New fans

[Anonymous]

Support your local club or the club your family support, it's not hard.

When I was a 10 year old kid getting 2 buses across town to get to Maine Rd I must have passed at least a dozen football teams on the way because every pub in these parts has a team and there are plenty on non-pub affiliated amateur sides in the area.
Also, being from north manchester (very near to our new stadium) there were always professional clubs like Bury or Rochdale that were actually nearer to where I was born.

Are you saying that I'm a glory hunter and that I have no right to be a loyal City supporter?

Please tell me the rules because it sounds like you'd prefer us to have a nice little local crowd and be a nice little local club with no ambition.
IMO those who are so resistive to new fans coming aboard are simply trying to preserve the days when we couldn't compete, when we could always point to another clubs success as being down to them having money (more support = more money) than us.
Fact is that our fan base is expanding and will continue to do so even if those who can't hack the trappings of our success choose to bugger off elsewhere and form their own 'rival' club like the disenfranchised rags did. Keep it small and keep it local with FC City of Manchester eh? What are the colours going to be.

 

[NorCalBlue]

They are unable to see the big picture.

If we want to compete with Real Madrid and Man United we need a worldwide fanbase. There could come a day when we sell our own broadcast rights and if that day comes, then the club who can sell 10 million internet season tickets will be the ones at the top table.

We are picking up the odd overseas fan along the way. Every one we pick up is good news and more potential cash through the tills. But we are a million miles away from Man United and Liverpool. Chelsea have found this very difficult and I predict we will too.

I don't know if this is true.

I am quite able to 'see the bigger picture' and how beneficial it is to the club to convince the hordes that they are 'part of it'. It is obvious that every big club cynically tries to financial exploit these people/markets and goes to great lengths to make them fee 'legit' and that they need to spend money.

I am also not in the business of telling people what they can and can't do. I am not for saying that I don't want 'glory hunters' filling previously empty seats. It is probably a good thing that they do. Just as it is probably a good thing that Randy McCityfan convinces himself that he loves the club so much that he buys 1,000 commemorative FA Cup foam hands.

However, it would be disingenuous to start to claim that I do not find such peoples' reasoning laughable, self deluding, childish, small minded and bizarre.

I am quite capable of separating my view of what is good for the club and what is a dignified action of an adult human being.

And, for me, whilst convincing millions around the world that they are 'super passionate' about the club is undoubtedly good and beneficial, I also hold the view that those who fall for it and are desperate to promote their individual 'passion' and always act as a 'super fan', justifying their bizarre 'choice' at every turn, are laughable.

When I am faced with a question like that earlier in the thread, where "a twenty four year old American who reads loads about the club on the internet" manically seeks to equate his feelings for City with those who have grown up with the club, are attached to it and have it as part of the fabric of their locality and their weekly activities, then I am going to be even more astonished.

In fact, such a bizarre assertion only serves to justify my view that such people are on some sort of desperate mission to constantly 'act like a football fan' and 'manufacture passion', lest their 'choice' be exposed as simply that - a cold, rational, cynical choice.

Show me any long serving City fan from Manchester who honestly believes that a young American who reads about the club on the internet feels it as much when we win or lose, and I will show you a liar.

It is a ridiculous assertion.

However, the above sounds like I am interested in ranking fans or being at the front of some sort of pecking order. I am not. Yet I will still hold an opinion on such matters, and it is the one detailed above.

I am not interested in whether it is good for the club or not. It is going to happen whatever I think about it.

I am not bothered about those individuals or interested in judging them in any other part of their life.

I do, however, find people seeking to emote about how much 'passion' they have for a club around the other side of the world a joke.

And offensive (although I can't really get offended by football) to long serving fans that they are desperate (as this thread shows) to equate themselves to.

And I see no shame in saying that. I don't put aside rational judgement on people's reasoning just because we are talking about MCFC.

(I note that many of the issues raised in my two long posts on here have not been address and that the thread is rammed full of cliches along the lines of 'live and let live', 'well, if you hate United....' 'every blue is welcome' etc. It always happens on this subject but you very rarely get it elevated to a decent debate about the thought processes involved as there is nowhere to go for the 'Loving ManU from Singapore since 98' gang.)

I assume you married the girl next door then. You know, the one you grew up with, are attached to, and have as part of the fabric of your locality and your weekly activities. Couldn't possibly fall in love with anyone else.

 

[sixlashes]

Support your local club or the club your family support, it's not hard.

so our fan base should always be 45,000 forever? as far as you not being hard ? may I recommend VIAGRA

 

[JohnMaddocksAxe]

I don't know if this is true.

I am quite able to 'see the bigger picture' and how beneficial it is to the club to convince the hordes that they are 'part of it'. It is obvious that every big club cynically tries to financial exploit these people/markets and goes to great lengths to make them fee 'legit' and that they need to spend money.

I am also not in the business of telling people what they can and can't do. I am not for saying that I don't want 'glory hunters' filling previously empty seats. It is probably a good thing that they do. Just as it is probably a good thing that Randy McCityfan convinces himself that he loves the club so much that he buys 1,000 commemorative FA Cup foam hands.

However, it would be disingenuous to start to claim that I do not find such peoples' reasoning laughable, self deluding, childish, small minded and bizarre.

I am quite capable of separating my view of what is good for the club and what is a dignified action of an adult human being.

And, for me, whilst convincing millions around the world that they are 'super passionate' about the club is undoubtedly good and beneficial, I also hold the view that those who fall for it and are desperate to promote their individual 'passion' and always act as a 'super fan', justifying their bizarre 'choice' at every turn, are laughable.

When I am faced with a question like that earlier in the thread, where "a twenty four year old American who reads loads about the club on the internet" manically seeks to equate his feelings for City with those who have grown up with the club, are attached to it and have it as part of the fabric of their locality and their weekly activities, then I am going to be even more astonished.

In fact, such a bizarre assertion only serves to justify my view that such people are on some sort of desperate mission to constantly 'act like a football fan' and 'manufacture passion', lest their 'choice' be exposed as simply that - a cold, rational, cynical choice.

Show me any long serving City fan from Manchester who honestly believes that a young American who reads about the club on the internet feels it as much when we win or lose, and I will show you a liar.

It is a ridiculous assertion.

However, the above sounds like I am interested in ranking fans or being at the front of some sort of pecking order. I am not. Yet I will still hold an opinion on such matters, and it is the one detailed above.

I am not interested in whether it is good for the club or not. It is going to happen whatever I think about it.

I am not bothered about those individuals or interested in judging them in any other part of their life.

I do, however, find people seeking to emote about how much 'passion' they have for a club around the other side of the world a joke.

And offensive (although I can't really get offended by football) to long serving fans that they are desperate (as this thread shows) to equate themselves to.

And I see no shame in saying that. I don't put aside rational judgement on people's reasoning just because we are talking about MCFC.

(I note that many of the issues raised in my two long posts on here have not been address and that the thread is rammed full of cliches along the lines of 'live and let live', 'well, if you hate United....' 'every blue is welcome' etc. It always happens on this subject but you very rarely get it elevated to a decent debate about the thought processes involved as there is nowhere to go for the 'Loving ManU from Singapore since 98' gang.)

I assume you married the girl next door then. You know, the one you grew up with, are attached to, and have as part of the fabric of your locality and your weekly activities. Couldn't possibly fall in love with anyone else.

A totally irrelevant and diversionary point.

However, if you want to go down that route, I've route a longish post earlier in this thread detailing exactly why, precisely because football is NOT an important issue in the scheme of things, relating 'choosing' a successful team around the other side of the world is nothing at all like making such a choice in relation to important issues.

I cited politics, but you can just as easily substitute relationships if you like.

I really don't think anyone is daft enough to say that they have the same thought process and sense of importance when making political and relationship choices, as they do when making a 'choice' to portray themselves as a rabid, unsurpassed supporter of a sports club they have no connection to. That would be a staggering lack of perspective.

 

[taconinja]

I don't know if this is true.

I am quite able to 'see the bigger picture' and how beneficial it is to the club to convince the hordes that they are 'part of it'. It is obvious that every big club cynically tries to financial exploit these people/markets and goes to great lengths to make them fee 'legit' and that they need to spend money.

I am also not in the business of telling people what they can and can't do. I am not for saying that I don't want 'glory hunters' filling previously empty seats. It is probably a good thing that they do. Just as it is probably a good thing that Randy McCityfan convinces himself that he loves the club so much that he buys 1,000 commemorative FA Cup foam hands.

However, it would be disingenuous to start to claim that I do not find such peoples' reasoning laughable, self deluding, childish, small minded and bizarre.

I am quite capable of separating my view of what is good for the club and what is a dignified action of an adult human being.

And, for me, whilst convincing millions around the world that they are 'super passionate' about the club is undoubtedly good and beneficial, I also hold the view that those who fall for it and are desperate to promote their individual 'passion' and always act as a 'super fan', justifying their bizarre 'choice' at every turn, are laughable.

When I am faced with a question like that earlier in the thread, where "a twenty four year old American who reads loads about the club on the internet" manically seeks to equate his feelings for City with those who have grown up with the club, are attached to it and have it as part of the fabric of their locality and their weekly activities, then I am going to be even more astonished.

In fact, such a bizarre assertion only serves to justify my view that such people are on some sort of desperate mission to constantly 'act like a football fan' and 'manufacture passion', lest their 'choice' be exposed as simply that - a cold, rational, cynical choice.

Show me any long serving City fan from Manchester who honestly believes that a young American who reads about the club on the internet feels it as much when we win or lose, and I will show you a liar.

It is a ridiculous assertion.

However, the above sounds like I am interested in ranking fans or being at the front of some sort of pecking order. I am not. Yet I will still hold an opinion on such matters, and it is the one detailed above.

I am not interested in whether it is good for the club or not. It is going to happen whatever I think about it.

I am not bothered about those individuals or interested in judging them in any other part of their life.

I do, however, find people seeking to emote about how much 'passion' they have for a club around the other side of the world a joke.

And offensive (although I can't really get offended by football) to long serving fans that they are desperate (as this thread shows) to equate themselves to.

And I see no shame in saying that. I don't put aside rational judgement on people's reasoning just because we are talking about MCFC.

(I note that many of the issues raised in my two long posts on here have not been address and that the thread is rammed full of cliches along the lines of 'live and let live', 'well, if you hate United....' 'every blue is welcome' etc. It always happens on this subject but you very rarely get it elevated to a decent debate about the thought processes involved as there is nowhere to go for the 'Loving ManU from Singapore since 98' gang.)

I assume you married the girl next door then. You know, the one you grew up with, are attached to, and have as part of the fabric of your locality and your weekly activities. Couldn't possibly fall in love with anyone else.

A totally irrelevant and diversionary point.

However, if you want to go down that route, I've route a longish post earlier in this thread detailing exactly why, precisely because football is NOT an important issue in the scheme of things, relating 'choosing' a successful team around the other side of the world is nothing at all like making such a choice in relation to important issues.

I cited politics, but you can just as easily substitute relationships if you like.

I really don't think anyone is daft enough to say that they have the same thought process and sense of importance when making political and relationship choices, as they do when making a 'choice' to portray themselves as a rabid, unsurpassed supporter of a sports club they have no connection to. That would be a staggering lack of perspective.

If it's unimportant you shouldn't toss around loaded terms like "dignity" or "small minded."

Oh, and it's "wrote" not "route." If you're going to insist on attempting to sound like a university professor, you should really be more careful about glaring, obvious errors.

 

[NorCalBlue]

A totally irrelevant and diversionary point.

However, if you want to go down that route, I've route a longish post earlier in this thread detailing exactly why, precisely because football is NOT an important issue in the scheme of things, relating 'choosing' a successful team around the other side of the world is nothing at all like making such a choice in relation to important issues.

I cited politics, but you can just as easily substitute relationships if you like.

I really don't think anyone is daft enough to say that they have the same thought process and sense of importance when making political and relationship choices, as they do when making a 'choice' to portray themselves as a rabid, unsurpassed supporter of a sports club they have no connection to. That would be a staggering lack of perspective.

Since "football is NOT an important issue in the scheme of things", isn't it a "staggering lack of perspective" to get so upset about the choices other people make about how they portray themselves?

 

[JohnMaddocksAxe]

If it's unimportant you shouldn't toss around loaded terms like "dignity" or "small minded."

Oh, and it's "wrote" not "route." If you're going to insist on attempting to sound like a university professor, you should really be more careful about glaring, obvious errors.

In context and in relation to the topic, I don't see anything wrong with those words. Again, it is about perspective.

As for the typo, I'll leave that in and hopefully you can look back and get a sense of satisfactory (EDIT: opps, there's another typo, meant satisfaction, there goes any credibility) from being bright enough to spot such a shocking thing.

-- Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:39 pm --

Since "football is NOT an important issue in the scheme of things", isn't it a "staggering lack of perspective" to get so upset about the choices other people make about how they portray themselves?

You are confusing passing an opinion with getting upset.

Again, something which I have attempted to convey in an earlier post, which seems to have been ignored in favour of a "why are you so upset" jibe.

As I said in my first post on here, this is what this debate always descends into. Forget the rational points and discussion about thought processes, let's just wheel out the cliches.

I'm off.

 

[taconinja]

Point me in the direction where I've been irrational. Please do. Perspective? You're perspective is to wind people up.

 

[Berkovic_blue]

The video doesn't bother me. At the end of the day if the club is going to have a sustained run of success then we need to attract new fans who will buy the shirts etc. to balance the books, it's a fact of life in football.

Not to mention the fact that gaining new fans abroad isn't going to affect ticket prices/availability as they're hardly going to be flying in every week

 

[fathellensbellend]

surely the only new fans we obtain are kids in this country, and overseas supporters with a passion for the english premier league.

i cannot see how anyone who is say above 10 years of age hasnt already got a team, or are there swathes of 40 year olds who have been waiting 35 years for this moment.