i suppoet Liverpool Football Club because my father does and gradfather did. its just passing down that support. ireland is not the only country that supports english soccer teams, how many millions in china, japan etc who were never even in england or been to a match but still support the team and have the same up's and down's as any supporter.

I hate listening to these people who say we shouldnt support english teams and just support irish ones. why not go a step further and not support anything thats not irish realated? how small minded some people in here are.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11735 - 06/04/2010 14:37:42    609858

Cavan_Slasher
County: Cavan
Posts: 4476

609780 Frankbhoy and Puddersthecat,

Thanks for that. It explains your reasons well !!
One of the lads at work follows Man Utd because his father worked in Manchester for years and he was actually born over there. He goes over regularly to games. A good reason but i would like to know why people support them if they have no connection to that city at all. Like why Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea instead of Man City, Everton and Arsenal ? Is it the success they are following ?

I meself have never supported an English football team Slasher. I ask people the same questions you ask on this thread. But it is most certainly the success that most of them are following. No matter what they will tell you.

ConnollyDub (Dublin) - Posts: 2007 - 06/04/2010 14:40:17    609862

Connolly Dub,

Maybe i am mellowing a bit as i grow older !! I have started to take an interest in the debates on here and while i used to WUM a bit i find myself getting more interested in why some lads lose the head over their soccer team. I thought i would start this thread to find out exactly why they support the English teams, travel over to games, get involved etc and spend a lot of money following them. There are many lads on here who support these teams and obviously many reasons for supporting particular teams and that is why i am trying to find out. I wonder are there any who actually support continental teams and if they amke the journey to matches from time to time !!

Cavan_Slasher (Cavan) - Posts: 10253 - 06/04/2010 14:58:28    609892

Cavan_Slasher
County: Cavan
Posts: 4478

609495
Nobody has yet explained why they support their particular team !!



I once had a threaqd where I said I could tell the age of [peoople by the team they supportyed, bar Man United and Liverpool.

Those two tend to be because parents, friends support them or Johnny come lately supporters.

For most others it is the first team that enters your consciousness, and that is usually via TV and a team winning something.

Hence an Everton fan. If they are fairly young they were born around 1975/76 and remember Everton winning in the mid 80s. If they look older they remember Everton winning the league in 1970. If tyhey look even older they remember Everton winning in 1963.

Most people are around 8 or 9 when this attachment starts.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 06/04/2010 15:33:53    609936

yew_tree, I suspect your grandfather is in the minority among members of his generation considering the selection policy of his club prior to the 1970s.

nocky (Wexford) - Posts: 2059 - 06/04/2010 17:01:45    610041

Personally, I started supporting Celtic when I was (much) younger because I idolised Packie Bonnar - I wanted to be a goalie! Wexford had no League of Ireland team at the time, and I don't even think I knew the league existed. This is how my attachment to a "foreign" team began - I picked the team my favourite player was playing for. I continue to support the club now because of it's history and strong links to Ireland.

nocky (Wexford) - Posts: 2059 - 06/04/2010 17:08:50    610046

I would have to say it's probably the fact that we watch English television, read English newspapers etc, so of all the countries in the world it is easily the country that we are most familiar with. Growing up in Galway we only had Bog 1 and Bog 2 for tv channels, although if memory serves me right one of the Irish channels showed Match of the Day on a Saturday night. That is where my love of Liverpool started, and I can still remember trying to tune the old radio into BBC Radio 2 on a Wednesday night, as Liverpool played an away match in the European Cup, oh the innocence of it all. Now it's all wall to wall football, and while that in itself is not a bad thing, football has become to far removed from the ordinary fan, with the result that it is very hard to become attached to players earning 100k plus a week.

gilly0512 (Galway) - Posts: 1176 - 06/04/2010 19:29:54    610212

I think that the team many people support (when they are not from the area) is a reflection of self. People see themselves as a success or a winner and hence believe they should have an affinity to a winning team. If you look at the amount of fans clubs have there is usually a parallel to the success the team have had. The two most supported teams in ireland are liverpool and man utd, is it any wonder that they also happen to be the two most successful? Ten years ago there was basically no irish chelsea fans without some personal connection to the club or its fans. Yet how many young lads do you see sporting chelsea jerseys today? Funnily enough it happens to be around the same time chelsea have had their most successful period. You will also find some cases who choose to support less successful sides, or the underdog. Patrique is an example of this. All you have to do is read his posts to see why when the time came to choose between the two most reputable manc sides he chose who he did. Although I find it amusing that it is now in fact City who have sold out and utd are now the side who appear to be fighting the good fight. I wonder if a young patrique was making his choices today would he choose the same way?
Its as good a reason as any to support a team, but the only thing that lets it down is the way fans start to follow the team blindly. They call their neighbouring teams rubbish, more-so because they are their neighbouring club than them actually being rubbish

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 06/04/2010 19:34:18    610219

It amazes me how often this subject comes up. I find it curious that some people object so vehemently to people having some harmless fun and enjoyment?

Why do so many Irish people support English soccer teams?

Why not?
Why do people like Spanish soccer teams?
Why do people like Italian soccer teams?
Why do people like American golfers?
Why do people like English Snooker players?
Why do people like Swiss Tennis players?

Personally, until 1988, I liked animals and dinosaurs. Then euro 88 came along and I was obsessed. My dad and all my uncles on both sides of the family followed Man Utd and I knew Paul McGrath and Kevin Moran from Euro 88. I was obsessed with football so my 7 year-old self watched all the soccer videos available to me through my dad and uncle. They were all Man Utd ones. I started collecting sticker books and there was no Serie A or La Liga ones in the local shop so I got English First division ones and world cup ones. I watched soccer whenever it was on tv and surprise surprise it was usually English soccer. I even liked Rangers for a while as their games in the the first incarnation of the champions league were all televised. I bought shoot magazine every week and put up the posters of the teams no matter who they were - they were actually Milwall and Norwich at the time

Somehow, I'm supposed to be ashamed of all this. My 7 year old self should really have known that in the future, some bitter men will resent you for liking a sports team from somewhere else and you will constantly have to defend yourself on the internet. Some people will actually define you for you liking of this sports team for having the cheek to correct points of factual error in regard to this sports team. They will actually hate this team more than you like them, but they will be right and you will be wrong as hate is healthy and a good thing and should commended. It will get very complicated as people will do this despite liking different sportsteams from different places but won't see the contradiction.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12483 - 07/04/2010 12:55:58    610613

because i know people who had trials in england and even play there. anybody here have anyone they know playing in spain?? why do people like spanish/italian/german or any other football?? why do people care if i like english football?

speedy12 (Fermanagh) - Posts: 592 - 07/04/2010 13:32:22    610655

When I was in Primary School in the early 90s, everyone in the school supported Man Utd, bar 1 or 2 Liverpool fans. The same lads who supported Utd used to also support AC Milan at the time, as they were on the tv winning the Champions League! It was complete glory hunting then and is the same now. The same lads from school are now all still ''diehard'' Man Utd fans, and all say they have different reasons for supporting Utd, but Ihave to laugh and remind them that it was pure glory hunting in primary school that got them supporting Utd, nothing else.

Lebowski (Meath) - Posts: 363 - 07/04/2010 15:01:58    610776

In the media we are exposed to English football every day, it's all over the papers we read and there's always live matches or highlights on of the big games. The same can not be said for local football and the absolute gulf in quality plays a part as well. When you watch hours of English football every week it's only natural you will select a team to follow. That's why people here support English teams, why they support Scottish teams is a whole different ball game. For me it was Aston Villa, remember watching Dalian Atkinson's wonder goal against Wimbledon when I was about 6 and that was my team from then on. Having family in Birmingham which made it a lot easier to go to games and Villa having a few of my favourite Irish players just made them the team for me. Would try to get over 8 or 9 times a year and always look forward to my trips, Villa fans are great craic

pplocal (Tyrone) - Posts: 5878 - 07/04/2010 15:13:29    610799

Cavan_Slasher
County: Cavan
Posts: 4489

Met Charlie Hurley when i was 7 or 8 and became a Sunderland fan, i actually thought it was country at first.

Even though Breffni missed your point i agree with him totally. What's wrong with supporting Colombian cyclists, Nepalese climbers or British shinty players.

dhorse (Laois) - Posts: 11374 - 07/04/2010 16:44:20    610972

the vast majority of irish people supporting english teams is down to gloryhunting, nothing less, nothing more. everyones on here talking about all this exposure to the english game, yet its funny that the vast majority seem to follow the successful teams in england

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4202 - 07/04/2010 17:37:26    611032

32_4_1
County: Meath
Posts: 2109

611032
the vast majority of irish people supporting english teams is down to gloryhunting, nothing less, nothing more. everyones on here talking about all this exposure to the english game



The English game is ENTIRELY based on exposure of winning teams.

I mean what is more noteworthy, Bent scoring twenty something for Sunderland or Rooney scoring 20 something for Man United? But no-one is saying Bent isthe greatest player ever.

English football today is run by SKY, who also run the media.

Now when I say I am the greatest ex player on here people say "self praise is no praise" but when SKY say the SKY league is the greatest and all the rest, it is accepted.

So obviously people will by and large adopt the exposed, successful, sides.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 07/04/2010 17:49:13    611049

the vast majority of irish people supporting english teams is down to gloryhunting, nothing less, nothing more. everyones on here talking about all this exposure to the english game, yet its funny that the vast majority seem to follow the successful teams in england

As opposed to say celtic or barcelona...

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 07/04/2010 18:26:22    611108

Patrique, if its entirely, sorry ENTIRELY based on winning, why do you support Man City?

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12483 - 07/04/2010 18:40:05    611124

i dont support either. im more a well wisher:). im not from catalonia.

although irish people supporting celtic is different no matter what all the premiership supporters here will say and refuse to admit

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4202 - 07/04/2010 18:59:23    611143

So why 'well wish' on barcelona as opposed to real zaragoza? Why celtic as opposed to hibernian?

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 07/04/2010 19:11:27    611158

because i like the cause which barca represent and their philosophy in which they play the game.

and i like the fact celtic are still proud of their irish roots and celebrate it, and many of their fans still consider themselves irish and support ireland.

i also like ajax and their philosophy in which they too try and play the game.

although i support none

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4202 - 07/04/2010 20:46:53    611235