I've told one of my friends to eff off after his particularly long and sickening speech about how he had no LOI club near him (he lives in Templeogue), how he'd be better than most of the players anyway, how he couldn't understand why I'd pay to watch "that ****e", and that I should be a proper Inter Milan supporter(!) like him. We're still friends, but...Originally Posted by Dodge
Inter Milan?! Is he part Italian or something?
Hahaha!! Are you serious? In that case I have no LoI club either. Myabe I'll call in for him next time when I'm walking up to the match!!
He's just regurgitating what most people who dont go to matches say. Generally their opinion is entirely invalid as it's based on nothing! People dont realise how high the standard is when you compare even the LoI first division to say the best LSL teams. Double digits is usually the difference.
His uncle worked in Milan for a year, and brought him back a scarf AFAIK. I'm fairly sure he's never set foot in Italy. The thing is, a lot of people in my year admired him for it, they reckoned he was being a "proper fan", because he didn't just pick a team in the English League, like all of them. Out of my entire group of friends from growing up and going to college in Dublin, the city where there is the least excuse not to follow a team, I am the only one who takes any interest in the league. I've given up arguing with the idiots at this stage, they only tie themselves in knots trying to tell me how Manchester United is somehow more Irish than a club that actually play in Ireland.
If you want to really annoy him you could tell him that there's not actually a team called "Inter Milan"
Are most barstoolers part-English?
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
Nope, but fandom is a community activity and if you can't experience actually attending local fixtures with other fans then most people will pick their team because friends or family members are already fans. An Irish person supporting Inter is probably going to find it very difficult to find people to discuss the games with. Then again, that might be the point.
West Brits the lot of them.
You've got no fans.
Perfect example of that in Terryland tonight - bunch of German lads wearing Frankfurt jerseys who popped up for a look and spent most of the game chanting and singing Galway United songs. Hats off to the, brought a splash of colour and noise
"Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins."
"Homer Simpson, smiling politely."
http://www.extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/4044/
Maybe the last word on this before a dispiriting chapter in Irish football is put to bed: a great piece on Extra Time. Don't agree with absolutely everything, but a brilliantly argued piece.
Agree, really have to wonder why anyone involved with Irish football got involved in this. Damo Richardson is a joke, FAI puppet.First post on this cesspit of a site in ages. Delighted with the result in Lansdowne. How any club allowed their players to participate in that charade is beyond me. If any Shamrock Rovers' player got picked I would've personally requested them to score own goals early and often in order to give the FAI and the attendance what they deserved: contempt.
Also wonder why any LOI fan would attend this game, was obvious that it would all pan out like this. A nothing match.
I haven't even seen the goals from it, or am likely too - zero interest in silly friendlies
Stupid reasons from bar stoolers not to support our league
1) The LOI is rubbish
Wrong, its not so bad, I enjoy most of the games I attend. Good effort, good goals, good games. If you like football then any match should be enjoyable, there is something in all games that one can get worked up about. And Christ the standard of some of the EPL with Wigan, Blk, Stoke, etc isnt upto much either.
2) No atmosphere
Wrong. I actually find the atmosphere in LOI games brilliant, great banter, witty songs, real fans with real passion.
3) No club close by
So you support Man Utd or Chelsea. But why not Bolton, Or cardiff? Not really random but more bandwagon
Anyway i miss the LOI now Im in London.
No excuses - live football on your doorsteps - thats what its all about, you dont have to try and sell that to football fans.
Anyway heres me supporting Hayes (my nearest team) from next week
(bath city at home, maybe I might see Ken Loach!!)
Shup! Stoke are brilliant!
Can only speak for myself, but absolutely not. I think people need to be encouraged, not alienated. I've been going to Pats regularly for about 16 years (was very sporadic before that.) Like anyone else I grew up watching english footie and Man City were "my" team for a while. I gradually came to realise that they had absolutley nothing to do with me and lost interest. I didn't get hooked on Pats straight away either. I'd say it took the guts of a season, by which time I'd gotten to know who they players were, etc, etc. So it's not impossible to attract people, at least those who are not openly hostile, which I don't really think most people are. Most are just apathetic. (And, to slightly contradict myself, whose who are openly hostile can fook right off.)
Out for a spell, got neglected, lay on the bench unselected.
The so called barstoolers are people that the LOI will never win over. Its the kids that we should be trying to attract.
I support a EPL team and im a season ticket holder at rovers. Reason been as a child my dad brought me to games and got me hooked. I support an EPL team not because of jumping on a bandwagon but as a kid i was introduced to them by an adult. My point is we are targeting the wrong group if we want to ultimately increase attendances. You are "given" your club as a kid and you are then stuck with it.
I dont get this fascination with "barstoolers"
its gonna be hard, because as soon as a barstooler kid is born they always put their kid in a man ure liverpool jersey
In my experience, there are very few people who are openly hostile to the league. Those are the ones who usually have realised they have no excuse not to go, and are internally railing against it, it reminds me how sometimes the most homophobic people can be closet homosexuals.
Most people are just disinterested, and need a bit of a push to get them going (and they'll resist initially, because they won't want to admit they've been missing out all these years!). 25000 wouldn't have turned up to watch Shels against Deportivo if they actively hated the league.
Anyone got a copy of the game on DVD? Will cover costs of course. Thanks.
'And Crouch must score'
i posted the extratime.ie article on facebook and this was the response i got;
I'll tell you why, because most clubs and the FAI for a long period have been run by individuals who were in it for themselves rather than the club. There was a time in the 60's and 70's when Irish run clubs attracted big crowds-not anymore. The Charlton era while it gave us a taste of what its like to play with the big boys did nothing to bridge the gap between English and Irish footbal-hence the phenomena of the Irish passionately supporting Liverpool, Man U etc.
so thats his excuse. Not much i can say though because im too young and new to talk about the history of the league.
Did anyone see the bit in the irish indo yesterday about a scunthorpe united fan (alsso a finn harps fan apparently) who followed them because he wanted to be "different" from the manu's and liverpool fans in class
I think this applies to Manchester United and Liverpool at present, does that mean their support will slowly drift now ?
The popularity of any sport is totally dependant on its media exposure. Look at the coverage that will be given to hurling semi finals today. Compare the ammount of column inches it will recieve to the fai cup semi finals. No contest. Likewise the premier league, all the papers will have booklets, wall charts, game planners etc. The ammount of coverage a sport gets in the press will be reflected in the gates that sport recieves. I was travelling from Galway to Sligo yesterday and it was the hurling game live, followed by post match analysis followed by a phone in show for the fans. A brief mention of the Shams Bohs game on the headlines which could be a defining result in the outcome of the pemier league! Same thing on Today fm for the premiership. Its media led and until such times as our leagues get the coverage they deserve in our national press, loi gates will not increase. People today are puppets to the media and need to be told what to do, what is fashionable, whats hot and whats not. Its the way of the world we live in i'm afraid.
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