Barmy Army the most dedicated fans in sport

i agree with the scotsman. scottish football is at an all time low and has been declining since the early 80s but no one in there right minds could bag there supporters who have been starved of success for a century, appart from 41 victories over england. not bad for anation with a population of 5.000.000. oh and someone said when was the last time they carried a support. paris 3 or 4 years ago comes to mind. and if you want to talk distance there was an estimated 20.000 in argentina in 78. in saying that i think the english should all be given medals for the fact that they actually watch cricket. its the only sport on earth that you can actually gain waight while you play it. only 4 or 5 nations are actually intrested yet its called the world cup. oh and a little reminder. no matter how bad the scots have been in the past 30 years we sil managed to beat england the last time we played. oh and at wembley......cheers....BILL SHANKLEY

So dedication is the preserve of the Working Classes? How many poor Brazilians have you met following their team across the World? Considering the wages of those who live in the shanty towns and favelas around Brazil, I would suggest not very many. I am University Educated, but I don't have a high paying job in the finance/law sector. Where do you get your information from? Blokes in the pub?

Jus - don't use 'sophisticated' words unless you can spell them. It makes you look like some poorly educated 'yob'.

The Special One, that's an unfair assumption to make. I'm not from a wealthy or affluent background. Merely a working class barman from a region of England that is one of the poorest in the whole of the EU, so there goes the leather briefcase scenario. I happen to play and love my Rugby and Cricket because of what they are, and not of what the stereotype represents.

They probably understand more about cricket than the typical bourgeoise who attend games trying to give of the impression that they are respected critics of the game and in an underlying tone of smugness and accuse those who are vocal in showing support for their team as "yobs".

If you like bannal repetitive chanting then the barmy army is for you. For me they just ruin a good day at Lords or the Oval with their selfish cacaphony . I doubt many even understand cricket. I , like many, would like them to return to the soccer terraces where they belong with the other yobs.

Any Richmond supporter who returns to the MCG week in week out gets my vote in terms of dedication. The Barmy Army has had to deal with a few years of bad quality cricket... spare a thought for those Tigers faithful though, they've been mediocre for the last decade..

Chums - suspect the real point here is cameraderie ... the BA, the Lions tours, Munster, Scotland / Rangers / Celtic all follow away at expense and distance since it's great fun. Witness Spiro's blog on the fun at the France RWC for example. I wouldn't say the actual match / game they attend is incidental but it is a relatively small part of the overall experience ... go onto the BA website to see for yourselves. I'd agree there's not quite the same make-up in Australia, the fanatics seem manufactured (I know that many of them aint but they do seem that way, and don't get me started on rugby's "Bundaberg Army"). Is this a cultural thing ? Certainly appears far more important to the "generic" Aussie fan to follow a winning team (witness the crowd desertions in the Ashes when things went pear shaped) that the Poms who seem more interested in the occassion regardless of how the team is expected to fare. Fair comment or have I got that arse about ?

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/3dh5eBU19nN/Bangladesh+v+England+2nd+Test+Day+Two/gna8extYcVx/Barmy+Army Barmy Army in Dhaka ... that was a good test match. My Tigers got 419 against England, then England got 496 in their dig (Bell got a ton, and Bresnan 91), Tigers got 295 (Shakib 96) and then Cook saw England home with a ton chasing 209.

one of the best sets of fans going around with some absolutely hilarious chants/songs. as long as australia remains mediocre at cricket and our country a monarchy, we will always be cannon fodder to the barmy army.

There were several stories in the Aussie papers in the lead up to the Ashes about how the strength of the dollar and England's dire economic problems had decimated the number of travelling England fans. And a friend of mine - who was trying to book a former England cricketer for a charity event during the Ashes - reported that hardly any were coming because the tours they usually host were all being cancelled. And 20,000 is a laughable figure! There were only 18,000 at the SCG IN TOTAL on the last day of the Test! And a fraction of that number in Melbourne and Adelaide! "It will be interesting to see how many loyal, green and yellow blooded Aussies will make the trip up north..." Like I said - you're not comparing apples with apples. Lords holds only 28,000 people and only a fraction of those tickets are made available to travelling Aussie supporters. It's not like the MCG, where you basically have unlimited tickets available.

Barmy Army are great for cricket- looking forward to 2013 when the Lions supporters follouw suite and head downunder, remember 2001 when they invaded Australia and a sea of red descended on the Gabba, Docklands and Homebush. And to be fair, given that Great britain aint so great anymore, I was still impressed by the strength of the barmy army.

The BA are stockbrokers, accountants, lawyers and North Sea rig workers who retired at 40. Their tours around the world are merely a big scale versions of a Butlins weekend. I demand "fan parity". Until English stadiums* (and f**kin' Cardiff) can accommodate the same number of Australian fans as Australian stadiums can accommodate singing Poms, all English fans should be banned from Australia. It's only fair. * Seems a bit of a stretch to call the English glee clubs stadiums**, but, well, whatever... ** Ok, stadia, you pedant.

I don't understand your meaning Willy. Do you mean most countries don't have a culture of singing at sporting events? Or most countries do sing and Australia is the exception to the rule?

There's no doubt English supporters are highly patriotic in affairs that relate to their national teams and in a former article I alluded to a Man U vs Arsenal match I attended being one of the most amazing sporting experiences I've witnessed. To say they're more dedicated is a little misleading. Day 2 of the Boxing Day test attracted over 60,000 people- after the Aussies had been rolled for 98. The British Pound is one of the strongest currencies in the world too. When your pound buys $1.50 to $2.10 it's much more affordable to come here than to go there. Not disputing you're a passionate lot, you love your sports, you even worship darts and snooker as spectator and that takes a special love of sport to do but more passionate? I don't think so you have to look at the overall picture.

Willy, where did you get your cancellation facts from? Last I read just under 20,000 fans were coming to Aussie for some or all of the tour. Admittedly it's down on some previous tours due to the economy but still 20,000! This of course was bolstered by the expat community. It will be interesting to see how many loyal, green and yellow blooded Aussies will make the trip up north, they wont need many to travel because of the huge Aussie expat community in the UK. Apples indeed.

1) We don't have a culture of singing at sports events. Most countries around the world are the same. There is nothing wrong with this - most Aussies would (rightfully) find sitting and chanting the same thing over and over to be tedious in the extreme. 2) The Fanatics is a sports travel company. They are not "our" retort to the Barmy Army. I don't actually think we need a retort to the Barmy Army - different strokes and all that.

Scott - the barmy army are dedicated and passionate fans but its easy coming to a place like Australia isn't it - with its nice pubs, girls and beaches (and carparks near the beaches) and a still relatively strong pound. Noting you are a rugby/cricket supporter I am interested if you are following the red rose to NZ this year for the RWC? It would be a shame if you prioritised the ashes over the RWC - how many of your fellows do you think will make the trip to the land of the long white cloud? The Scots will be there as they have many relatives in Dunedin!

There is no doubt the Barmy Army are amazing. Some of the chants are inspired. Great stuff. They obviously owe a lot to chants in football in the UK, which are equally brilliant. What I don't get is, why are we(Aussies) so lame? Why is it the best we can come up with is that stupid oi oi oi thing and "members are w@-kers"? And our retort to the Barmy Army? The Fanatics. Embarrassing.