Herald Says "best fans in the world" a myth * Mod Note #53 *

bohsman

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Couldnt believe all those barstoolers watching the 200 metres last night. It doesnt compare to going to Morton Stadium to see the local clubs battle against each other. Proper athletics, none of that over hyped Bolt and Blake stuff that is fed to us by the axis of evil; the BBC, Sky and RTE. These people just cant understand athletics culture.

Dont think any of them claim to be be the best athletics fans in the world though.

Silentcorner

bohsman wrote: »

Dont think any of them claim to be be the best athletics fans in the world though.

To be fair I don't think they claimed anything, they were labelled by others is my understanding...

The whole LOI "irelands true football fans" is a bit of a mystery to me...I've been participating in schoolboy since I was 6 years of age, and all the coaches that coached me, spent time collecting me, washing my gear, organising club fundraisers etc, and over many many years there were many many of those people, I can say that none of these people attend LOI matches at all as far as I can see, but yet surely they can legitimately claim to be "irelands true football supporters"

Surely the 1,000s and 1,000s of Junior league players and supporters can also claim to "irelands true football supporters" too no...by the way the numbers playing and supporting junior football WAY WAY outnumbers the people supporting LOI...

I once argued that typically the LOI die hards seldom played the game ( there are exceptions of course ), therefore had no affiliation to any schoolboy/junior clubs, therefore had no local team to support, therefore latching onto their LOI side, nothing wrong with that, but as I have already pointed out the vast majority of players and supporters in this country DO NOT go to LOI games...but they surely can also be considered "irelands true football supporters"

batistuta9

CSF wrote: »

Do both?

how can a real fan support two teams?

bohsman

Silentcorner wrote: »

To be fair I don't think they claimed anything, they were labelled by others is my understanding...

The whole LOI "irelands true football fans" is a bit of a mystery to me...I've been participating in schoolboy since I was 6 years of age, and all the coaches that coached me, spent time collecting me, washing my gear, organising club fundraisers etc, and over many many years there were many many of those people, I can say that none of these people attend LOI matches at all as far as I can see, but yet surely they can legitimately claim to be "irelands true football supporters"

Surely the 1,000s and 1,000s of Junior league players and supporters can also claim to "irelands true football supporters" too no...by the way the numbers playing and supporting junior football WAY WAY outnumbers the people supporting LOI...

I once argued that typically the LOI die hards seldom played the game ( there are exceptions of course ), therefore had no affiliation to any schoolboy/junior clubs, therefore had no local team to support, therefore latching onto their LOI side, nothing wrong with that, but as I have already pointed out the vast majority of players and supporters in this country DO NOT go to LOI games...but they surely can also be considered "irelands true football supporters"

Anyone involved in Irish football, schoolboy football upwards is included when people talk about supporting Irish football.

batistuta9 wrote: »

how can a real fan support two teams?

No, but they can watch more than one team. I don't support anyone in the premiership but I watch more games a season than most. Suppose it's the difference between solely supporting a team and actually being a fan of football.

CSF

batistuta9 wrote: »

CSF wrote: »

Do both?

how can a real fan support two teams?

Oh Christ, when barstoolers start doleing out the real fan line, its hard to do anything other than just facepalm and laugh.

batistuta9

CSF wrote: »

Oh Christ, when barstoolers start doleing out the real fan line, its hard to do anything other than just facepalm and laugh.

how do you know if i'm a barstooler or not?

but can you not answer the question

& i'm not doling it out i'm looking to see what the 'real loi fans' think on this

batistuta9

bohsman wrote: »

No, but they can watch more than one team. I don't support anyone in the premiership but I watch more games a season than most. Suppose it's the difference between solely supporting a team and actually being a fan of football.

at least you can give an answer on it, your opinion.

so then would you consider every bohs supporter who supports an english club too - not a real fan, regardless of how many matches they attend, support the team etc.?

would you go to watch many non loi clubs in north dublin or would it be just bohs?

if not would that make you or anyone who only attends the loi an event junkie too?

bohsman

batistuta9 wrote: »

at least you can give an answer on it, your opinion.

so then would you consider every bohs supporter who supports an english club too - not a real fan, regardless of how many matches they attend, support the team etc.?

would you go to watch many non loi clubs in north dublin or would it be just bohs?

if not would that make you or anyone who only attends the loi an event junkie too?

People can have a soft spot for more than one team, not quite fanaticism as implied by the term "fan" but of course people can support more than one team. I doubt there's more than a handful of LOI fans who don't have an English team as well, not sure where you are getting the idea that they don't?

All that LOI fans really want is that Irish people pay attention to their own league as well as supporting their EPL teams instead of slating the league without having seen a game. Works perfectly well in places like Scandinavia and Portugal, both have populations that massively support the Premiership or La Liga but still manage to support their own.

Lucan Bohs

batistuta9 wrote: »

bohsman wrote: »

No, but they can watch more than one team. I don't support anyone in the premiership but I watch more games a season than most. Suppose it's the difference between solely supporting a team and actually being a fan of football.

.
so then would you consider every bohs supporter who supports an english club too - not a real fan, regardless of how many matches they attend, support the team etc.?

every single Bohs fan I know and I can guarantee you 99% of loi fans support an English team aswell. This is the idea the loi fans on this forum are trying to get accross: that you can support or attend games of more than 1 team

it's commonplace in England, only yesterday I was talking to an English fella who supported West Ham (premier league) and Billericay Town (Isthmian premier)

CSF

batistuta9 wrote: »

how do you know if i'm a barstooler or not?

but can you not answer the question

& i'm not doling it out i'm looking to see what the 'real loi fans' think on this

I think one can like as many teams as they want, and I don't think one should be discouraged or insulted for their feelings for any club. But the club they're a real fan of is their local club, be that their local LOI club, local junior club or whatever.

But as a coach, I can't help but piss myself at the idea that being a coach makes one a real fan. How? It just makes a you a real coach.

CSF

Lucan Bohs wrote: »

every single Bohs fan I know and I can guarantee you 99% of loi fans support an English team aswell. This is the idea the loi fans on this forum are trying to get accross: that you can support or attend games of more than 1 team

it's commonplace in England, only yesterday I was talking to an English fella who supported West Ham (premier league) and Billericay Town (Isthmian premier)

Smithy?

Captain Havoc

I don't see the problem with BFITW, people go to support their country, so what? Event junkies get to see their country/ local team/ province perform at a very high level, it's good that people get behind them when they're doing well, I'm sure the teams/ athletes appreciate it, it must be a proud moment to play in front of 8,000 people in Tallaght or 24,000 at Lansdowne Road.

People who say the LOI is muck or crap really should keep those comments to themselves, you're talking about the best soccer players in this country, I assume that 99% of posters here have never played above junior level, I would love to be good enough to play at LOI level (or anything above Div4 Kilkenny floodlit league :pac:). LOI players deserve a lot of respect.

I don't particularly see the problem with barstoolers either, the premiership is a top quality product which is presented very well. Why wouldn't you want to watch some of the best footballers in the world play? I support West Ham, have done for more than twenty years, been to the Boleyn many times. I've also been to many other stadiums, when I lived in Birmingham, I used to go to St. Andrews regularly (and see West Ham), I used to watch PSG when I lived in Paris, Lausanne-Sports when I lived there, FC Zürich when I was there (and go to Lausanne games, never lost the love there) and Limerick City when I lived in Shannon. I've also gone to games in Italy and Turkey when I was there on holidays. All those leagues are a higher standard than the LOI (except Limerick obviously) but the LOI is still the best soccer we can go and watch. I used to go to Buckley Park regularly but it wasn't as good an experience towards the end.

A lot of people watched the Katie Taylor fight yesterday that normally wouldn't, only to see someone from our country do well (although RTÉ can be accused of serious bandwagoning as I recall them not showing one of her world championship fights, disgraceful). It is rather sad to see that there doesn't seem to be a mad rush for tickets to the Germany game, though.

In summary: there's a lot of people who just like to have a pissy moan and create issues that aren't there, other people like hype things up a bit too much and some of us just want to get on with our lives without being labelled.

Lawrence1895

batistuta9 wrote: »

how can a real fan support two teams?

Easy.

You always have a home team, a club, that you support from the cradle to the grave, Borussia Dortmund, in my case. That's where I'm from, and where ever I live, I support them.

But you can always add a team to your list, even if the level of support won't be that extreme. Like Celtic (there is a friendship between the supporters since 1985) or Liverpool (I admired Kenny Dalglish, when I saw him playing for Scotland in Spain 1982).

Or you move house, and since your home team is too far away (like Dortmund, in my case), you find another local club...well...Shels are just round the corner, from where I live

And about soft spots, you can have them for different reasons...like St.Pauli (their fans ans class) or Athletic Bilbao (sort of political reasons).

For me, there is no event supporting, every and each team, I support, has a place in my heart for a good reason

CSF

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I don't see the problem with BFITW, people go to support their country, so what? Event junkies get to see their country/ local team/ province perform at a very high level, it's good that people get behind them when they're doing well, I'm sure the teams/ athletes appreciate it, it must be a proud moment to play in front of 8,000 people in Tallaght or 24,000 at Lansdowne Road.

People who say the LOI is muck or crap really should keep those comments to themselves, you're talking about the best soccer players in this country, I assume that 99% of posters here have never played above junior level, I would love to be good enough to play at LOI level (or anything above Div4 Kilkenny floodlit league :pac:). LOI players deserve a lot of respect.

I don't particularly see the problem with barstoolers either, the premiership is a top quality product which is presented very well. Why wouldn't you want to watch some of the best footballers in the world play? I support West Ham, have done for more than twenty years, been to the Boleyn many times. I've also been to many other stadiums, when I lived in Birmingham, I used to go to St. Andrews regularly (and see West Ham), I used to watch PSG when I lived in Paris, Lausanne-Sports when I lived there, FC Zürich when I was there (and go to Lausanne games, never lost the love there) and Limerick City when I lived in Shannon. I've also gone to games in Italy and Turkey when I was there on holidays. All those leagues are a higher standard than the LOI (except Limerick obviously) but the LOI is still the best soccer we can go and watch. I used to go to Buckley Park regularly but it wasn't as good an experience towards the end.

A lot of people watched the Katie Taylor fight yesterday that normally wouldn't, only to see someone from our country do well (although RTÉ can be accused of serious bandwagoning as I recall them not showing one of her world championship fights, disgraceful). It is rather sad to see that there doesn't seem to be a mad rush for tickets to the Germany game, though.

In summary: there's a lot of people who just like to have a pissy moan and create issues that aren't there, other people like hype things up a bit too much and some of us just want to get on with our lives without being labelled.

You're missing the point though. A barstooler isn't merely one who likes/supports an English team.

gustavo

invinciblePRSTV wrote: »

Xavi6 wrote: »

The account's still warm man!!!!

Less of your insolence you sub-human, barstooling quasi-Englishman, you shame the memory of the men of '16. Think about that next time as you cheer on your ENGLISH QUEEN-LOVING football team.

Hilarious

Richard Hillman

Myth Confirmed

The_Kew_Tour

lol

homerjay2005

still will be one of the best attended games in europe tonight apart from a few of the bigger nations/

The_Kew_Tour

homerjay2005 wrote: »

still will be one of the best attended games in europe tonight apart from a few of the bigger nations/

Course it will. But some people need something to argue about.

If it was full house people would complain about fans giving more money to greedy FAI.

Downlinz

Fans an embarrassment as per usual. I can't think of many countries with a worse set of supporters.

The_Kew_Tour

Downlinz wrote: »

Fans an embarrassment as per usual. I can't think of many countries with a worse set of supporters.

You dont watch much international football I take it then.

Al Capwned

Downlinz wrote: »

Fans an embarrassment as per usual. I can't think of many countries with a worse set of supporters.

erm......

Zebra3

Where have the Fields of Athenry heroes gone? :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(

simongurnick

homerjay2005 wrote: »

still will be one of the best attended games in europe tonight apart from a few of the bigger nations/

Yes, attendance was better than the average for rest of the games. Germany Holland and Sweden England were the only games above 30k.
Still sad to see so many empty seats in Landsdowne Rd. I've been away from home for 5 years and would give a limb to be at the game. Train up from Galway, meet the lads for pints on Baggot St, meet a few more by Jury's and into the ground as the whistle blows!

kitakyushu

Zebra3 wrote: »

Where have the Fields of Athenry heroes gone? :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(

They're back watching the rugby again.

StephenHendry

CiaranC wrote: »

Wtf has Pats got to do with it? Hannover 96 were playing a competitive fixture in Dublin, why would a supposed football fan not be interested?

I knock around with a few Irish lads here in Wellington, all of who support British teams. Not one of them have been to see Wellington play. The Kiwi football fans, who also support UK teams, cannot understand it. They claim to be football fans but show no interest in attending football matches. Wellingtons games are packed with ExPats from the UK, Europe and South America who miss football.

Irish plastics just dont have the football culture in them.

good point, we don't have the same football culture that exists in scotland and england and there is too much apathy towards loi teams except when they do well, i.e. shamrock rovers getting to the europa league group stages last season

Downlinz

Downlinz wrote: »

Fans an embarrassment as per usual. I can't think of many countries with a worse set of supporters.

Says you from the comfort of your keyboard. Those who went last night are the real hardcore and we have some of the best supporters in the world who travel to every game home and away. The euros was always going to attract a large number of those that dont normally go but we have a dedicated good hardcore of supporters who have been attending for years and will go good or bad on the pitch.

Zebra3

Deleted User wrote: »

Says you from the comfort of your keyboard. Those who went last night are the real hardcore and we have some of the best supporters in the world who travel to every game home and away.

Judging by the away crowd in Kazakhstan, that's about 150 so. :pac: