Really annoys me

[NeilMcD]

Would u haev said the same if they supported a Dublin team rather than Cork City. I have no affinity with anything to do with Cork so not going to support any of them teams. IN fact I find that some people from Cork are a bit self righteous. There are others that are dead sound so I would not make a generalisation there. But this idea that you have to support a league of IReland team to be a true football supporter is deeply flawed. It is possible to just support your National Team as that is the team that represents you the best. I dont feel any affinity with any other team. It woudl be very unatural for me to suddenly adopt a team just to fit in with someone elses idea of a true supporter. I do go along to league of Ireland games as a spectator rather than a supporter. If I was looking out for a result it would be Bohs the same as I would look out for SPurs results too, It does not bother me eitehr way if Bohs get beaten or if Spurs get beaten, my mood does not chaneg. However if Ireland gets beaten , it woudl have an effect on my mood for that day or the week or whatever. I travel home and away to watch ireland so woudl consider myself a supporter of the irish Football team. There are plenty of people like me that travel to support Ireland and indeed there are those in Scotland that do the same. People who support their national team rather than any club team.

To draw an analogy with music,

I support local music, i go to gigs in ireland by irish artist who are with labels and who do not have record contracts.

However I would not dis somebody for supporting an international band and going to there gigs etc.

If we take that music and sport are both expressions of a nations culture and entertainment at the same time, I think the analogy is fair. The question that has to go out to every LOI fan that has the same attitude that you have is, do u listen to foreign music, or do u only listend to indigenous acts and go to gigs by irish bands. Before i get criticised. I like the League of Ireand and attend games, however I do not think that I have to support a team so i can become a real supporter

[Pablo]

Would u haev said the same if they supported a Dublin team rather than Cork City. I have no affinity with anything to do with Cork so not going to support any of them teams. IN fact I find that some people from Cork are a bit self righteous. There are others that are dead sound so I would not make a generalisation there. But this idea that you have to support a league of IReland team to be a true football supporter is deeply flawed. It is possible to just support your National Team as that is the team that represents you the best. I dont feel any affinity with any other team. It woudl be very unatural for me to suddenly adopt a team just to fit in with someone elses idea of a true supporter. I do go along to league of Ireland games as a spectator rather than a supporter. If I was looking out for a result it would be Bohs the same as I would look out for SPurs results too, It does not bother me eitehr way if Bohs get beaten or if Spurs get beaten, my mood does not chaneg. However if Ireland gets beaten , it woudl have an effect on my mood for that day or the week or whatever. I travel home and away to watch ireland so woudl consider myself a supporter of the irish Football team. There are plenty of people like me that travel to support Ireland and indeed there are those in Scotland that do the same. People who support their national team rather than any club team.

To draw an analogy with music,

I support local music, i go to gigs in ireland by irish artist who are with labels and who do not have record contracts.

However I would not dis somebody for supporting an international band and going to there gigs etc.

If we take that music and sport are both expressions of a nations culture and entertainment at the same time, I think the analogy is fair. The question that has to go out to every LOI fan that has the same attitude that you have is, do u listen to foreign music, or do u only listend to indigenous acts and go to gigs by irish bands. Before i get criticised. I like the League of Ireand and attend games, however I do not think that I have to support a team so i can become a real supporter

you attend games. therefore you support the local game. thats the way it should be.

Thats all i'm getting at. support our own.

[tiktok]

No matter where you are on this island theres a team within a short distance. that just stands to reason.

That's simply not true Pablo, and deep down you know that.
The lads from Tipp, Clare and Kerry that you know who support City are definitely the exception rather than the rule, I'll even hazard a guess that they got into CCFC as college students in UCC or CIT?

When you're a kid growing up, EPL is accessible, albeit through Television, it dominates TV and print media and if you grow up in Clare, Kerry, Tipperary, Wexford, Mayo, or any other county which has a high football playing population but no EL team, you're hardly going to start supporting a team from another county (especially with the partizan nature the GAA ingrains in us all) who you have no access to.

What's a ten year old from Dingle who plays football every weekend going to do, latch onto Chelsea like his friends are, or get his parents to let him stay up until 11.30 on Monday nights to watch p1ss poor coverage or a poorly marketed league.
The kid probably doesn't even know we HAVE a National League ffs, any Irish international he sees at Landsdowne, he can watch on the Premiership, Saturdays in prime viewing hours.

[elroy]

Roy Keane has said before he considers himself a corkionian first and an irishman second!!!

[strangeirish]

Roy Keane has said before he considers himself a corkionian first and an irishman second!!!

Yeh, I think he said it to Mick McCarthy

[gustavo]

Sligo or any other county which has a high football playing population but no EL team

ahem.

[tiktok]

ahem.

Humblest apologies, mid-rant mistake, will be edited immediately

[dancinpants]

Fair play to yer dancinpants for coming out with the best load of old cojones i've read on here in a while. I'm 2g been to over 86 senior internationals, and have never lived in Ireland, if we were to go by Fifa rules on international teams we could say that you should be a supporter of Norn Iron seeing that you are a Derry man (not that I recognise the osc), I would expect some old s**te from some of these lads who have never learned about anything other then the FREE STATE, but from someone from the OSC you should have a bit more cop on, fcek off and play with yer crayons.

Sylvo what a tw@t you seem to be...do the words "rod out, bait set" mean anything to you? Was my reply to Pat O'Banton not a big enough hint for ye?. And wow you've been to 86 senior internationals - did you have to count yer ticket stub and programme collection to embibe us with that fantastic piece of trivia?.

[sylvo]

Sylvo what a tw@t you seem to be...do the words "rod out, bait set" mean anything to you? Was my reply to Pat O'Banton not a big enough hint for ye?. And wow you've been to 86 senior internationals - did you have to count yer ticket stub and programme collection to embibe us with that fantastic piece of trivia?.

Oh dear, i'm shocked that the you've been framed camera's are not all around us now after your wind up. Yer not the first person to try and wind us up about this subject and i'm sure you won't be the last, so I don't bother anymore with trying to sort out who's on a wind up or who is just plain thick on the subject every pr**k gets pretty much told to fcek off who start on about 2g's and how Ireland is a 2nd choice.

Funny enough I do keep ticket stubs from all the matches I go to and a souviner of the match and have paid my money like everyother fan to follow my national team so I ain't having no fcuking smart@rse no matter how funny they are talking sh**e about how people like us would rather be following the fortunes of Engurrlund. Anyway i'll let you get back to yer crayons.

[hamish]

Theres 3 lads on the forum from Ennis that support Cork City. i know one from Tipp and one fron Kerry.

They made a decision to go out of their way to support Irish football instead of taking the easy bar stool way out.

i salute every one of them

Funny you should mention that Pablo. When Finn Harps were in their early days in the LOI, there were a couple of blokes from Athenry who used to follow them all over the country - so I'm told anyway.

In Athlone for years, there was a couple from North Tipperary who used to come up to all the home games and some away. The wife would sit in the car inside Mel's while the husband was going mental in the long stand.

I can sympathise a little with someone who might take a fancy to some LOI club but may not have transport to go to games. St. Mel's is 18 miles from my front door - yeah that's a 36 mile round trip - and I cycled to a couple of games when I was around 16. Soon copped on and thummed a lift until I got my own transport. By the way, I don't expect a medal before any of you start taking the p!$$.

[De Town]

Turner's Cross is a 130 mile round trip for me. I DO want a medal and I want it NOW...

Flancare Park is a 5 mile round trip for me and I would appreciate a medal.

[hamish]

Turner's Cross is a 130 mile round trip for me. I DO want a medal and I want it NOW...

Fcul me - you deserve one Conor. Do you get to a lot of games???

de Town - 5 miles - that's a good healthy walk!!!! No medal for you!!

[hamish]

Every Friday home game. About half of midweek home games. Poor on the away games - a trip to Dublin from here (South Kerry) means pretty much taking Friday off - I'm an huor from the train station! Longford used to be a standard away trip because the game was on Satday night, this season just went to Waterford. Didn't realise Munster was so bloody wide...

No patronising Conor, you're one helluva fan. Hope the Corky Boys appreciate you.

When I first started supporting the Town, felt a great sense of adventure, for want of a better word, travelling to Mels. Do you get the same feeling??

[De Town]

de Town - 5 miles - that's a good healthy walk!!!! No medal for you!!

I dont even walk it

[sligoman]

The Showgrounds is about a 10 minute walk from my house and a medal would be nice!

[superfrank]

Carlisle is half hour from my front door but it usually takes me about an hour to get there cos I drop into my mate's and we go on to the match from there. On a typical match night I'd do about an hour and forty minutes of walking.

Give me the bronze........

[OwlsFan]

So those who put Cork City etc over Ireland will therefore understand and appreciate Ferguson putting Man U (his club) over Ireland I assume and perhaps even the players putting their club before their country!!

It's that attitude I'm afraid that will kill international football

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

Flancare Park is a 180 mile round-trip from my home in Blackrock. I only go to games when I stay in my family's holiday home down the country. I would appreciate a medal though.

[Plastic Paddy]

JPM, you deserve a medal just for being yourself.

OwlsFan, you also get a special mention for publicly supporting English football's very own dead duck club. That play-off win must seem like manna from heaven!

The rest of you eL fans deserve medals for putting up with what looks like football-free football, even in the face of intense provocation from barstoolers (like me)...

PP

[hamish]

I'm kinda sorry I made that medal comment now!! Now everybody wants one. I'll award myself one anyway!!

Typical early teenage Hamish Sunday morning:
Mum: You're off to Mass early?
Hamish: Yep (lie)
Mum: I'll have the dinner ready so be home by one.
Hamish: Can't - off to Athlone
Mum:Are you mad? (true) Why can't you play soccer over here?
Hamish:That was yesterday - we always play on Saturdays (true)
Mum: How you getting over there?
Hamish: Usual - I'll go the bridge and thumb (true)
Mum: No lessons done either, I'll bet
Hamish: Finished them Friday night (lie)
Mum: What time will you be home at?
Hamish: Well, if it's the one of the usual lifts, whenever they get out of the pub.
Mum. rant rant rant drinking and driving rant rant all for the sake of a bloody soccer match in Athlone rant rant wrecked for school in the morning rant rant foreign games rant rant soccer hooligans rant rant bet you're missing Mass ran rant why can't you play Tennis like your brother etc etc etc

Funny thing is my Mum became a dedicated Town fan when I got a car and rarely missed a match. Bless her.