Football Fandom

[melonhead]

then you are dead inside
and football isnt the problem

[Royal91]

well stop slowly tugging at your trigger, give it a good hard yank, and put us all out of our misery!

HAHA agreed. Reading his comments is getting me depressed.

[Royal91]

I think the big turning point for me was the latter half of last season - despite winning absolutely everything I still couldn't find myself giving a shit about going to games.

As I said in my OP, I'll always be a Reading supporter, and will probably listen to the odd game on Reading Player, it's just that my heart's just not in it anymore.

Oh well. I'm sure it'll be different when Seb Junior wants to go in 15 years time, and I'm sure my passion will be reignited.

Can we expect you to retire from HNA then??

[P!ssed Off]

Winning is, obviously, great - but every time it happens it becomes more and more underwhelming. When I was a kid, a pint of strongbow or two and I was all over the shop - as I've got older my alcohol tolerance has developed, and now I can take as many as 3 pints before it starts to make me feel all tipsy. Likewise, I guess my football tolerance has changed as well - the highs just aren't as high any more, and the lows are still utterly dire. Even winning the league last year was distinctly underwhelming compared to 2006.

I absolutely agree that losing makes winning all the more sweet - I guess my point is that, for me at least, it's just not worth sitting through it any more - there are much better, much cheaper, highs available elsewhere, with none of the lows to trudge through first.

Yes, last season was underwhelming compared to 2006.
But this was for pretty obvious reasons imo, not really to do with questioning my status as a fan:
2006 was the first time and we absolutely destroyed the league, playing classy football consistently and whacking teams 5 or 6 - nill.
Last season in contrast was a fluke. The quality of football was pretty shitty, instead of 5-0 it was 1-0 and we got considerably less points.
Also 2006 was a team of reading legends in comparison to the blend of youth and journeymen of last season.

Winning the title last season was the calm before the storm, it was blatantly obvious at the time that we were going to get battered each week in the Prem, and for these combinations of reasons my excitement couldn't reach the levels of 2006.

The test will come if in the coming years we are able to once again completely destroy the league by playing classy football with a team, of legends, that has a realistic chance of staying up. If this happens then I anticipate being massively overwhelmed compared to 2012.

Anyway, before I question my commitment to Reading I'd have to question my ridiculous commitment to football in general. If Reading are playing away and I'm not going then I'll generally watch at least 5 full matches per weekend, 3 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday. Doesn't have to be Premier League, I'll watch La Liga, Seria A, Bundesliga, lower leagues, even the bloody SPL! My mum will ask me "Why are you watching this match, do you care who wins?" The simple answer is "I am watching it because it is a football match, and I like football".

[Extended-Phenotype]

You may have noticed at the end of my OP that I said I was probably more attached to HNA than to RFC. I also commented that it was a petrifying thought.

You'll be pleased to know, however, that when my new job starts in October, I'll be here much, much less.

Back To Work scheme?

[Colin Cheeselog]

Agree with most of what Let's Get Ready to Rumpole said. The secret is, I believe, not to think about it too much. If you think about what the future holds for Reading and football in general, it's not too exciting, and if you compare the experience now to your younger days; going to Elm Park, being different because you support little old Reading rather than Liverpool, players being heroes, it's not going to compare unfortunately.

Admit defeat and just turn up every week, don't take it too seriously, don't let the mong fans annoy you, forget about poor results the minute you leave the stadium, don't talk to people that don't know much about football and will only patronise you (intentionally or otherwise), and you will have the same mediocre experience that the rest of us do. But that mediocre experience can be interspersed with occasional moments that provide emotions that you rarely get in other parts of your life. When else in life do you get to jump up and down in genuine excitement and happiness?

[Extended-Phenotype]

Nah mate, but if I post what I'm up to, Mags will get all sad.

He's in trouble and legal services have appointed you his lawyer?

[Esteban]

I think I understand where Rumpole is coming from. For me, football changed the day I became a father. I couldn't afford to go as often as I wanted to, or I had to be around at home to help out, etc. Whereas the football used to be the main reason for going to Elm Park/Mad Stad, now the main reason is to catch up with my mates and enjoy a couple of beers, with the football secondary. All of which works out quite well, because I still get the buzz if we win and if we lose, I've still enjoyed a few pints with my friends.

[thirtyyarder]

Agree with most of what Let's Get Ready to Rumpole said. The secret is, I believe, not to think about it too much. If you think about what the future holds for Reading and football in general, it's not too exciting, and if you compare the experience now to your younger days; going to Elm Park, being different because you support little old Reading rather than Liverpool, players being heroes, it's not going to compare unfortunately.

Admit defeat and just turn up every week, don't take it too seriously, don't let the mong fans annoy you, forget about poor results the minute you leave the stadium, don't talk to people that don't know much about football and will only patronise you (intentionally or otherwise), and you will have the same mediocre experience that the rest of us do. But that mediocre experience can be interspersed with occasional moments that provide emotions that you rarely get in other parts of your life. When else in life do you get to jump up and down in genuine excitement and happiness?

I tend to find this helps with most of life's problems

[El Diablo]

Yep - Sounds like marraige, kids & and a big fat mortgage are on the cards for Rumpole in the coming years...

...just wait Pal , when the kids are getting on your tits, the Mrs wants you to paint the hallway in another shade of neutral, and you're behind the cat and pet rabbit when it comes down to being talked to....you'll be back at the Madstad before you know it...

[USA_Loyal_Royal]

i see a lot of you moaning about the price of a season ticket for reading fc. from what i gather it is around 600-800 (not sure if it is euro or pounds, im assuming pounds?). you get 36 matches in the premiership or 46 in the championship. in american football you are paying upwards of 3000 dollars for average seats and you only get 16 games a year. if your team makes the playoffs you have to pay for tickets again. (i know it is similar to if you make the playoffs in football). so honestly, stop moaning about prices because you are getting a good deal in my eyes. adjusted for exchange rates for an american football season ticket it still is at least two times more expensive for half of the games.

[urz13]

i see a lot of you moaning about the price of a season ticket for reading fc. from what i gather it is around 600-800 (not sure if it is euro or pounds, im assuming pounds?). you get 36 matches in the premiership or 46 in the championship. in american football you are paying upwards of 3000 dollars for average seats and you only get 16 games a year. if your team makes the playoffs you have to pay for tickets again. (i know it is similar to if you make the playoffs in football). so honestly, stop moaning about prices because you are getting a good deal in my eyes. adjusted for exchange rates for an american football season ticket it still is at least two times more expensive for half of the games.

Doesn't mean anyone here would pay those prices in the US. £400 is still a massive amount of money, and if the experience doesn't feel worth that amount then people are within their rights to moan.

[Millsy]

Good post but I'm afraid it only goes to put you in the category you are complaining about being put into!

The simple fact is a film or a piece of music are products you buy and generally have no affiliation towards.

Yes stadia have become more soulless and that's a move away from the traditional setup but that is nowhere near enough of a departure that is required to suggest football clubs are just products. They are still, as ever, representations of the town and history so many of us are proud of.

Sadly what you say probably is true for 1000s (if not 10000s) of Reading fans but for a significant proportion of us, it runs far far far deeper. For me as a random example it is THE representation of the town I was born in, brought up in, have lived in all my life and love to bits. I'd quite gladly run on the pitch alone. It's got nothing to do with peer pressure. I'd do it if I was the only one in the ground. For many though, it may well sadly be some sense of what should be done rather than a spontaneous emotional outburst.

That you don't seem to get these subtleties suggests you are of the few for whom RFC is a product and being a fan for you is nothin but an act. In which case, yes I agree please stop it, and treat it like a mere product where you expect to be entertained. And in return I will defend to my death the right to call fans like you not true supporters, or plastic. Of course I wouldn't because I respect you, but I could

[P!ssed Off]

i see a lot of you moaning about the price of a season ticket for reading fc. from what i gather it is around 600-800 (not sure if it is euro or pounds, im assuming pounds?). you get 36 matches in the premiership or 46 in the championship. in american football you are paying upwards of 3000 dollars for average seats and you only get 16 games a year. if your team makes the playoffs you have to pay for tickets again. (i know it is similar to if you make the playoffs in football). so honestly, stop moaning about prices because you are getting a good deal in my eyes. adjusted for exchange rates for an american football season ticket it still is at least two times more expensive for half of the games.

Please in future "gather" more evidence before commenting; you are unsure of currency, number of games and price so probably not quite ready to comment on such an issue. Also, you can't compare the financial models of American sports vs UK sports on match price alone. People in the UK do not expect to be ripped off when supporting their local team.
In the US there is no such thing as a local team, only the nearest franchise. American sports revolve completely around advertising and merchandise, take the Superbowl or any typical American football or basketball game, where less than an hour of play is dragged out over many hours with the sole intention to make money.

The fact that American sport is a massive rip off is not a valid reason for UK fans to stop moaning, in the same way that widespread corruption in Eastern Europe football matches would not make a little bit of a corruption in the UK a non-issue.

[seahawk10]

and as a departing 'gif(t):

[royal_ross]

who gives a oxf*rd?

if it bothers you that much what some bored or lonely white men write on the internet about people leaving early from games then you probably do need a safer hobby.

whenever i've had to leave early i've just done it. is there a fire drill? no. does anybody who knows anything about me care that i didn't stay to the bitter end? of course they don't.

football fandom isn't about being part of a darwinian hierachy where only the thickest skinned survive. it's about having a hobby that you obsess over and which occasionally rewards you with an immense sense of achievement and well-being when all you've done is sit on a seat and shouted a bit.

rugby's probably the sport for you. no passion in the stands, self-righteousness aplenty, and classist bollocks about a thugs game played by gentlemen.

Spot on mate. I personally wouldn't early but if others want to fair enough, not gonna have a go at them (unless they stand in my bloody way if we get a late corner!)

I love watching Reading, even this season there's been moments where I've loved it e.g. West Brom, Chelsea & Sunderland.

I'm not from Reading, but living a few miles away it still feels a big part of me. I'll still be there next season.

[under the tin]

Just to chuck my two 'pennorth in.

The "souless plastic stadia" thing with piped music is indeed a valid criticism. Hoewever, it's not going to change.
Looking back through the years, the most memorable "fan experiences" I recall (even in the EP days) were usually at away games.
It is when the tribalism is at its most powerful. You wore your heart on your sleeve for 90 minutes inside the ground, ( sometimes being careful to hide it when leaving certain grounds ) noisily supporting your team, mixing with others whom you don't know, and in a different social situation, are the kind of people you might well give a wide berth to, but the glue that bonded you was the shared alliegance.
It was those days that kept me warm on a cold night at EP whilst watching a drab 0-0 draw against Rochdale.

I think that the scarcity of tickets, and the high cost of travel these days prevents many from experiencing tha awayday.

I fell out of love with football a few years back. I don't miss the Madstad, but I will never forget days like Newport, October 1985.

[melonhead]

You may have noticed at the end of my OP that I said I was probably more attached to HNA than to RFC. I also commented that it was a petrifying thought.

You'll be pleased to know, however, that when my new job starts in October, I'll be here much, much less.

HNA?>>>>> RFC

for sure.

[melonhead]

i see a lot of you moaning about the price of a season ticket for reading fc. from what i gather it is around 600-800 (not sure if it is euro or pounds, im assuming pounds?). you get 36 matches in the premiership or 46 in the championship. in american football you are paying upwards of 3000 dollars for average seats and you only get 16 games a year. if your team makes the playoffs you have to pay for tickets again. (i know it is similar to if you make the playoffs in football). so honestly, stop moaning about prices because you are getting a good deal in my eyes. adjusted for exchange rates for an american football season ticket it still is at least two times more expensive for half of the games.

my ST was under 400 quid

[Extended-Phenotype]

You may have noticed at the end of my OP that I said I was probably more attached to HNA than to RFC. I also commented that it was a petrifying thought.

You'll be pleased to know, however, that when my new job starts in October, I'll be here much, much less.

HNA?>>>>> RFC

for sure.

What's so good about HNA out of interest? Personally I find it all a bit cliquey and cliched.