As a Manchester United fan, I am regularly accused of being a bandwagon jumper, a glory hunter, and a fair weather supporter. I know it’s nonsense.
For as long as I’ve had any interest in football, I’ve followed Manchester United. They were the first team I heard of, and thus became my team.
As my interest in football inched closer to fanaticism, so too did my affection for this mighty club.
Like any Australian who follows a European league, I’ve had plenty of late nights and early mornings. Some of my best sporting memories have been formed in the small hours, like jumping up and down in my lounge room in 2009 when an Italian teenager who nobody had ever heard of rescued United’s ailing bid for the league title, or going berserk the next season when an ageing Liverpool legend stole a pulsating Manchester derby.
Earlier this year I went to see my team play Liverpool at Old Trafford, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.
I was also there at Homebush on Saturday night and it was fantastic to see them play again. But some of my fellow United fans let me down.
It began as I walked into the ground. One of my mates was wearing a West Bromwich Albion shirt, carrying the name and number of the great Zoltan Gera on the back. He thought it was funny, so did I.
He copped a bit of stick off a couple of United fans around my age, just a sarcastic ‘Come on West Brom!’, nothing too viscious.
But then one of them yelled out ‘Come on Norwich’, and I didn’t know why. Then I realised they were talking to me! I was wearing a green and gold hooped beanie.
Learn your history, mate! United fans wear green and gold because they were the original colours of the club, back when they were a bunch of workers playing under the name Newton Heath.
Green and gold also symbolises support for the Supporters’ Trust campaign to return the club to the members, rather than private ownership. Not Norwich.
Once in the ground, the ground announcer read a list of former United greats, while giving a quick crash course on the history of the club.
The list included Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. However by far the loudest cheer was for Cristiano Ronaldo, a player who spent only five years at the club before deciding he wanted to play somewhere else.
Later, during the match, Robin van Persie received far louder acclaim than Ryan Giggs. The mind boggles.
These were minor annoyances, but I think the thing that wound me up the most was the complete lack of respect shown the by some United ‘fans’ to the A-League All-Stars.
Some clowns in the United ‘active’ section behind the goal booed as the A-League team was announced. They booed players from their own league!
Then, in case that didn’t get the point across, they howled contemptuously when the All-Stars overhit a pass or got caught in possession. Some simply laughed at them.
The A-League All-Stars is a terrific idea. It places the A-League in the public’s consciousness as the start of the season approaches, and gives our local players a chance against players of the highest quality.
I am far from the most conscientious follower of the A-League, but I recognise its strength will have a strong influence on the strength of our national team. Why boo them?
I know these mugs wanted to imagine they were in the Stretford End for a match against Liverpool, but they weren’t. They were at a friendly, and many of the players taking on the Rolls Royces in red are only semi-professional.
Yet they booed them like an old foe.
This is exactly the sort of dunderheaded, bandwagon jumping rubbish which gives Manchester United fans a bad name.
I would encourage these showboaters to consider something like Twenty20 cricket.
AZ_RBB
Guest
thank you. i'm equal parts a sports and music fan. so that analogy just made sense :)
Zainab
Guest
YOU PUT IT PERFECTLY!!! =D (About U2 part) Im that B sider
Ian
Guest
stadium size isn't relevant though. its the fan base that is important and the population available. what i mean by stadium size is that i wouldn't expect SFC to get 45000 because that's what it holds. i'm a brisbane fan and that's the same as saying we should get 52,000 because the stadium holds that. anyway - i'm hoping for bigger crowds for the whole a-league compared to last season.
Kane Cassidy
Roar Guru
As a Chelsea supporter from before we were rich, I too know the ignorance directed towards supporters of top teams. I think people get caught up in looking cool and looking down on others too much to notice the heart at these big clubs, the heart that has survived to still beat through the millions of dollars and waves of fake fans. Hang in there, you know what you're about and no one can tell you otherwise.
Kasey
Guest
If I squinted at the TV last night, a team all in red beat MBV 2-0...close enough for my liking;) Nice rendition of YNWA but by geez by jingo by crikey, Jim Wilson was starting to get on my t*ts chairing ch7s coverage. they didn't do too bad a job, but overall I definitely prefer the FoxSports team covering football:) Am I correct in saying that's the largest crowd Liverpool have played in front of, including Wembley cup Finals?
AZ_RBB
Guest
their average was only 18 500. which means if we sell out a few games and get a few near sell outs which seems very likely at the moment. we might just catch them despite having a stadium half the size of theirs.
Ian
Guest
That's because Brisbane Roar (and their fans) are winners! ;-) Always happy to be on the same side in the best interests of the A-League and football though.
Bondy
Guest
Stavros Thats ironic The Cattery lives on the Gold Coast too .
Cameron
Roar Guru
And this season will be no different! :D
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I chuckle when people bring this up ... Every non-ALeague football fan in AUS gladly embraces a team on the other side of the planet, but, unless an A-league team is in their suburb, they get confused about whom they should follow. Here's a thought: pick a team called Brisbane Roar - from what I remember, Gold Coast to Brisbane is a shorter road trip than Melbourne to Ballarat. There are no AFL teams in Ballarat, yet people there seem to have no problem picking an AFL team. Use your imagination, but if you pick Brisbane Roar it means we can still have heated discussion ... for some reason, during ALeague conversations, Brisbane Roar fans seem to annoy me even more than MelbHeart. :-D
Stavros
Guest
Ok Fussball, you have convinced me, I will jump on board. I live on the Gold Coast, so is there an A League team here that I can follow?
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@Stavros Football hasn't conquered all frontiers. Whilst Football has the most participants in USA & AUS, the spectator numbers for the elite competitions lags behind rival sporting competitions. Hearts & minds to be won over still. Won't happen today. Won't happen in my lifetime. But, based on what we know of the evolution of globalised industries, within 50yrs football will generate the biggest sporting revenue earners in USA, AUS... CHN & IND, too will join the global football juggernaut. Jump on board ... or, stick with your egg-ball - with insignificant numbers, you will be irrelevant.
Ian
Guest
i'd say the point of the news item link is because football isn't the biggest sport in the usa, so its growing there also which just adds to the biggest sport in the world being even bigger. its certainly not getting smaller anytime soon.
Ian
Guest
if i was a sydney fan i'd say our average crowd is larger than yours......but i'm not. though i'd bet you put that line in to get a sky blues fan to respond
Bondy
Guest
Amazing and you're probably the wealthiest sport in the country and you can't stand other people enjoying other sports ,so sad really.
Stavros
Guest
Soccer is the biggest sport in the world, yet you still desperately go searching for feel good stories.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Right on cue ... a very interesting article in the NY Times about the growth of Football in the USA - and, not just in the traditional cities. "Soccer Transformed in the U.S. Heartland" http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/sports/soccer/soccer-in-the-us-heartland-kansas-city-transformed.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0
Ian
Guest
yep i agree on that - i thought football has always had more participants - it didn't just happen last year. and is aussie rules actually 2nd? i thought netball and cricket was ahead also.
mahonjt
Guest
Big changes in the US sports media market and the MLS getting its first truly national deal (hard to do in the US) is changing all that. The MLS is definitely a league on the move - and in commercial terms already ahead of baseball - but some way off NFL/NBL. America - like Australia - can’t stop the metaphorical boats :-)
Kasey
Guest
Perhaps the Herald Sun have the same editorial policy as the Age? If you notice Craig Foster's Sunday OP in the Sydney Morning Herald uses football, but when its printed in the Sunday Age, the 'football' becomes 'soccer'. IMO No big deal really, I personally use both and having visited the USA where the sport is mostly ignored by their sports media (ESPN especially - if you're not on Sports Center, you might as well be anonymous as a sports league), despite MLS supposedly being more advanced a comp than the HAL. I think I'd rather be in our situation of better to be talked about than ignored.