To be fair every one loves a winner........Youngsters cling to the fact they are associated to a winner. People are pleased to tell other people they support a winner. They usually stay true to that team as long as that team wins things on a regular basis. What most of you out there have not witnessed or experienced is the mighty Man U being relegated and yes one place below little Southampton. Their support dropped dramatically although it did pick up just as quickly when they were on the way back up. Somehow it makes them feel that little bit superior that little bit more special because of their teams success. The rest are the enemy, the crap, the no hopers. Who gets the more satisfaction out of a game of football I wonder. We that support a family club that gets their excitement out of beating the so called top clubs, or almost beating them. Or maybe losing to them but playing well or just getting a drumming from them. We remain optimistic we will do better next time. We do not take things for granted we do not expect to win a trophy every year. We do expect the excitement of the unexpected though so I guess we perhaps edge the excitement stakes a bit. Football is a funny old game........
The other day my son told me he now suports Chelsea , Thats the last time he gets to stay up late to watch a match .
When I first started watching Saints as a kid I never expected to win anything! It was enough to be in the top league playing big teams every week and sometimes beating them. 1976 was just a dream really, and ever since most of the time we have been struggling to avoid relegation from one league or another. The last few years however, have turned me into a bit of a glory hunter I must admit. Who knows, our time might just be nigh!
I have more time for people that support their local teams but so long as is isn't United or Liverpool it doesn't bother me. My housemate is a devout Cardiff fan but also supports Tottenham. In my eyes that isn't glory hunting as there is no real glory supporting Spurs. Similarly i know a devout West Ham fan from Lincoln. But I know with absolute certainty that most people outside Merseyside and Greater Manchester that support Liverpool or United do so only because of the SUSTAINED period of success in the 80s (Liverpool) and 90s (United). Over the last 30 years or so the media has become more influential in deciding who people support not family, friends etc. Look at how much media coverage Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and United have got over the last 20 years compared to everybody else, it's insane. And the media have decided football outside the top flight is irrelevant
Attention seeking isn't what it means.... It means you're throwing a tantrum or getting angry and worked up about nothing important. You're also taking things too seriously, on a message board it's not always easy to tell what tone things are written in . Chill out
I am perfectly chilled and there has certainly been no tantrum. Would "hating" fans of certain football teams and calling people "pathetic" if they don't support their local team not fall under the definition of "taking things too seriously"? Don't try and turn this around on me please.
Sooo much! Last I heard they went into administration and got relegated, and now they're playing the likes of Hitchin and Hemel Hempstead. I haven't followed them at all this season.
I was talking to someone the other day who is going to purchase two season tickets for SMS following our promotion he supports Chelsea but says it will be great to see 'some top teams in action'. I find this so galling the guy has plenty of money but values nothing he has no interest in our team could name probably only Ricky if pressed as a saints player he is aware of granted i am probably jealous and bitter as i cant afford season tickets for myself and my two lads who have watched and endured our demise and rebirth over the last two seasons spending as much as we can afford out of our family budget on following the saints and those we dont see we never miss a solent commentry.Sadly there will be plenty of these people hijacking our team in an effort to ensure a ticket to watch the vast array of stars arriving at SMS and Nicola will have no choice but to take the money. In my ideal world we could house such Jonny come latelys in one section of the ground so that all of us can boo and hiss at them
Dad took me to my first Saints game aged 5 but even that still didnt stop me supporting the mighty Liverpool of the late 70's and early 80's and I was always King Kenny in the playground kick about's aged 8/9.......but then in the early 80's after watching a magical game under the floodlights at the Dell against the then mighty Hamburg in 82 I think it I was brought back into the fold and remained a Saint ever since and suffered the highs and the lows. Have to say living in Portmsouth didnt help either. I guess my point is that youngsters will have there heads turned by the so called big times but with good parenting and being taken to the dell so many times they can always brought back to supporting the right team!
I'm a glory hunter, but a very clever one...started supporting Saints at a time when they were in no way destined for much of anything, thus insuring that I cannot be accused of glory-hunting when the team actually achieves glory. Tricky, eh?
Teams will allways have supporters who will switch if they stop doing well. Ex: When abromovich leaves Chelsea and they drop down to a Mid Table club, they will lose lots of fans who will start following one of the big clubs. I don't mind them because it makes me feel better when I see them that I know I've supported my local team without question and the thought of relegation and a year in the championship doesn't make me want to switch, at all.
Boring. We've heard this for 9 years now. Before Abramovich came our previous league finishes were 6th, 6th, 5th and 3rd. Hardly mid table. Even if Abramovich leaves the debts have been cleared and we are a much more attractive proposition now than we were 10 years ago. Who's to say someone even wealthier than Abramovich wouldn't come in? And judging by the emotion shown by his son when we won the CL who's to say he won't take over?
I live very close to the Winchester City ground. The best you get there are WAGs and families and a few chavs drinking beer and whacking a drum. You don't feel part of something. Most of Winchester showed up at St Andrews when they won the FA Vase, but most of the time it just isn't exciting. Winning is nice, but it's even sweeter when you've been there throughout.
I watched Newport for years...good side in the leagues they were in. Watched them win the Hampshire Cup at the Dell and drove home with the cup tied to the bus luggage rack and watched them win the league and get promoted to Beezer Homes Premier (high enough to get result on Sky Sports strapline). I remember being as happy as when we won the JPT, though not as happy as Saints promotions. Gave them up when I got a Saints season ticket, but don't feel so bad as I gave them up when they were top and not on the slide.
Well I have tried, and failed, to summon any righteous indignation about this. Define "glory-hunter" someone who supports a team because it's successful? Well the country is full of kids like that, many of whom are not fortunate enough to see football and who only watch on the box. Many grow up still supporting that same team. Hardly a crime. There are folks who wonder about in replica shirts for top teams and I suspect that many never go to a match. It's just the association with success that Nike tries to foster. Or are we actually on about "plastics"? Is that what this really about. Perhaps we fans ought to be given a badge to wear giving our "worth" as a Saints supporter on a scale starting with "never misses a game, home or away" down to "sometimes watches from the Chapel". People support who they want, in the way they want for the reasons they want. What has it got to do with me? And why should I hate them?
