Well, i know where i was a lot of the time..If not playing for my local side, then on the terraces at HQ watching some absolutely dire performances to go with the good ones, seeing players that i wouldn't even pick for my Sunday side; play in Hoops and generally having a great time !!! Also, some would still say we are s**T..? We have not actually done anything worthy of being called great yet have we...? We barely stayed in the Prem by the skin of our teeth, had some friendlies we should have expected to win and bought some new players....? We havent faced any real opposition and have spent a lot of cash. Until we smash Swansea 6-nil next week we're still un-proven....or are we? #just saying!!
Yep a good read. Its as simple as this...through the years haven't you been envious of not being in the limelight more often...... i know i have. So... if we want to progress as a club we have to expand, which means bringing on board all kinds of fans, whether they be new, old, real, plastic etc etc.... or we stay at the loft with our -20K a week crowd of "real" fans. Bring em on i say, come one come all.
Glad to say, I was there. I was there for sad days againt Palace, Stockport County and Vauxhall Motors...sat watching some pretty poor stuff over the years. Sad to say, I'm not there now. I now have to watch from afar as the football improves, the new players improve in quality, the ground has a shiny new screen, and things are generally on the up. I'm down to one or two games a season now due to distance. Just enjoy the good times, accept that with it will come new fans who weren't there in Division 2, but they are here now...and they'll be there for the future (possibly only so long as we continue to progress).
I think there are differing levels of fans. Annoys me that people claim that there isn't and normally these arguments like the OP sound more like you are trying to convince yourself. Generally to be a proper fan you need to go to games even when we are doing badly. There are some exceptions such as those who have genuine reasons for not being able to go like moving abroad or having financial reasons. However the amount of people claiming that the reason they can’t go is financial is really a lie. Funny how many fans can suddenly find the money when we start doing well. We now fill up the ground no problem despite the tickets being expensive. In the recent past (like just before relegation to league one and in league one we were average 11,000 and it was far cheaper. We get on a bit of a run and start doing well ansd the attendances rise. It is these people who I would put in a sub-category of ‘fan’. Must be some pooster on here who fall into that bracket. You know who you are even if you wont admit it
I'll admit it mate, no problem, no embarrassment. In 40 years of following the R's I've been a season ticket holder for about 15, had a couple of seasons of seeing most games but not needing a season ticket to do this (80s), spent a few seasons seeing a few games, lived abroad for about 12 years and not been bothered for a good few years as well. My interest was reignited by my son getting into it, its a great father and son thing, and I first started going with my old man. If that makes me less of a " supporter" than you, fine, I really don't care. I will also admit that there are many times on here when players are discussed (often from the last 15 years or so) who I have very limited recollection of, and have sometimes never heard of. Saw a very limited number of games when we were in the championship and League 1. The football was crap, I didnt enjoy it at all. Don't care about that either. Shamefully, when we lose or play particularly badly, I am only upset for a couple of hours - it doesn't ruin my evening, let alone my week, and my family don't have to run for cover. Loyalty to something that can't reciprocate is a vastly overrated virtue.
Fair enough. I get your reasons and I'm sure I'm not immune from ending up in same Situation depending on circumstance in future. Just find it a bit silly for those to claim there is no distinction between one extreme of someone going home and away every game for x years and someone who takes interest when things are going well and will just as easily stop following when things don’t go so well.
I suppose there is some sort of contentious but probable scale that ranges from the most die-hard, been to every match in the last 50 years and still has scarves, photos and shirts all over his wall to the "I like the name" sort of supporter. That first guy could say to everyone else "Where were you when we were **** and I was watching our even ****ter reserve team lose to some donkeys from up North on a Tuesday night?" If we're prepared to judge then we should also be prepared to be judged. I went to a couple of matches when we were in the 3rd tier. In fact more than I went to last season (although i got to watch 90% of matches online at least) but that doesn't make me more loyal than you local guys who go every week by a long stretch (irrespective of if you were "there" 10 years ago or not). There is a significant number of posters on here who started supporting us in the late 60s or mid 70s for obvious reasons and you guys have stuck with us. If we get successful again then surely we should welcome the similar people from this generation to jump on the bandwagon and see if they still support us in 20 years time - we at least need to give them that chance. Also, if the Asian mentality is to follow particular national heros and whoever they play for then that's a method of following football and still results in good things for the club even if it's not the traditional way of "Choosing a team and sticking with it." If the right to follow QPR is based solely upon having been to certain games then we can expect our beloved club to die within the next generation (which would be a selfish attitude). If it's a case of season ticket holders can bring their kids along and that's the only way you can be accepted then start spreading your seed guys because a new stadium is not going to fill itself. If however, it's a case of celebrating in our club, its history (whether you were there or not) and embracing all others who feel the same way then prosperous times lie ahead and I, for one, can't wait and whole-heartedly welcome those who are here for the ride - new and old.
Not ashamed to admit that I almost gave up hope of us ever playing with skill, desire and belief at one point. I was resigned to the fact that I would fondly remember QPR in the top flight when I was a boy. Always hopeful that we might turn things around, but every new dawn (and new manager) appeared to make little difference until SNW walked away from Palace. Was I there; yes - but not every match (and not now either) - but Cheltenham Town, Rushden & Diamonds, Cambridge City, etc, etc - I was there lamenting what poor value. Like a lot of things in life, there are times and places when things feel right; and right now we should cherish the moment (and seasons - I hope) - as things can change again soon enough.
I'm the opposite. I like football in general and can watch any match with interest but, I ADORE my team.
At the end of the day no matter what league will still support QPR,35 years going most home&away games before moving overseas
