Beauts and Teds

MrJoeSoap

Took this off foot.ie, who took it off an Irish league forum. Excellent read, rousing stuff.

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Do you ever wonder sometimes why you bother? I mean, how easy would it be to forsake the local version of the beautiful game for the warm and cosy alternative offered courtesy of your satellite dish?

You've got your numerous camera angles, expert analysis, build-ups, post mortems and all manner of gadgets and gizmos at the other end of a wee red button.

Hard to beat, isn't it? Irish League football doesn't really stand a chance. So why do we bother?

Maybe it's something to do with a sense of belonging, a sense of pride in your own community. Your local club, well, they're YOUR team.

You know the players - and they're ordinary blokes like yourself.

You pass the ground on a regular basis, you've seen it develop over the years - the lights, the new stand.

You've maybe went down on a winter's morning to help clear snow so the match that afternoon can go ahead, maybe turned up in the summer months to give the old place a much needed lick of paint.

You sell programmes, raffle tickets, attend club dinners, sponsor a player, buy a brick. You do your bit.

Then there’s the match itself. That feeling when things go right on the pitch. The last minute winner enjoyed in the company of your mates not forgetting the despair during the bad times. You’re all in this together.

After the game, walking home, getting stopped in the street, queuing at the corner shop for the Pink, "How’d they do today?". You’re a real supporter, a true fan. You’re recognised as such. There’s something in that.

And woe betide anyone who dares rubbish your team, especially some ‘expert’ who claims to support some bunch of overpaid prima donna’s they’ll only ever see on the box.

What do they care? It won’t ruin their weekend if ‘their’ team loses or make it if they pick up those precious three points.

Leave them to their replica shirts and their once a season trip over to scoff their prawn sandwiches. They’re not fans, they’re customers.

With you it’s different. It matters. It matters a lot

Draupnir

Rousing? I would have said self righteous, laughable and pathetic myself.

gimmick

^ How so, he is merely stating a few facts?

MrJoeSoap

Draupnir wrote:

Rousing? I would have said self righteous, laughable and pathetic myself.

I thought it was quite rousing, made me wish it was 19.55 on Friday night, with Owen Heary leading Shels out against Pats.

Töpher

MrJoeSoap wrote:

I thought it was quite rousing, made me wish it was 19.55 on Friday night, with Owen Heary leading Shels out against Pats.

It is!

Cannay wait!

speriamo

Just getting to this now. Excellent piece by that scouser. He hits the nail on the head in so many ways. Next time Rovers are down in cork would be good to have a chat with this chap.

Just a few tales to add. Another scouser with Irish parents went to the last World Cup dressed as a leprechaun. At one of the Irish games he met a few Rovers fans and on his return he started going to games and has gone ever since.

Also one of the knockers of the EL here mentioned he's from Mayo. I know a very passionate guy from Mayo who follows Galway United home and away. If not Galway why not support Sligo?

We are the only country in the world who refuse to support our domestic league. The vast majority of football "fans" in this country do not see the hypocrisy of "supporting" an english club side then cheer on whichever team the english national side is playing:rolleyes:

Sometimes I suppose you cant blame them. The media does a very good job brainwashing them.

Then they have the nerve to complain about the standards. It's not rocket science to realise that if they supported their local side like every other nationality does that we would have a great league. More punters through the gates means more money for the clubs means better players means better facilities etc etc etc.

I feel at this stage there are less and less excuses for not going. The facilities have come on leaps and bounds since I first started going 20 years ago. The results in Europe have improved significantly. Granted there is still a LOT of work to be done on and off the pitch to get us to the stage we belong.

Lastly if you're Irish support an Irish side. Leave the english football to the english, they do not need our money. When I see somebody walking around town in an english shirt I feel sorry for them. Their only excitement is what angle the screen is from their barstool.........

Benedict XVI

speriamo wrote:

Also one of the knockers of the EL here mentioned he's from Mayo. I know a very passionate guy from Mayo who follows Galway United home and away. If not Galway why not support Sligo?

Fair play to him, glad he has the time the and the money.

speriamo wrote:

We are the only country in the world who refuse to support our domestic league.

It' not a case of refusing to support the league. I have seen enough EL on TV to be of the opinion it's not worth the trip to a Div 1 game.

speriamo wrote:

The vast majority of football "fans" in this country do not see the hypocrisy of "supporting" an english club side then cheer on whichever team the english national side is playing:rolleyes:

I totally agree, that why I watch English football and like to see England do well, I'd love to see them win the WC.

speriamo wrote:

Sometimes I suppose you cant blame them. The media does a very good job brainwashing them.

And conversly the EL do a very poor job on convining the likes of myself that the EL is worth it. It's very poorly marketed.

As for the article in the OP, I'll say again that guy is a idiot.
Just cos you go to local football does not mean that you have a monopoly on football knowledge.
I'd love to meet him a pub for a chat.

speriamo

Well Sligo will more than likely be in the premier next season so why not give it a shot?

Well at least you're not a hypocrite then:D Are you english?

Bit harsh to call him an idiot and would not say he has a monopoly on football knowledgeable. Who does?

Benedict XVI

speriamo wrote:

Well Sligo will more than likely be in the premier next season so why not give it a shot?

Might do, I'll make sure and get a Refs. license in the meantime, might be useful.

speriamo wrote:

Well at least you're not a hypocrite then:D Are you english?

Irish

speriamo wrote:

Bit harsh to call him an idiot and would not say he has a monopoly on football knowledgeable. Who does?

I'm not saying he is claming a momopoly on football knowledge.

The thrust of the guys article is that 'Don't bother talking to me if you don't go to local football'

If you agree then what should be done is the following:- STOP ANY argument about football, whether Mick versus Roy, Liverpool versus Man United, Are Rangers a bigoted club?, Which is the true ‘Irish’ club in London?, is Bristol City a football team etc. etc. in ANY pub in Cork unless those participating can validate there football credentials by attesting to attending City games (or Cobh, Rockmount etc.)

Who is to say that just beacuse they go to local football they know more about the game (Bristol city, Rangers etc) than someome who does not.

He is an idiot and a arrogant one at that.

speriamo

You mean phone a ref to let him know that he's assigned to a certain game. FAI clowns......

The thrust of his argument is that if you go to a game you will be in a better position to talk about it rather than watching it on tv. Camera follows the ball you can look at any player and all the off the ball stuff. With tv generaly you'll get people streaming out of the pub and they'll almost quote word for word what Andy Gray has said............

You say you'd love to chat to him. Would you call him an idiot to his face?

Thanx 4 The Fish

I do not attend any EL games, I do attend every home game that Liverpool play. I am Irish, I am not a hypocrite, I know a bit about the team I support. I support the youth academy and the bringing up of youth through the youth team and academy, I am a member of the supporters club and travel to games on any day of the week. I buy a program and sit (mostly stand cos no bast in front of me will sit down) to watch the game jumping around when they shot or the ref gives a bad decision, jeering at the oppo fans and all sorts. I get that week in and week out and cannot see how that experience and atmosphere with knocking on 45 thousand people cheering, jeering singing, holding heads in hands, commiseratiing and beering, can be replicated with 3-4 thou.

I do not pretend to be a paragon of football knowledge, I have studied for and achieved my reffing badges and have continued that, reffing games at all sorts of levels. I have contributed to the coaching of underage and youth teams and play at a relatively crap level. I love football and it astounds me that anybody thinks they have the right to tell me or anybody to support one club over another.

speriamo

In fairness I dont think anyone is "telling" you to support any club anywhere. Also I have been in crowds of 100,000 and weekly of 1,000/2,000 and I can tell you the smaller crowd can and does replicate the bigger ones. It all depends on the fans.

Are you resident in liverpool?

Thanx 4 The Fish

Nope.

I have been to Mayo League games at home where there is more atmosphere than when I used to see Galway at Terryland granted there were mor people there but while there is the GAA to compete with soccer in Ireland, alot of the talent that may come through is split and so are the attendances.. The atmosephere was poor then and having seen some games on TV there is nothing to suggest that the atmosphere is any better than when I used to attend. Good atmosphere at Carlisle grounds, but alot of shady characters about, probably more of an endictement of Bray than Wanderers even more of a worry was that I knew most of them.

Was cheaper to watch the game from the upsatirs window of the bowling alley too.

speriamo

Fair play for reffing, coaching and playing but is there a reasonable reason you do not attend your own domestic league?

Also why liverpool?

Thanx 4 The Fish

I am about an hours drive away and have been a fan since I saw them beat QPR (my dads team) when I was four.

Why do you support Rovers ?

speriamo

Same as you brought along as a kid. Yeah Bray is always fun:D

I picked it up wrong thought you were living here and yeah I did see the engerland location but some people put that in to be ironic!

gimmick

Even if he T4TF was resident in Ireland, and he went to all Liverpool games, at least that gives him the courage of his convictions. At least he is actively sup[porting his team. How many Irish Liverpool/Man U/Arsenal/Celtic fans are there out there who have never even been to 'their' teams ground? Most of them id say. These are people who think that by buying a replica jersey every 18 months makes them a fan. It does, it makes you a follower.

I dont think this is an eL matter, the article at the start merely uses the eL as his basis, and as Ireland is the biggest culprit for people supporting teams who they have nothing to do with.

A Dub in Glasgo

gimmick wrote:

How many Irish Liverpool/Man U/Arsenal/Celtic fans are there out there who have never even been to 'their' teams ground? Most of them id say.

There are thousands of Celtic fans from Ireland who go to the games in Glasgow and all over Scotland/Europe every week.

gimmick

^ Thousands? Maybe a few hundred. In fact, Ive yet to meet a Celtic fan from Cork who has ever actually seen Celtic more than once ie the time they played at Turners X.

Necronomicon

I've been to Turner's Cross a few times, I keep up with results, but I don't go consistently. I'm not ashamed to say I follow the Premiership more, it just appeals to me that bit more because it's of a higher quality. That's not to say I'm a hypocrite, I follow La Liga and (to a lesser extent) Serie A because they are high quality as well. I think a slightly unfair generalisation was made in that article:
"Guys who sneer when you mention that you go to the Cross to watch City? Are you annoyed when some langer in a Man U shirt tells you that you are not watching real football when you attend an actual match in person?"
Now, I always talk about football with my friends and our conversations often drift from the EL to the PL, and I've never come across someone with this attitude. Maybe there are people out there like that, but it's unfair to say that somebody could care less about Irish football just because they like the Premiership.

gimmick

Benedict XVI wrote:

Some believe the EL is not worth of support, and I agree

So you are above the eL is what you are saying yes? Even though you never go to any games regularly, you can look down your nose at the eL? :rolleyes:

That makes a ton of sense that does.

Benedict XVI

gimmick wrote:

So you are above the eL is what you are saying yes? Even though you never go to any games regularly, you can look down your nose at the eL? :rolleyes:

That makes a ton of sense that does.

I don't live near an EL team, It'd not fesable for me to go to games regularly, from what I see and read in the media the quality is not great, therefore I believe it's not worth my time gooing.
I have no problem with people who travel all over the country and beyond following teams, fair play to them, but I have a problem with the guy in the article who reckons that people who do not attend local football have no right to discuss football in general.
That's just plain arrogant and idiotic and someone asked above would I call the guy an idiot to his face . If he had that sort of attitude yes I would.