Real Fan

[Eire06]

This has prob been posted before but couldn't find anything about it so

I see a lot of you have VERY different views on what a 'Real' fan is..

What do you consider a real football fan?

I think it is someone who appricates good football and supports and stands by 'their' team(s) no matter what..
Not necessarly someone who goes to every match and someone who has every Jersey ect.. Cause not everyone has the money to be paying out for all that stuff...

[Macy]

I used to think you'd have to go to most, if not all home games in a season. However, as I've got older and my personal circumstances have changed and I realise that isn't necessarily possible with a family, a mortgage, house and garden to maintain. Certainly I'd still think you'd want to be going to 10-15 games a season at least.

I take myself as an example, I don't consider myself a real supporter of United anymore. However, having put in the time when I was younger, home and away for many seasons I still think I'm more justified in commenting than people who go once or twice a season, watch from a barstool. One of the reasons I don't go back that often is that it doesn't feel right flitting in and out of the club in that way - I'd be more clued up than most of the people that would, but it still doesn't feel right to me. Possibly because I wouldn't have accepted supporters like me back in the day, and I'm sure some of my associates from those times that are still home and away wouldn't either. I think if you haven't put in the time, you can't truely comprehend the mindset of the hardcore, no matter how long you've supported from afar.

[Kerry Blue]

This has prob been posted before but couldn't find anything about it so

I see a lot of you have VERY different views on what a 'Real' fan is..

What do you consider a real football fan?

I think it is someone who appricates good football and supports and stands by 'their' team(s) no matter what..
Not necessarly someone who goes to every match and someone who has every Jersey ect.. Cause not everyone has the money to be paying out for all that stuff...

I would agree with you. I do my best to go to every Limerick home match I can, and a few away ones, but with work commitments etc., it isn't always easy. I think a real fan is one who will support his/her club through thick and thin. Just because the club is bottom of the league is no reason not to bother anymore. Real fans are the ones who have seen it all!

[Éanna]

Very dodgy thing to post

IMO, it's someone who goes to as many games as they reasonably can, and supports their team in whatever way they reasonably can. Also, someone hwo has some kind of reason for supporting the team- not picking them off the TV or something

[IsMiseSean]

I'm from Galway and I've only seen them play once about a year ago (4-3 victory over Limerick). I don't call myself a fan of Galway Utd I generally go to Galway proper Football games instead.
I've only gone to 2 away games with Ireland (Israel will be my third)I've been to a couple of friendlies too, I'm only 21 and I'm not exactly loaded. I've never been to a competive home game, mainly because I cant get tickets of the FAI.
Does this make me any less of an Irish fan/man than someone who's been to every game since 1986?

[Macy]

Does this make me any less of an Irish fan/man than someone who's been to every game since 1986?

Galway United were selling season tickets for €100 or something silly. How much is that one away game going to cost you?

[gspain]

Call yourselves real fans.......

LONDON (Reuters) - A Welsh rugby fan cut off his own testicles to celebrate Wales beating England at rugby, the Daily Mirror has reported.

Geoff Huish, 26, was so convinced England would win Saturday's match he told fellow drinkers at a social club, "If Wales win I'll cut my balls off", the paper said on Tuesday.

Friends at the club in Caerphilly, south Wales, thought he was joking.

But after the game Huish went home, severed his testicles with a knife, and walked 200 metres back to the bar with the testicles to show the shocked drinkers what he had done.

Huish was taken to hospital where he remained in a seriously ill condition, the paper said. Police told the paper he had a history of mental problems.

Wales's 11-9 victory over England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was their first home win over England in 12 years.

[ColinR]

I'm from Galway and I've only seen them play once about a year ago (4-3 victory over Limerick). I don't call myself a fan of Galway Utd I generally go to Galway proper Football games instead.
I've only gone to 2 away games with Ireland (Israel will be my third)I've been to a couple of friendlies too, I'm only 21 and I'm not exactly loaded. I've never been to a competive home game, mainly because I cant get tickets of the FAI.
Does this make me any less of an Irish fan/man than someone who's been to every game since 1986?

i would say yes it does make you less of a fan than someone who has been to every game since 86. but it does not mean you are a real fan.

i have three teams:

dufc : every home match + 3/4 aways last season
ireland: every home match + been to japan and switzerland
manchester utd: go over 4/5 times per season.

i would consider myself a real fan of all three, but dont think i would qualify as a hardcore fan for any. if you go out of your way to support a team, be it time wise, money wise etc., then i believe you can call yourself a 'real fan'. i dont like the whole you have to chant for 90 mins at every game to be a real fan

[Stuttgart88]

Do you even have to go to football to be a real football fan? The original question was put as "football fan" not "fan of a club" after all.

I left Ireland for London 6 years ago. But even up to 1999 I'd only been to a handful domestic league games in the preceeding 8 years.

But when I was growing up I went to every Shamrock Rovers home game (give or take a couple) for years. And on every other Sunday I went to watch another team playing in Dublin, be it Pats, Shels, UCD or Bohs etc.

Then came the boycott. At this point I went to UCD, I started watching UCD, even in crappy Budweiser Cup games on Wednesday afterrnoons. I played every weekend too even though I was rubbish. I just loved playing.

Then I left UCD. I played AUL on Saturdays and LSL on Sundays, and sometimes played as a banger in Superleague games. I played astroturf football and trained twice a week. I barely went to a domestic league game for 10 years. I went to every Irish home game and a handful of away games.

I don't play anymore. I don't even go and watch Arsenal who I support. English football fans are yobs and I can't relate to them at all. But I can relate to RoI fans and to the RoI team. I spend far too much time at work on foot.ie and soccercentral. I scour the newspoapers for news of any Irish player in Britain. I have family and a mortgage so away trips and home friendlies are usually out of the question.

I take it I'm only a fairweather football fan then?

[Eire06]

There is really a few sides of the arguement theres the hardcore fans that pay out to go to every match without fail, and fair play to them if they have the cash and the time..
then theres the 'barstool' fans that cannot afford to go to any of the matches and will go to the pub to watch their favorate team play (when not on local channels)...
and then there is the fans who will go to all the matchs they can afford to go to, and when they cant go they make sure they get the match on telly somewhere (me)

Who is the lesser fan
Is the hardcore fan more of a real fan because they have the time and money to go to every match??

I Personally think they are all real fans in their own way, no lesser or greater, If you give up your time and effort to go support your team be it from the terraces, couch or bar stool then you are a real fan....

People who change teams as the league table changes are not real fans

[Macy]

Is the hardcore fan more of a real fan because they have the time and money to go to every match??

Yes, because in the main it's not about having more money, it's about sacrificing everything to make those games. For the years when I was home and away my whole social life revolved around the match. If it was the choice of night out with the lads to a gig, or paying for a match, the match won. People devote their lives to following teams - they are better fans.

[Junior]

I find the 'Real Fan' argument very tedious and in fact its the 'fans' that roll out this argument time and time again who are beginning to get on my tits more than the 'fans' (corporates, VIP's, Non-Singers, Premiership Player Spotters, Non Ireland Shirt wearing blah blah) they profess to be superior to.

As Stuttgart88 says we are all in completely different circumstances & I don't see why we should have to put up our CV in order to join the 'Real Fans'.

I brought my dad to Lansdowne Rd on Weds (Only his second ever Ireland game). He would struggle to name all the Irish side never mind the Portugese one, He wouldn't be up singing too much either. But you know what, he really enjoyed the match and the occasion.

Some of the 'Real Fans' on here are basically suggesting he shouldn't be allowed to attend as his CV isn't up to scratch. (I am not taking these posts personally - but effectively its what is being said)

Lads get a grip. Enjoy your footie in whatever way YOU see fit, but stop judging others by your own subjective criteria.

[tiktok]

I'm quite comfortable with the level of effort/time/money I put into supporting the clubs I support.

To be honest, I prefer to be surrounded at matches by people who have the same level/type of interest, because I enjoy chanting etc.etc and contributing to an atmosphere, but I agree with Junior that the 'real fans' thing is getting tedious.

Each to their own (once they're not the types who knock the EL, which I love, for the sake of it and worse, with no informaton to back their arguments).

Junior's comment "Lads get a grip. Enjoy your footie in whatever way YOU see fit, but stop judging others by your own subjective criteria." pretty much sums up my feeling too.

[Macy]

Junior, the question was asked thats why I replied.

I wouldn't necessarily put myself high up on the list, but can appreciate where the hardcore home and awayer are coming from.

People are always going to think they're the best fans they can be, true or not, as obviously people aren't going to turn around and say "I'm a part timer". Ignore the eL aspect, there's people that go to a couple of away internationals at the expense of going to all the home games. To me, you'd go as many matches as possible, rather than pick the best away píss ups.

It's all about personal opinion, but you can't criticise people replying to a thread.

[NY Hoop]

IMO anybody who goes fairly regularly to support their local EL side is a real fan. Also you cannot "support" a foreign club as you dont live there!

Havent been to lansdowne in a decade but been to the 3 World Cups. But if somebody came up to me and said "you're not a real Ireland fan" it would'nt bother me as I cant relate to most of the premier**** loving ##### who go anyway.

KOH

[tallaghtfornia]

fully agree with you ny hoop but fans that say "ah we're only playin so and so" are not real fans and by the way u are right,srfc board are a disgrace!!
the mission for 2005.....TO GET THEM OUT!!

[Junior]

Junior, the question was asked thats why I replied.

I wouldn't necessarily put myself high up on the list, but can appreciate where the hardcore home and awayer are coming from.

People are always going to think they're the best fans they can be, true or not, as obviously people aren't going to turn around and say "I'm a part timer". Ignore the eL aspect, there's people that go to a couple of away internationals at the expense of going to all the home games. To me, you'd go as many matches as possible, rather than pick the best away píss ups.

It's all about personal opinion, but you can't criticise people replying to a thread.

My response wasn't directed at you Macy - I too was just replying to the thread.

Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I have just put forward my own and that is that I find this 'Real Fan' argument tedious and to be honest fairly immature.

I support Ireland/Celtic in my own way and im glad to say I don't fit in to either the 'Real fan' category or the 'Not Real Fan' category.

[Eire06]

Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I have just put forward my own and that is that I find this 'Real Fan' argument tedious and to be honest fairly immature.

You may find it immature but I was just interested in what peoples opinions were on the matter because there are a lot of posts on this site complaining about real fans and barstool fans ect.. Certain people saying theyre better fans that others...

If you find it tedious and immature why bother posting in the thread and just ignore it in future

[Junior]

You may find it immature but I was just interested in what peoples opinions were on the matter because there are a lot of posts on this site complaining about real fans and barstool fans ect.. Certain people saying theyre better fans that others...

If you find it tedious and immature why bother posting in the thread and just ignore it in future

But if I did that then you wouldn't get my opinion on the matter - which I thought was the point.

Its not a dig at you Eire06 - I can see why you started the thread, the topic seems to raise its head incessantly on this forum.

[IsMiseSean]

I've no interest in supporting Galway Utd, and I doubt I ever will. I'm only goin to spend my money on supporting Ireland and goin to Galway GAA games.
Fair Fooks to all the lads that go to every game and support their local team through thick and thin. If I was loaded I'd go to every game that Ireland play, but I dont. I dont think I'm any less of an Irish fan than anyone else on these boards and I dont think anyone can claim to be Ireland biggest fan.