Inspired by this short quote from Sooper and the Dubai and Why no not606 threads, I have been pondering the nature of my support for the Rs. Reflecting on the Dubai thread, I realised that I don't actually like our players very much (regardless of whether the allegations on there are true or not). I love Adel's (occasional) outrageous skill, but I've never warmed to him as a character. I respect our 'stalwarts' Derry, Hill and to a lesser extent Mackie (he'll be off first better offer he gets) but I don't regard them as the soul of the club or anything like that. In fact, over the last couple of years the only player that I have really taken into my heart is Taiwo. On further reflection, its not their fault. The QPR I fell for was the 72-73 version that lived on until about 78 -79, these guys are 'my' QPR. I was lucky, it was a great team, but I suspect that the people who first inspired this bizarre loyalty we have to the club will always be our mental image of what it should be like. The 'why no not606' thread made me think about my relationship to QPR FC. Its entirely commercial. Attending something like that meeting would have been pure agony for me. I make very little demands of the club, and have very low expectations of it. I bought my ST knowing that it gave me 19 games of football in a cramped, uncomfortable ground, requiring a long drive there and back. No problem, my choice, taken when I was sober and in full possession of the facts. I had hoped to see some stirring football, but there's no guarantee of that on the ticket. I'm not interested in anything else the club does, I only go into the club shop to laugh at the overpriced tat on sale. I like TF as a character, but if/when he goes it will just be someone else. No, regular, live football (hopefully of decent quality) is all I ask for. So if I'm not keen on the players (and they will never live up to my platonic ideal of what a QPR team should be anyway), and my relationship with the club is a cold financial transaction, why the **** do I still care so much and why do I continue to turn up, comment on here and so on? Three reasons I reckon - its human nature to be loyal to something and QPR is one of the things I've committed to - and us blokes are really stubborn when it comes to abandoning our loyalty. Secondly, the loyalty isn't to an institution, its to an abstract which is better represented by the people I sit with in the ground and you lot on here than 'QPR FC' - there is a real collective 'we are all in this together' permanent blitz spirit in REALLY supporting a club, which is addictive. Finally, there is always hope - things can and will change, each game is a new start whatever logic tells us - redemption for players, the club and us is always on offer. Ultimately of course I just love this stupid game. Long enough Brix? Would love to hear from all and sundry on this - why do you put yourself through it?
Great post, Stan. Yes, the support and love of QPR is both completely irrational, yet wholly rational at the same time. You cannot compare it with, say, one of your children, where the love is unconditional irrespective of how errant the offspring, because following the Rs was generally a choice made of free will when in possession of (presumably) all our faculties and not one forced upon us as a consequence of passing on our DNA. So we could all simply change allegiance to a team at the top of the table, join the myriad followers of a club used to both winning (and winning silverware) and never really suffer as we have thus far. Imagine if the only angst involved which position in the top four we finished this year and who we'd have to play in the Champions League. But, of course, none of this is for us. We'd like to experience it, for sure, but safe in the knowledge that it would be a good thing that will come to an end. Our comfort zone is the rollercoaster, not the flat, straight road (and certainly not the Roman road that leads to Stamford Bridge). I love QPR because it remains true to the rest of my life; that sense of having to work damn hard for something, that moment of pure ecstasy when successful, but the realisation that generally it will be others that will be celebrating around me whilst I toil away for little reward.
Two very fine posts that I can only agree with 100% and I sometimes wonder why I love this silly little club? Stan the answer is simple it must be in our blood like it was in the players in the early 70's and that seems to be missing with most of our current crop!
Great OP Stan and follow up Uber. The only thing I could add would be that football is such a universal, uniting force and the team you support goes to the very core of your identity. There's an element of your team actually being a part of who you are in a similar way to some of the more prominent musical styles - punks, hippies, metallers etc. To those that weren't born with the Rs necessarily coursing through our veins, it would be a very deliberate, conscious decision (even if it seems a bit bizarre at the time). To those born into the Rs, the decision will have also been made but it'll have been more about embracing and affirming the club you'd already fallen in love with (possibly even at a subconscious level). Or so says a bad amateur psychologist who arbitrarily chose a wonderful but chaotic little club some 20 odd years ago...
My quote "I love my club but..." is borne of frustration. As an R's supporter since 1966 I have invested 80% of my life cheering us on through thick and thin. Is it just me or were the late 60s and most of the 70s something that could ever be replicated? Sadly, We all know the answer. The game has changed beyond all recognition, particularly since the inception of the Premier League. I, like many on here, truly believed that our promotion in 2011 was the beginning of another 'Golden Era' and that we would, in two or three years, be challenging for a place in Europe and enjoying mixing it with the very best. The reality is that we never stood a prayer, Flav & Bernie callously put their finances ahead of the well-being of the club and we all know the story from then on. To see players earning more in a week than most of us earn in two years and strolling around without a care as we are being outplayed and outfought really sticks in the craw. I attend 6-8 games a season as I can't make any midweek games and not all Saturdays so am not a ST holder. I really can't imagine how angry I'd be if I had shelled out for a ST and seen some of the shyte served up this season, but more tellingly, the lack of effort and application. When we were in the third tier there was something about our dire situation, the spirit in real adversity that was peculiarly stirring for the fans, our promotion season was a hint of the 60s and I rate that as one of our most satisfying achievements getting promoted despite all that had gone on before, as a club we were one, there is none of that at all now and it hurts...
Interesting post Stan, hopefully some of this is relevant. Like you I started supporting Q.P.R. in the early 70s, and, as those of you who have read my tribute to Terry Venables may remember, I gauge every Q.P.R. side against Jagoâs promotion winning team. The current team pales in comparison with them in so many ways it seems pointless listing them, but I do disagree about Derry; I think he is the heartbeat of the club and I desperately hope that he stays as a coach after he eventually retires. As for my relationship with the club, well I guess it is far more emotional than yours. I really do care, in fact I care far too much and it is a very cruel one sided relationship. I guess the reason I do hark back to the old days so often is because I have such fond memories of players who also cleared cared about Q.P.R. I posted a thread a few weeks back about why we think that Q.P.R. is special. The overwhelming response was that we, the supporters, are what makes it special. This is hard to argue with, although I would question how representative of the fan base as a whole any forum is. However Superhoop summed this up beautifully many moons ago in a comment he made on my âWorld of Râsâ thread. âIt's the exclusivity that makes this so special, if it were ManUre or Liverpool as the subject matter the characters would be ten-a-penny and mostly plastic. You have to be a special kind of supporter to have followed the R's for 30 or 40+ years and still have the enthusiasm that can produce a 'script' so wonderfully diverse yet knitted together by this unique club of ours.â I really do believe that if Iâd supported Arsenal, like my father does, I would not be as emotionally involved and would not be looking forward to an entertaining pre-match beer with a bunch of like minded individuals as I am next Saturday. I hope that one day I get the chance to tell Terry Venables how grateful I am to him.
I trace my roots back to the kit, I never question my loyalty or commitment as like most of us its on our DNA. During the mid 70's we were punching above our weight but this grew into not into any fluke but a model on how to play good football with flair. I love the current squad as most know on here because i see it as again as a collection of flair .. alright we aren't a team but I continue to see glimpses albeit it small that we should be a very good side ... not today however it proves my point that we have brilliant talent in our team that rose like cream today ... Park may only get a warm applause on here but his pressing grew and grew and we undid the Saints by playing through their game and made them look ordinary at times. It wasn't a QPR game of flair at all today and i haven't had a chance to read anything much on here at least there shouldn't be slagging going on as the result is now history off to pick up my lady from Gatwick ... QPR
Good post Stan, and some great responses.I started following rangers in the Venables era while at school, drifted away in my early 20's but have had season tickets, or memberships, or just gone when I could - every year for the last 20. And it hasn't been easy! I remember sitting in a pub with some workmates when it looked like we were going out of business (2002-3?) and they were winding me up, asking who I would support if QPR folded. And I remember getting quite stroppy and telling them I was rangers till I died, whatever that meant and whatever happened to the club, ground and players. My loyalty wasn't put to the test that time, but I'm sure that in a Wimbledon-style situation I would support whatever offshoot I considered the 'soul' of the club, even if it meant watching non-league football in the park.
Interesting post Stan. I find it very difficult to look at the club in quite such a cold, analytical way to be honest. My love for the club is unconditional and completely unexplainable.
That may be why the **** that we have to put up with affects me less than you and some others Col. You're right, I over analyse sometimes and this is all extremely personal stuff, based on our individual histories. I wasn't really looking at the club in a cold way, more myself, and I'm happy with the result - I understand a little better why I care, and that the results, league positions etc don't really matter, because they won't stop me caring.
The cold analyst in me looks to the seasons and our continuous fight for supremacy. The romantic in me looks no further than next weekend with hopes and dreams.
Great OP and replies above Being born and raised in Canada, my connection to QPR may be more tenuous than most on this board but I am attached to this club. I have been a supporter through thick and thin, for near 35 years and expect to do so for many more (though being 60 in May, another 35 is improbable). This is my club. I understand how this could be commercial, but for me, I cannot describe it so - my support is emotional, from the heart.
