I invite all fans for their opinion on this topic, as I am interested to see if people actually do 'hate' eachother. As a keen Liverpool fan, I obviously have a natural disliking towards utd; managers actions at times, the fans, location, even possible/probable bias and luck in the game. However, I still have the utmost respect for Sir Alex and believe he is THE top manager of my time. Of course they are geographical rivals, like Everton, but I don't hate either from living in the same region but having a different club. Most of all, I wish no harm to their fans, finding the mocking of Munich by fans and Hillborough by others strange and completely out of order. Do these people actually celebrate the death of fellow citizens and wish for more suffering amongst them?!? We all look for luck and bias towards utd, from Howard Webb to Fergie time and they in turn criticise the likes of Suarez 'cheating', despite numerous of their own players known for doing much worse. If other teams had Suarez and Drogba, they would equally love them. This of course has escalated from direct competition with one another, with the success of both clubs being close and unmatched in England. This is why I find the wumming and abuse from fans of clubs like Tottenham and Chelsea strange. One who has little success in comparison, to the other with a direct success from money in very recent times. They seem to surf a wave at a chance to abuse other teams. Tottenham have a similar relationship to Arsenal as we do with Everton, so focus their attentions there. We have had some direct competition with Chelsea in the past decade and that has caused a slight rivalry, but enough to cause their fans to booo the minutes silence for the Hillsborough anniversary??? I wonder, would those same fans come to my church and booo directly at me on the anniversary of my grandparents death? Or would they find it appropriate for people to boo their own family with a death in the past who lets say fought for the country in wars? 'Smaller' clubs have noticeably gotten worse too, where a good result or just being in the same league somehow gives the right to abuse fans of other clubs. Such names and actions like bin dippers, chavs, scum, plastic fans is all just harmless names imo. Actions like a plane crashing are clearly not and I would even say calling fans chav cu*ts or fu**ing bin dippers a clear aggressive attitude and wouldn't be tolerated anywhere outside of football, but it surely isn't just down to idiocy. Is it jealousy? Or more of an actual critical social problem and upbringing in 'broken Britain'? Hate is a really strong word and has got completely out of control and turned into an aggressive manner to despise other clubs, fans and players. This has got to the point of a complete absence of compassion So I ask you, do you actually hate other fans, clubs etc and do you really wish them harm? Also, why has it escalated so far and can it be solved without taking the passion out of the game.
Hatred in football is a micro symptom of a bigger picture - why is there hatred in society? The answer to that is a lot more poignant question and I doubt can be answered on a football forum (especially with the WUMs we get!)
True. It's the same with racism. Everyone is expecting FIFA, UEFA etc to eradicate racism but it's a problem within society and they need to be educated. For example, the amount of people who still say the phrase 'going down to the p@ki shop' is staggering. They use it casually but they don't realise that it is a racist term but it seems to be a generally accepted phrase therefore they will continue to use it. Then the same people will have a go at the likes of UEFA for their poor action taken against the Serbian FA for the racist chanting. IMO - we need more discipline at all levels. People think they can get away with anything now and even if they don't, they'll be put up in a 5* hotel .. sorry, I meant prison.
I uesd to have big problem with Utd fans but that was down to my age and lack of common sense as I've got older I've chilled out and realised there are more important things in life than football rivalry. I like the banter we have with Man Utd fans the rivalry will always be there but taking it to the level of hatred is simply stupid.
I don't hate anyone,i might call some one a mouser or chav etc,but that,to me is banter,and i know i will get it back.I do however dislike some fan's,but i think most people have some dilikes,and the fan's i dislike most are naturally Gooners,they seem arrogant,and that is what i dislike.i take the rise out of pool fans and others on the forums,but it is done tongue in cheek mostly.
We are in our core; pack animals, the survival instinct has us group together for protection and distrust those outside the group because they are competition for resources, hence the formation of countries etc. Sport & team sport in particular is an attempt to peacefully formalise our expression of this instinct. Some in society haven't evolved as far as others and still have that stronger, violent, fight or flight reflex because their intellect doesn't kick in to rationalise the situation. They tend to distrust & hate authority figures too because they feel threatened by them and pretty much anyone not in their group. Over simplified but there you go.
personally speaking i hate utd with a ****ing passion and cant stand the club or what it stands for, but as far as the fans etc, i have no hatred or any reason to hate them, its not my fault they are brain washed into supporting a shiite club i have mates who support utd and they are good lads, as a majority of their fans are,which is the same as us to be fair, all clubs have cretins but this moral high ground attitude that has come around lately into the game, where has it been for the last 100 fecking years. mocking of a tragedy whatever club it is, is the lowest of the ****ing low, and anyone who participates in this type of behaviour clearly is not a real fan of the club they supposedly support.
Can't say I hate anyone or anything to do with football. Football simply isn't important enough to stimulate such negative emotions for me. Tho' to be honest I couldn't say I hate anything - if you dislike something why give it so much of your emotional attention? As for why people hate on such an extreme level, the FBI developed a good stage based psychological model of hate groups such as the KKK, skinheads, Neo Nazis etc. The model starts by people gathering in a group with a shared dislike of a certain other groups. They then define themselves by their dislike, and reinforce their identify by hating, taunting and attacking the target group. Effectively their group become a tribe, and within that tribe they compete to show more hatred in order to gain the strongest identity and thus hide their own insecurities. They also use hatred as a way to react to any criticism, claiming they are just persecuted, and again reinforcing their own identity. I think that pretty much explains much of the hatred in football. Insecure people can't just define themselves as fans of their club, as they would then just be part of a massive group of people with no major connections and their identify would wax and wane with the fortunes of their club. Instead they have to define themselves as 'passionate' fans who support their club by actively hating and disparaging their rivals. That gives them a much stronger collective identity, and makes it much easier to show their passion by making abusive chants and showing hatred, regardless of their clubs' own performance. You even see subsets of that kind of behaviour on the forum - remember KPR and others abusing fellow Liverpool fans, claiming they weren't 'true' Liverpool fans as they didn't agree with KPR's hatred of Utd? Similarly, KPR's claims that he had a 'duty' to react to every negative comment about Liverpool with a more vitriolic response against Utd. A classic symptom of an insecure person trying to establish an identity for themselves through hatred, and attempting to drag other people along with them. It also explains why it spreads so rapidly on terraces - much like rallies in Nazi Germany, people find it harder to go against the most vocal views, and run the risk of their own fans criticising them fo not being 'real' or 'passionate' fans. So the chant started by the minority gets picked up by the majority and the hatred spreads.
Yup there's a problem In society just look at the way you have abused posters In the John Champion thread on here...
Nice one Swarbs, so we've covered social anthropological and psychological now we just need feminist & Marxist explanations lol
You forgot Suarezist explanations. It's a new branch of social science where everything is somehow the fault of a certain individual we all know and love
I can't understand why anyone would claim to hate someone for supporting or playing for a rival. I realise it's primitive tribalism and is derived ultimately from egocentricity, but I wonder when we're actually all going to grow up. Certain politicians who undermine society for their selfish career interests, warmongers who destroy lives for profit, these people are perhaps worth hating - oh, and sprouts, of course- but footballers and their fans? Hardly.
I love you now you've dropped down the league I hate Thatcher for being an evil ****, I hate people like Bettison and his cronies for riding roughshod over peoples lives just to save their own skin but football fans or other clubs? No, why bother? We all love our own teams and dislike everyone else. I can't stand Everton on derby day but I think Moyes has done a brilliant job. I will no doubt have a serious dislike of Howard Webb after he gifts Fergie the win at the weekend and Fergie for saying they deserved the win It is however "only a sport" at the end of the day. Rivalry and tribal emotions are all part of the attraction and I grew up going to matches and standing on The Kop, shouting things and singing songs about rival fans but what I always loved most was talkinng football whether with my own fans and rival fans too. I even went out with a girl who was a neverton fan how very liberal I am.
I dont really dislike any team or group of fans. United play good football, and a lot of the fans on here give good banter, same of most other teams too. Theres a few players I dont like, like Cole, Lampard, Torres, Terry, Henry and a few other arrogant twats. It just so happens most of them play for Chelsea but I dont dislike the club. I save hate for people who i have to experience on a daily basis and the ****er that stole my petrol strimmer from my shed.
