Canal Street Blues LGBT Supporters Group 2014

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Good to see a Blue at the front :)

Aye. Looks a nice bloke as well, kind face on him.

Hehe I agree ... and cheers IrelandSuperman ;-)

Yep - that person is me. Normally go on another (less busy) forum and lurk here occasionally but found this thread through Google images of the pictures posted above.

Was a great day down there apart from the weather - yes it does also rain in London it seems.

I recently decided to become involved in helping to set up Canal Street Blues with John and the others after our home match against Chelsea - I was sat right next to the away fans and of course there was the usual banter between supporters.

However this Chelsea lad who had been quite vocal throughout the first half, and hardly paid attention to the game started hurling homophobic comments such as "Meet me outside after the game you f**king faggot", "grow a set of balls you f**king bender" to a city fan a couple of seats to the right of me (who'd been giving grief back also to the Chelsea fan).

Obviously made me mad, but also very uncomfortable to be there and I was ready to say something to him, but to the credit of a city steward who overheard this, he then stepped in and told him that using that kind of language is unacceptable, and if he did it again he would be ejected. Was a proper "telling off" and it did shut him up!

This spoiled the game for me (as well the 0-1 scoreline with our first home defeat for so long), as I was concentrating on him as much as the game after this point.

That event is probably why I decided to get involved in CSB - as we should start working with the club and the wider football world in general to try and let people know that using these kind of words is just as unacceptable as the racism black and ethnic minorities fans and players encountered over many years.

The group (for me anyhow) is not about shouting about your sexuality - I can understand when people say "why do the gays have to shout about it by having these pride parades" that it can seem that way (and maybe many LGBT people attending these pride events are indeed doing it for that exact reason).

For me, it's about letting all fans know that LGBT people do attend football matches - there is a common stereotype that it's a "man's game" and therefore is only straight people who enjoy football and attend matches. The only way to let other fans know this is to be visible and public - attending pride events is one way to do this but there are others.

It's about our club having a representative of LGBT fans that they can work with to help make it a more welcoming place for all fans who may have witnessed discrimination in the past.

It's also about the club also having an LGBT supporters group as other clubs also have their own or are forming them now (Arsenal, Spurs, Everton, Liverpool, Norwich so far).

But for me another important reason is also about letting gay fans know that there are other gays fans out there - and if they have (for example) felt uncomfortable at a match due to chanting and that may stop them going again, that they can meet other LGBT fans through an official supporters group, and maybe start attending games as will feel safer through "safety in numbers".

We're a small number so far (only being formed for a few months), but if anyone reading this wants to become a member of CSB once we've set-up fully, you can visit the (currently in development) website at http://www.canalstreetblues.co.uk and fill in your details there, or http://twitter.com/CanalStBlues, or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canal-Street-Blues/601567279917236

I know the majority of the blues fans will be behind the reasons the Canal Street Blues formed - but of course it is to be expected we will get the odd one who for whatever reason doesn't agree as to why we need to have such a supporters club.

I'll get off my soap box now and go and wash that London smog out of my new city shirt....!

Cheers all.


Derek

That badge is embarrassing mate.

I mean seriously, what the fuck are those three stars actually meant to represent?

 

[Blue Beard]

I applaud you John

Have to say the response is largely positive on here, but who knows what will be said in Fallowfield and elsewhere over the summer? lol

Before I met you, I honestly thought I was the only gay supporter in the crowd. As I go with my Dad and brothers it never really bothered me, but it is nice to know there are others.

What I find telling is peoples need to declare which side of the fence their on. It is still even now, somehow more weighty support when a fellow bluemooner supports the cause while they also explain they are not LGBT.
And attitudes in football are so deeply entrenched, that a gay footballer amateur or professional can live in fear of being "found out". When my Sunday League team found out, I was sub more often, and went to the pub caked in mud cos I feared taking a shower with guys I had showered with for over 10 years. And many supporters would prefer to hide their sexuality for fear of reaction.

It doesn't matter if the fear is worse than the reality. The reality is in the fear.

And it's a similar fear that makes some of our straight supporters explain they are straight while supporting the cause.

I think when a gay prem footballer comes out he better make sure he is as good as Messi or better. Even Messi fucks up, but if he fucked up and was "out as gay" then he would face abuse. There is a long way to go before it doesn't matter in a football stadium, and that's what parades and the push for true equality is about.

It's a brave first step and I congratulate you John

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Before I met you, I honestly thought I was the only gay supporter in the crowd.

Not doubting your word mate, but I'm struggling with this tbh.

 

[Blue Beard]

Before I met you, I honestly thought I was the only gay supporter in the crowd.

Not doubting your word mate, but I'm struggling with this tbh.

Fair enough. Was always a family thing gdm : I guess I was there for the footy and to blend in suited me, where my sexuality wasn't an issue while I was at the match

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Before I met you, I honestly thought I was the only gay supporter in the crowd.

Not doubting your word mate, but I'm struggling with this tbh.

Fair enough. Was always a family thing gdm : I guess I was there for the footy and to blend in suited me, where my sexuality wasn't an issue while I was at the match

I'm not questioning the role that City played in your life and what that represented to you.

Moreover, blending in is not something you have to justify. Blending in is part of the tribalistic joy of being a football fan.

I'm just saying that for anyone with any grip on human sexuality, let alone a gay man, to not appreciate that the crowd at the Etihad has gay men left, right and centre is a little surprising to say the least.

 

[Blue Beard]

I'm not questioning the role that City played in your life and what that represented to you.

Moreover, blending in is not something you have to justify. Blending in is part of the tribalistic joy of being a football fan.

I'm just saying that for anyone with any grip on human sexuality, let alone a gay man, to not appreciate that the crowd at the Etihad has gay men left, right and centre is a little surprising to say the least.[/quote]

Agreed. It was my old mind-set blinkering me. There's no way I would have posted this even 2 years ago. While many gay men are relaxed about it, for me it has taken a while : way too long

 

[r.soleofsalford]

can just say i`m straight and 61 years old.


i accept people for who and what they are but i dont need to know if the bloke or woman sat next to me is straight or gay or wanks furiously to old newsreel footage of margret thatcher.


i just dont understand the need for a person to broadcast to the world their sexual orientation, what happens behind their bedroom door at night between two or three consenting adults is of no concern to me.

 

[nijinsky's fetlocks]

i cannot stand that homophobe line "Why do you need to parade it".

Sits up there with "as long as they keep themselves to themselves" as a stock-in-trade catchphrase for bigots.

The reason they are "parading" their sexuality is because gay people have been repressed and bullied for years, and still are within football. They are showing defiance and pride in the same way persecuted minorities always have done.

Absolutely spot on.
In an ideal world, groups like this wouldn't need to exist, but sadly, as the odd dinosaur on this thread proves, that world is still some way off right now.

 

[andyhinch]

can just say i`m straight and 61 years old.


i accept people for who and what they are but i dont need to know if the bloke or woman sat next to me is straight or gay or wanks furiously to old newsreel footage of margret thatcher.


i just dont understand the need for a person to broadcast to the world their sexual orientation, what happens behind their bedroom door at night between two or three consenting adults is of no concern to me.

I'm struggling with this consenting concept tbh.

 

[r.soleofsalford]

can just say i`m straight and 61 years old.


i accept people for who and what they are but i dont need to know if the bloke or woman sat next to me is straight or gay or wanks furiously to old newsreel footage of margret thatcher.


i just dont understand the need for a person to broadcast to the world their sexual orientation, what happens behind their bedroom door at night between two or three consenting adults is of no concern to me.

I'm struggling with this consenting concept tbh.

8-)