A Question for Non-LoI Fans

GuanYin

I'm puzzled by this.

I've only seen clips and videos of LoI, but from what I have seen, they don't look far behind the MLS in terms of quality.

If that is the case, why do we have 10-15 thousand fans at our MLS games every round?

The Irish I know put it down to marketing and infrastructure and that the Irish league games aren't places you'd want to take your family, but I can't really believe that this would be the case for a soccer club?

dfx-

ntlbell wrote: »

the point is not about the opposition..

the point is that passage of play only looks good because the defending was all round awful..

That's football all over the world.

The point is that the opposition is Swedish with international level players who England internationals in particular never can beat.

Along with Malmo, Djurgardens and Gothenburg. Must be lots of blue moons.

eagle eye

I followed League of Ireland football as a kid and my Dad brought me to plenty of games. Mainly involving Shels and Finn Harps as he supported the Harps. I seen some really good players over the years. Hilary Carlyle, Brendan Bradley and Mick Fairclough in my very early days stood out to me. At this stage you had a decent standard of football in comparison to the English League. There were a lot of players who would not take the chance on going to England as they had jobs and the few quid from football was a nice little bonus. You also had players like two of those mentioned above who had got bad injuries abroad and returned home. Mick Fairclough was one of the really unlucky ones, having had a really bad injury and was told he would never play again. He came back and played for Dundalk when they gave the great Liverpool team of that period a real fright.
I'd say I really became interested in the English League when Kevin Moran went over and made it with United. I still was going to League of Ireland games at this time but I was getting interested in the English League at this stage. Then came the period of dominance from Shamrock Rovers in the mid eighties. They had all the good players in the League and were able to dominate the game. They won four leagues and three cups and after that all the football seemed to be in Dublin only and it was one team dominating every year with the rest miles behind apart from Derry City that is and Dundalk for a while. They beat Arsenal and Manchester United in the European competitions at home. Then suddenly they got turfed out of Glenmalure Park, and I just thought that if a club of that stature were not able to hold on to their own ground that the league was not going anywhere. It really turned me off the game to see that happen. I was never a Shamrock Rovers fan by the way.
The game in England had come on in leaps and bounds by the early eighties and it was becoming a much more exciting game than what I was watching at LOI matches. Then the likes of Liam O'Brien and Paul McGrath made it in England as well and I became firmly interested in the progress of all the Irish players over in England.
I'd say about two years after the debacle of Glenmalure Park that I got quite dismayed by the goings on in the league and I just lost interest as it was so easy with Sky now showing so many matches to watch a good game of football on the TV and not have to brave the bad weather in bad grounds to watch football that you knew was second rate. I think the league had a bad spell after the Shamrock Rovers period and the game had become a real long ball game.
I don't follow that League anymore and I know some that still do, but it seems most of the clubs are is serious financial bother and the thoughts of following a club that could fold at any time is just not attractive to me.
I have been attending games in England since the early nineties and I really love going over and watching a game of fast entertaining football, which I don't always get.

Running Bing

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

I was having a conversation with a fan of a smaller LoI club, Cork, about why Irish people ignore their own professional league and follow teams from overseas. I'm not talking here about the irregular visitor to live domestic football or even the watcher of MNS.

I do not want to open up a 'my right to chose' debate again, lets assume you are right in your choice etc. For those who stoically ignore the LoI I have one simple question. Why?

Is it the product? The perception? Are you not that big a fan and don't need the hassle of cost, travel etc? Or is it simply because all your brothers were Liverpool fans?

Explain yersleves.

Okay I think I am in a pretty good position to answer this as I am a life long fan of an overseas club, for a three year period I religously attended LOI games but I no longer really have an interest.

The bottom line is the standard is just poor and to be perfectly honest, Dublin derby's aside the atmosphere is not really up to much either.



Now I first started going to games because I wanted to see live football and I must say from time to time you would get a very good game but for the most part it is not entertaining stuff imo...in the end I just got fed up to be honest. I also prefered when it was a winter league.


The bottom line is when I really looked I asked myself one question "am I going to these games because I really enjoy it and find them entertaining or am I going because I feel I have to support the league" the answer was the latter.

Its also quite steep now going to a game...20 euros to see pats play? Not worth it.

ntlbell

DSB wrote: »

Its not simple as. The players don't have to be Messi or Ronaldo for the football to be appealing to watch. If a manager sets his side out to play good positive football, then it can be quite well achieved, contrary to the opinions of some misinformed posters here, these footballers are for the most part very talented individuals, and a huge step up from your Sunday league footballers, that they are so often compared to.

I think the Sunday league generlisations are more tongue and cheek than anything else, but the reality of it is you see the same bog standard mistakes every single game from the 95% of the players school boy error's every game? that shouldn't be tolerated. this is hard to pay money to see when you can watch the same mistakes maybe no pub teams but school boy leinster senior etc make for free and it's an even more local feel to the clubs?

I'm a very talented footballer compared to people who can't kick snow of a rope and against any sort of regular player I look like I don't know what I'm doing.

LOI footballers for the most part there's some exceptions like wes (who's gone to england shock horror) little johhny for boh's who would prob be at a prem team if he wasn't so small and light are of a very poor standard compared to most pro teams in england/spain/germany/italy etc

so why bother?

what does following loi get ye that millmount FC or home farm (if there stilla round) for example? better quality of football (sllightly) but the other is free?

It all comes back to standards and people who like sports enjoy watching the best of the best

it is as SIMPLE as that...

ntlbell

dfx- wrote: »

That's football all over the world.

No, it's not

When Real madrid play united for example it's not united been useless that might causes goals it's real's quality and skill to get by very talented on form defenders with quick thinking quality passing and finishing...

huge difference..

DSB

ntlbell wrote: »

I think the Sunday league generlisations are more tongue and cheek than anything else, but the reality of it is you see the same bog standard mistakes every single game from the 95% of the players school boy error's every game? that shouldn't be tolerated. this is hard to pay money to see when you can watch the same mistakes maybe no pub teams but school boy leinster senior etc make for free and it's an even more local feel to the clubs?

I'm a very talented footballer compared to people who can't kick snow of a rope and against any sort of regular player I look like I don't know what I'm doing.

LOI footballers for the most part there's some exceptions like wes (who's gone to england shock horror) little johhny for boh's who would prob be at a prem team if he wasn't so small and light are of a very poor standard compared to most pro teams in england/spain/germany/italy etc

so why bother?

what does following loi get ye that millmount FC or home farm (if there stilla round) for example? better quality of football (sllightly) but the other is free?

It all comes back to standards and people who like sports enjoy watching the best of the best

it is as SIMPLE as that...

Well I don't see any problem supporting Millmount FC or Home Farm? And if people enjoy watching the best of the best why do some people support Liverpool, Blackburn etc. when clearly they aren't as good as Man Utd, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona?

ntlbell

DSB wrote: »

Well I don't see any problem supporting Millmount FC or Home Farm? And if people enjoy watching the best of the best why do some people support Liverpool, Blackburn etc. when clearly they aren't as good as Man Utd, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona?

Well if they were blackburn fan or whatever and go to the games

they'll get to see the best of the best?

slaughtering there side :pac:

I was referring to the league as a whole

usually bottom 3/4 clubs in england are for superior than top two in ireland for example

then there's the issue with what runs in the family etc

but as you can see from this thread and any other thread on it people who dont tend to blame the quality/standard

are they all wrong?

DSB

ntlbell wrote: »

Well if they were blackburn fan or whatever and go to the games

they'll get to see the best of the best?

slaughtering there side :pac:

I was referring to the league as a whole

usually bottom 3/4 clubs in england are for superior than top two in ireland for example

then there's the issue with what runs in the family etc

but as you can see from this thread and any other thread on it people who dont tend to blame the quality/standard

are they all wrong?

I don't believe the standard thing. If everyone subscribed to that consumer point of view, they'd all support Man United at the moment.

OhNoYouDidn't

ntlbell wrote: »

It all comes back to standards and people who like sports enjoy watching the best of the best

it is as SIMPLE as that...

Its not that simple, if it was you would all follow Spanish football.

The issue is why don't people also follow an Irish side?

ntlbell

DSB wrote: »

I don't believe the standard thing. If everyone subscribed to that consumer point of view, they'd all support Man United at the moment.

Generally when someone "picks" an PL team it's eithier

a time there doing very well..(the influx of chelsea jerseys in ireland)

It's a familiy thing that can date back to anything from if they worked in the uk or that team was doing particualry well at the time..

people generally dont start supporting a pl team when their mid table for the last 10 years

the black burn gang mostly jumped on when they bought the league

spurs fans usually from their da when they were a very exciting side to watch?

trying to argue the standard thing is pointless as the people who dont go to LOI are telling you it is so how can it not be?

are they liying?

eagle eye

ntlbell wrote: »

Well if they were blackburn fan or whatever and go to the games

they'll get to see the best of the best?

slaughtering there side :pac:

This is off topic but you started. I am a Rovers fan, 6th, 10th and 7th the last three years and in there was a league double over United. Two FA cup semi-finals and of course Bentleys hat-trick against United.

ntlbell

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Its not that simple, if it was you would all follow Spanish football.

The issue is why don't people also follow an Irish side?

I never met a football fan who didn't follow spanish football..

ntlbell

eagle eye wrote: »

This is off topic but you started. I am a Rovers fan, 6th, 10th and 7th the last three years and in there was a league double over United. Two FA cup semi-finals and of course Bentleys hat-trick against United.

I don't mean to be rude but I don't see your point?

eagle eye

ntlbell wrote: »

Generally when someone "picks" an PL team it's eithier

a time there doing very well..(the influx of chelsea jerseys in ireland)

It's a familiy thing that can date back to anything from if they worked in the uk or that team was doing particualry well at the time..

people generally dont start supporting a pl team when their mid table for the last 10 years

the black burn gang mostly jumped on when they bought the league

spurs fans usually from their da when they were a very exciting side to watch?

trying to argue the standard thing is pointless as the people who dont go to LOI are telling you it is so how can it not be?

are they liying?

In my case I started following them when Kevin Moran went there as I had no club at that stage and I just started following Blackburn.

ntlbell

eagle eye wrote: »

In my case I started following them when Kevin Moran went there as I had no club at that stage and I just started following Blackburn.

Kevin moran is a good a reason as any IMO

Zaph

bohsman wrote: »

Why do Irish Leeds fans still follow Leeds? Standard is now around that pub league level the EL are accused of playing at, if the clubs you support get relegated will you stop following them?

Been supporting Leeds for close to 35 years, I wouldn't be much of a fan if I stopped supporting them just because they got relegated, although I agree, the standard of football is shíte. As for EL teams, used to go to Glenmalure with my father as a kid to watch Rovers. Went less frequently as a teenager, a couple of times a season, but lost all interest in them when Louis Kilcoyne sold out.

Mossy Monk

I see more coverage of English football than I do Irish. Also there is no local LoI team to me.

SectionF

GuanYin wrote: »

I'm puzzled by this.

I've only seen clips and videos of LoI, but from what I have seen, they don't look far behind the MLS in terms of quality.

If that is the case, why do we have 10-15 thousand fans at our MLS games every round?

The Irish I know put it down to marketing and infrastructure and that the Irish league games aren't places you'd want to take your family, but I can't really believe that this would be the case for a soccer club?

I think anyone who stands back and looks at it objectively would be puzzled by the Irish approach to football, because it is bizarre.

It has as much to do with a weird self-hatred than with football quality, and with the fantasy of television sport.

Another factor in the mix is that when people talk about the experience they are actually referring to spectacle and the scale of the occasion more than football.

Health and safety notice: having agreed with ONYD, I'm off now to the decontamination chamber.

DSB

Mossy Monk wrote: »

I see more coverage of English football than I do Irish. Also there is no local LoI team to me.

How far is the most local as a matter of interest?

ntlbell

SectionF wrote: »

I think anyone who stands back and looks at it objectively would be puzzled by the Irish approach to football, because it is bizarre.

It has as much to do with a weird self-hatred than with football quality, and with the fantasy of television sport.

Another factor in the mix is that when people talk about the experience they are actually referring to spectacle and the scale of the occasion more than football.

quote]


Now people don't support LOI because they hate been irish? really?



LOL

pesireland

im a liverpool fan since i was a kid, im 31 now.

LoI was not really big then and been from carlow there was not local team to support, i suppose if we had of had a LoI team i would attend every week, if i wasn't playing for them

_blank_

Zaph wrote: »

As for EL teams, used to go to Glenmalure with my father as a kid to watch Rovers. Went less frequently as a teenager, a couple of times a season, but lost all interest in them when Louis Kilcoyne sold out.

I never knew this about Zaff.

We are no longer friends.

Zaph

Des wrote: »

I never knew this about Zaff.

We are no longer friends.

It's ok, I'm reformed now

Dun laoire

ntlbell wrote: »

the point is not about the opposition..

the point is that passage of play only looks good because the defending was all round awful..

plus these moments of magic been youtubed happen once in a blue moon

pointless going for the quality argument

if they were quality they wouldn't be in ireland simple as...

and thats just the way it is unfortunately (well fortunately for them). Also youtube can make even Andriy Voronin look good :pac:

gixerfixer

Hate to say it but i've not been to a league of Ireland game in a few months .I try now and then but in all honesty when you watch teams like Liverpool,Arsenal,Barca etc....on the box and when i make it over to Anfield (7-8 times a year) it's hard to go and watch LOI because of the standard. In my opinion their needs to be a rethink and rebranding of the league which includes teams from Scotland. Maybe even dare i say it one big team for Dublin. Would require big investment but something drastic is needed or else football in Ireland will be no more.

LeixlipRed

gixerfixer wrote: »

Hate to say it but i've not been to a league of Ireland game in a few months .I try now and then but in all honesty when you watch teams like Liverpool,Arsenal,Barca etc....on the box and when i make it over to Anfield (7-8 times a year) it's hard to go and watch LOI because of the standard. In my opinion their needs to be a rethink and rebranding of the league which includes teams from Scotland. Maybe even dare i say it one big team for Dublin. Would require big investment but something drastic is needed or else football in Ireland will be no more.

Maybe we could have teams from Leinster and Munster. The Leinster Lions versus Aberdeen Angus. Maybe buy myself a supersize coke and a back massager while i sit at home growing fat watching it on tv. What you describe is not football. It's a product. If there was any attempt to merge Shels into a "Dublin" side I'd burn Abbotstown to the ground

gixerfixer

LeixlipRed wrote: »

Maybe we could have teams from Leinster and Munster. The Leinster Lions versus Aberdeen Angus. Maybe buy myself a supersize coke and a back massager while i sit at home growing fat watching it on tv. What you describe is not football. It's a product. If there was any attempt to merge Shels into a "Dublin" side I'd burn Abbotstown to the ground

Why wouldnt you have teams from Munster and leinster? Dont get what your getting at. I didnt describe what football was anywhere in my post just suggested something to get the likes of me and others back into the stadiums and then the teams could bring in players of better quality in turn putting more people in the stadium. See where this is going:)

LeixlipRed

No fan of any team in the LOI wants "provincial sides" or anything like that. Our clubs have history and tradition that can never be replicated with a combined franchise. The day that happens is the day I never go to a game again.

Mitch Connor

Just never got interested in the local league game. No 'professional' or at least top level club in my town. Closest is Bray Wanderers, but I was a solid Man United fan by the time I really became aware of them, and I have as much connection to Bray Wanderers as I would Man United.

invincibleirish

i frequent City & Ramblers games on an occasional basis.

I love Aston Villa.

I dont mind the LoI but im not fanatical about it, i'll go see an EL game if i have the time(friday nights however are never a good time, people have social lives). Im not sure why i dont follow it in depth, its not the money or perceived lack of glamour its just i dont feel a great deal of passion about either City or Ramblers.

I am fanatical about Villa they are my one true love. When i go to VP its essentially a religious experience for me.

I daydream about Villa. I get butterflies when we win and feel ill when we lose. When Dwight Yorke made clear he wanted out of Villa it was a defining moment of my youth, i lost my innocence and realised first hand the pain that can be inflicted by following football.

I dont mind if LoI fans think im a glory hunter or a stooge of anglo cultural imperialism, it doesnt bother me and i now know im never going to change sneer all you like!

stovelid

gixerfixer wrote: »

I try now and then but in all honesty when you watch teams like Liverpool,Arsenal,Barca etc....on the box and when i make it over to Anfield (7-8 times a year) it's hard to go and watch LOI because of the standard.

Do you mean that every game Liverpool play involves 'better' football than any LOI game, or that Liverpool are a better team than every team in the LOI?

I follow both leagues, because I like football. If you avoid games based on the quality of football involved, how the hell do you countenance watching most of the games in the premiership, or indeed, loads of Ireland games down the years.

Again, I could almost get this line of reasoning from a La Liga fan, but it's completely bizarre from a fan of the premiership.

LeixlipRed

If anyone has seen the glorious football Pats have played this season and you compare that to the boring rubbish which most Premiership games consist of then you'd be very surprised. Player for player, Villa, Bolton, Liverpool, etc have more talented players but the football they play is shocking and I'd watch Pats any day over that. And that's coming from a Shels fan

Draupnir

Yet again this argument, right now I can't even decide why I don't go to the games, Dalymount gets a lot of little knackers for their games which did bug the crap out of me the last few times I went.

Realistically, and I'm being honest here, I don't have any good reason not to go and watch Bohs!!

I don't think the standard is great to be quite honest but at this point I don't think that is the reason I don't go.

Strangely, I played for Bohs schoolboy for 4 years, including a couple of trips to international competitions, look out for their result, am pleased to see them doing well this year and would still answer anyone who asked me what team in Ireland I followed that I am a Bohs fan, but I don't have any huge desire to go to the games. Even I admit that it is bizarre!

djpbarry

ntlbell wrote: »

the black burn gang mostly jumped on when they bought the league

Are you accusing Irish Blackburn fans of being bandwagoners? How does that make them any different to any other Irish fans of the EPL?

ntlbell wrote: »

trying to argue the standard thing is pointless as the people who dont go to LOI are telling you it is so how can it not be?

I have no clue what you're saying here.

gixerfixer wrote: »

Hate to say it but i've not been to a league of Ireland game in a few months .I try now and then but in all honesty when you watch teams like Liverpool,Arsenal,Barca etc....on the box and when i make it over to Anfield (7-8 times a year) it's hard to go and watch LOI because of the standard.

So unless your local side is one of the top teams in Europe, they're not worth supporting?

The arguement about poor standard just doesn't wash. If Irish people aren't interested in watching football that is inferior in standard to the Champions League, then why the **** did 55,000 people turn up to watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YKwRcrYt94

Gavin "shels"

Draupnir wrote: »

Yet again this argument, right now I can't even decide why I don't go to the games, Dalymount gets a lot of little knackers for their games which did bug the crap out of me the last few times I went.

Indeed ever been to a game in England? Plenty more I tell ye.

Nalz

Gavin shels wrote: »

Indeed ever been to a game in England? Plenty more I tell ye.

Agreed. Well said.

I up to this season knew very little of LOI. But when I moved to Navan road I get myself to evrey bohs home game, and some of the away ones. I think the standard is alot better then people think... I picked a good season to support them!

OPENROAD

Gavin shels wrote: »

Indeed ever been to a game in England? Plenty more I tell ye.

What grounds in England have you been to and how often do you go to reach that conclusion.

dfx-

ntlbell wrote: »

No, it's not

When Real madrid play united for example it's not united been useless that might causes goals it's real's quality and skill to get by very talented on form defenders with quick thinking quality passing and finishing...

huge difference..

Have you seen some of the goals Real and Barcelona concede? Farcical defending.

scruff321

i watch EL whenever its on the box and follow table and fixtures in the paper,the standard from what ive seen is very hit and miss,can be quite good can be sh/te,because theres not a club near by i havent really attached myself to any club,although i enjoy watching cork!

DSB

scruff321 wrote: »

i watch EL whenever its on the box and follow table and fixtures in the paper,the standard from what ive seen is very hit and miss,can be quite good can be sh/te,because theres not a club near by i havent really attached myself to any club,although i enjoy watching cork!

Judging from your location I'd imagine theres one within a bus journey?

Xavi6

Ah this age old argument.

For me the lack of interest for the eL comes from a young age, and it's all about exposure. Look at it this way -

- EPL results are always read out before eL results on the news.

- Lifestyle/Champion etc do massive ad campaigns for the new United/Pool/whoever home shirt. Ever see an ad for the new Bohs shirt on tv?

- The latest Nike ad doesn't feature Glen Crowe, it has Ronaldo etc.

- The back pages of newspapers are adorned with EPL stories, not eL

- Playstation games up until recently didn't give the option to play as eL teams.

These are just some of the marketing factors that the EPL has over the eL and they massively contribute to the general negative attitude towards the game by Irish people.

Now it's pretty much impossible to change all this so I understand why kids jump on the Man U bandwagon rather than going to Tolka on a Friday night so to slate people because of that is not really fair.

If it's not your cup of tea to actually go see a live game in your back garden every week then fair enough. But to come out with dickhead comments like "It's shit" is disgusting and does nobody any favours.

I've been a Shelbourne fan just as long as I have been a City fan (both since 1989). I went to nearly every home game and as many away games in Dublin as possible while I was in school and before I moved here. I was there when we won the league before it went tits up. I was there when we lost the League Cup on penos in the Brandywell. How many people have been in the stadium when United/Pool etc have won a trophy? Very few I'd imagine. It's a totally different experience to seeing it on tv and a far better one imo. That's why I love the eL and that's why I wish more people would cut the "It's shit attitude" and give it a chance.

It's our national league after all.

bohsman

Draupnir wrote: »

Yet again this argument, right now I can't even decide why I don't go to the games, Dalymount gets a lot of little knackers for their games which did bug the crap out of me the last few times I went.

The majority of little knackers and casuals have been banned.

The Rooster

LeixlipRed wrote: »

What you describe is not football. It's a product. If there was any attempt to merge Shels into a "Dublin" side I'd burn Abbotstown to the ground.....
No fan of any team in the LOI wants "provincial sides" or anything like that. Our clubs have history and tradition that can never be replicated with a combined franchise. The day that happens is the day I never go to a game again.

While I can totally see your point, the fact of the matter is that if "the powers that be" have that viewpoint, then the LOI will remain on exactly the same road its on. It would never amount to anything more than a poorly supported league, with the fans that do go content with the status quo. The "history and tradition" of the LOI clubs means practically nothing (only to the small few) and certainly is of zero relevance if trying to attract new fans and sponsors.

IMO if you want a well supported league it needs total reform. If its done properly, then it is possible to get thousands more to attend on a regular basis. Yes you will annoy current supporters but you'd bank on the majority coming back when they realise the "product" looks good.

I dunno what "done properly" means, but you need to create a product, a bandwagon for people to jump on, and go from there. Look at other successes in this country and learn.

Why does the Irish soccer team continue to get huge attendance even when playing sh!te friendlies?
Why does the Irish rugby team sell out even when playing friendlies against Fiji ?
Why does the Dublin GAA football team get attendances of 50,000 to 80,000 in the championship? And why doesnt the Dublin hurling team get such attendances?
Why did Shelbourne get a great gate for Deportivo? And why did many of them never attend another Shels game before or after?
Why are Munster and Leinster rugby teams so popular now while 10 years ago it'd be rare for them to get an attendance over 1,000?
How did the Belfast ice hockey team go from scratch to full house crowds?

All I know is the current format doesnt work, but I it does seem that current fans are very happy with the status quo and are happy to blame others for the ills.

SectionF

Why does the Irish soccer team continue to get huge attendance even when playing sh!te friendlies?

Patriotism/nationalism

Why does the Irish rugby team sell out even when playing friendlies against Fiji ?

Patriotism/nationalism

Why does the Dublin GAA football team get attendances of 50,000 to 80,000 in the championship?

Nationalism, propaganda, and conditioning

And why doesnt the Dublin hurling team get such attendances?

No idea. It's a much better game, with much more skill and quality and a lot easier on the eye. This, according to the 'Irish football is crap' brigade, is supposed to be key, but it doesn't apply here.

Why did Shelbourne get a great gate for Deportivo? And why did many of them never attend another Shels game before or after?

Because of the media hype of the former, and the ignorant contempt in media for the latter.

Why are Munster and Leinster rugby teams so popular now while 10 years ago it'd be rare for them to get an attendance over 1,000?

Those are two teams in a minority sport European league where we happen to have more participation and where success is rather easier than in football. What is support for the game like at national league level?

How did the Belfast ice hockey team go from scratch to full house crowds?

Not having saturation British ice hockey across all media probably helped, no?

All I know is the current format doesn't work, but I it does seem that current fans are very happy with the status quo and are happy to blame others for the ills.

It would work if Irish people were a little less brainwashed and showed more loyalty to their own clubs. That's what being a football supporter is about.

Saint_Mel

Dunno if this was mentioned in earlier posts, just had a brief skim through it but from my talking to non LoI fans, when they go on about the poor standard they don’t seem to realise that its all relative to a lot of off the pitch factors.

If it wasn’t for the millions being pumped into EPL clubs etc I'm sure they wouldn’t have the skill, entertainment and flair of internationals super stars.

If the league was governed and marketed properly then LoI could move in the right direction but until it does people have to realise that a lot of clubs are trying to field teams on a shoe string budget which of course will have an affect on standard, but relative to the support received (both by the head honchos and the ordinary people) its not that bad.

As was said before, supporting an LoI club is much more than just what you see on the pitch on a Friday night. Its about getting involved, camaraderie and knowing that you make a difference. You are really part of the club.

For me, I can barely watch a match in TV. Whether it be Bolton v Wigan or
Real v Barca, its just not the same buzz as being there, in the stand knowing that your being there can have an affect on the game and club. I find it boring sitting on the couch or in the pub watching the box.

For the record I wasn’t always like that. Like many others I was brought up on a strict diet of Match of the Day and spent many a youthful year following foreign teams on telly and heading over for the odd game, joining official supporter clubs for 20-30 quid and getting a pen in return, but when I eventually got into the swing of seeing live football every week then I was a changed man.

For those of us lucky enough to have a local LoI team, I can tell you that even at the low level we play at, the hurt I feel when my club loses to our local rivals definitely cuts deeper than a Tv fans when Utd beat City etc and when we beat our closest rivals the joy is greater than seeing the Champions League final in telly.

When you get involved and realise what your club is putting together despite all the setbacks, then there is no comparison (in my humble opinion)
Thats how I got hooked

OhNoYouDidn't

Mossy Monk wrote: »

I see more coverage of English football than I do Irish. Also there is no local LoI team to me.

So because there wasn't a team 'local' enough, you picked a team from a whole other country?

monkey9

Some people like the glory of football. Other people like football. There's a lot of laziness attached to it as well. It's easier to sit in a pub, having a few pints and watch the Premiership on the big screen than having to get off your ar$e and watch live football down the road from you.
I know lots of people go over to England and Scotland to watch the games, but funnily enough, a lot of these people have LOI teams that they go to see play as well.
I just wish people who supported foreign teams just made the effort to get into the LOI and go to these games as well. If someone wants nothing to do with LOI football, and prefer the foreign teams, then fair enough. They support who they support and they're entitled to it.
But the worst 'fan' is the type who just watch English football in pubs, never go to see their team play or maybe go once or twice a year, and then turn around and say that they don't go to LOI matches cos it's sh!te, without having even gone!

ntlbell

SectionF wrote: »

Patriotism/nationalism
Patriotism/nationalism

all this patriotism/nationaism doesn't seem to go well with your self hatred theory tbh tbh

SectionF

ntlbell wrote: »

all this patriotism/nationaism doesn't seem to go well with your self hatred theory tbh tbh

Why not?