The life of a plastic football fan

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

My parents are not football fans, so when I was young I was not surrounded by the Albion or anything like that...

I was about 4 when I decided that David Beckham was my favourite player and I would support Manchester United. Then, when I grew a little older and realised there were teams outside of the Premiership, I thought it was only right to support Brighton, my own club as well.

Its not people just choosing the best/most successful teams to support...Manchester United was the first team I heard of and David Beckham played for them. I still have a soft spot for Manchester United and follow them regularly,

Obviously WHEN they face each other, I will be chanting for Brighton as loud as I possibly can, and when I have kids, they will be brought up in Brighton shirts.

Similar to me.

Growing up in Australia with sky, the Premier league was on every Saturday and Sunday night, Beckham was my idol so I followed United. I still supported Brighton but as a young kid it was hard to get into it when all I could do was listen to the radio.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Do you "confine yourself" to just watching one team, Brighton? I don't, whether it's live or on television, I watch games that don't involve Brighton and have a preference for one team over the other, because I like (or dislike) one side more than the other.

I rarely get time to watch other teams as I go to the vast majority of our games. I watch highlights of other matches but only as a viewer, never a supporter. I wouldn't buy a scarf or wear shirts of other teams.

 

[Aadam]

I rarely get time to watch other teams as I go to the vast majority of our games. I watch highlights of other matches but only as a viewer, never a supporter. I wouldn't buy a scarf or wear shirts of other teams.

How does going to games proibit you watching other games? I'm a United fan and so far this season cannot remember a time where I missed watching United because I was also also at The Amex. Brighton are typically on at 3pm on a saturday or midweek during the evening. PL games that are live are noon-evening on Saturdays, Sundays and Monday nights. Plenty of time to watch other teams. This weekend I'll be sure to catch the early and late saturday games with the Amex squashed in the middle.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

How does going to games proibit you watching other games? I'm a United fan and so far this season cannot remember a time where I missed watching United because I was also also at The Amex. Brighton are typically on at 3pm on a saturday or midweek during the evening. PL games that are live are noon-evening on Saturdays, Sundays and Monday nights. Plenty of time to watch other teams. This weekend I'll be sure to catch the early and late saturday games with the Amex squashed in the middle.

I have other things to do in my life than watching a team I have no connection with. Every other Saturday also involves travelling to get to away games.

 

[1swedegull]

It's just a different sensibility. Nothing wrong with, say, being from Lichfield, Staffordshire, and being a fan of a big club such as Manchester United.

This example above is of Peter Ward and I don't think he deserves to be called a 'plastic fan'.

When most people like a band, they are attracted mainly by the quality of the music and they choose who is their favourite band based on whose music they think is the best. It would be ridiculous for others to say that people should only like music artists from their local area, or that you're not a real fan unless you watch your favourite band in person every time they play.

Some people just apply how they relate to music to how they relate to football teams. (Even as football supporters, most of us are likely to say that you can like any band you like, no matter where they come from, and you can stop being a fan of a band once their output is not so good).

Living in Lichfield has never wanted me to go anywhere near manure, villa ,wolves even walsall ( being the closest) always stuck by my guns the mighty blue and white of brighton will always be my team !!! even through junior , senior school ... loads of villa fans a few unfortunate blues fans the occasional walsall fan but would always wear me brighton top playing school footy lol

 

[Ali_rrr]

I never supported any of the 'big clubs.' My dad tried to get me into Leicester and Brighton but I liked Brighton more as I lived more locally and Zamora was firing them in. All this when I was 4.

 

[bluebirdbaker]

Don't really agree with this. People tend to support the team they've ALWAYS supported throughout life, not just switch teams when they feel like it (as you did) and then berate anyone that supports a team that's better than theirs.

Just because you decided to swap teams you supported, it doesn't mean loyal supporters to the so called 'big clubs' should do too. I've supported Manchester United since I was about 11 years old, that's almost twenty years now. I have as much support for them now as I have always had. I understand more now than I did when I was younger, but I've never once thought about switching my affiliation just because of where I live.

Why should my postal adress decide on what team I support? I currently live in Hove, but if I move to Birmingham, should I change team? What has location to do with support?

There are a plethora of reasons for following a big club: you follow the same team as your father, as your friends, they were the first team you saw on TV (which happened a lot when it used to just be the FA Cup final on the TV), your favorite England player plays for them (as happened with Liverpool and John Barnes). Just because you're not supporting the team from where you grew up, or were born, does not make you a plastic fan.



Yet you still decided to support Manchester United?



When you switch teams part way through life, how can you say you were there from the start? You didn't change teams you supported until your teens, so you were not always there.



This is just moronic.

To me this is just a rant, maybe because you lost the Carling Cup final to Liverpool, so it's a side swipe at the Liverpool fans that do not come from Liverpool, who knows. But I know this much ~ all the Liverpool fans that started supporting them in the 80's still do, despite their drop in dominance. When United went three seasons without the league title, I didn't change my team to Chelsea. People support teams because they do, not because you tell them too. What should it matter to anyone who supports what team?

Clearly you're just a plastic trying to defend yourself. You have no affiliation to that club.

 

[bluebirdbaker]

I haven't stated I was there "from the start". I have been there from the League One days. I didn't write it because we lost to Liverpool, that's such a pathetic statement. You should support your local teams, not a team you have no connection to just because you like one of their players.

I didn't decide to support Man United, I wasn't that interested in football so like other plastics I just picked the first best team I liked. When I got older and got into football more I saw sense, and knew Cardiff were right for me because I had a connection to them, I'd already seen them play countless of times and they were local to me. Man United meant nothing to me other than the egos that played in the shirt.