. There's no one defintion of what constitutes a real fan.
I'm not going to post my "CV" up here (do a search if you like, but I rather humiliatingly had to do something along these lines just to drop the "barstooler" accusations from some of the eL hardliners on this board about 2 years ago). I know one of the foot.ie eL hardcore, a Rovers fan, personally & professionally, and despite his devotion to the Hoops I'm sure he'll acknowledge there's no way whatsoever he can claim to be a better Irish fan than someone like me me, who watches 95% of his football on TV. I have a very young family & a large mortgage. I make a personal & economic decision not to attend football regularly in the UK where I live. It's bad value for money & it'd deprive me of time spent with my kids, which are more important to me.
Recently it's become almost Talibann-esque in its fundamentalism: Western values are sh1t, the more primitive the better, televised football is crap and all that. I cited The Life of Brian (what have the Romans ever done for us?) as an example recently: Irish-based players get picked for the national side, a manager is appointed to run the rule over eL players, a B team is to be established which will include eL players etc. etc. and yet not one of these positives was met with a positive reaction by many.
One guy in the eL section last week dismissed junior football players as "just barstoolers who play football". When I read this I just thought "God, can anyone win?"
The fact of the matter is that many of us on this board simply love football in all its forms. I have no prejudices as to what constitutes a better fan than another (though I resent those who attend Irish matches with no appreciation whatsoever of what it entails to be an Irish fan -the adding of Republican slogans to songs, wearing a club shirt and so on. I actually love simple songs like "Boys in Green " but I digress). Someone who plays the game regularly, a regular eL goer, a devout Premiership watcher on TV etc,. all have as much claim to be a football fan, and each has an equal background to offer informed opinion. There's more than one manifestation of a football fan.
I post almost exclusively on the Ireland International section of this forum. Occasional posts on the eL section, especially offering qualified support for Genesis, just get ignored! I'm fed up when perfectly good threads get sidetracked into "we're better fans than you" debates. There's been sh1t-stirring on both sides, yesterday much more from the non eL goers I have to admit. This is pointless and ruins what's otherwise a perfectly good debating platform.
The reason I post on this part of the forum is because I want to talk about the Irish national team, and just about anything that in any way is relevant to it. This includes commenting on a young Irish lad at some crappy English club, commenting on another country's set up because we might learn something from it or the domestic league because I fervently agree with one poster yesterday: a thriving domestic game can only be good for the international set up.
On this part of the forum at least, can we try and keep this in mind? Some people seem to relish a confrontational approach. Let off steam elsewhere if you need to, but most of us here like to keep a level head. I hope the moderators and fellow posters feel the same way.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 26/05/2006 at 12:15 PM.
Great Post Stuttgart, Agree with everything in it.
In Trap we trust
I for one would like to apologise to for bringing the Ireland/Chile thread off topic yesterday. However i was reacting to comments that today in hindsight i probably should have ignored. I agree that some people get so far up on thier high horse supporting eL teams that its difficult to appreciate why some people don't go to games but i make no apologies for trying to change peoples mindsets.
I'm guilty there too.Originally Posted by Real ale Madrid
Stuttgart88, a lot of it is siege mentality. More of it is idiots.
You didn't even need those cars, Vin. The violence was inside you the whole time.
Harrumph!!!!
Well said. I will always try to encourage people to attend EL matches especially Rovers and usually they become as passionate about the team as I am after having gone. That said I don't judge people on whether they are a true football fan or not. Whatever way people decide to enjoy football doesn't determine whether they are knowledgeable about or have a valid opinion on the game.
"I'd rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd" Johnny Giles
Amen to that...
I don't think you have much to apologise for, it was a normal enough reaction to an extremely provocative poster with a death wish.
As long as they just went for the barstoolers I felt safe, its when they come after the remote controllers will it be too late?
Yep, I think yesterday's was a different situation than usual. I've lost my temper on here a few times so I'm not immune either.
That's an excellent and very honest post. It also goes to prove that someone does not have to go to all the live games to have a knowledge of football or any other sport for that matter.Stuttgart88 is one of a number of guys on here who knows his football inside out
yeah but if the EL is discussed on this forum (ireland) theres bound to be row. i dont support an english team, dont support an EL team. I only care about Irish lads who play in England cos they form the crux of the National team, which is all i care about, which is what this particular forum is about!
I also couldnt care less about the EL cos we dont (really) have any lads playing there who are gonna contribute to the national team. I wish it was otherwise but its just Ireland for me and thats it!
I think its good that mods dont lock threads here at the drop of a hat but the EL forum is there for a reason!! I dont know much about EL either so i'll quietly tip toe out at this juncture...
I
I'll add my apology to that as well. I am as guilty as anyone for beating that particular dead horse.
I think I'm as good an Irish fan as anyone here but living in America it can be tough for me to get to all the games. Lovely post Stuggart, really hit the nail on the head.
One thing I would like to do is meet everyone who regularly posts on this forum for a few creamy pints of the black stuff in Dublin!
There is no such thing as a miracle cure, a free lunch or a humble opinion.
sounds good - i'll bring the Can opener if you bring the tin of worms!
Good post Stuttgart - totally agree.
Excellent post Stuttgart. I recently read in a thread which was thankfully binned the following response to a poster saying that his attendance of a Dubs game or a rugby match does not make him less of an eL supporter:
its the textbook definition of a fairweather, event junkie, ole ole brigade barstooler
Less of this rubbish and focus on the threads themselves.
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