I wonder about the "I'm a better blue than you" mindsets people have, that are touted as black and white, "you are or you aren't" attitudes, and yet seem to me actually be quite contradictory. I mean no offence to anyone, but I always saw it as a way of reacting to the rags' global success, and being able to turn around to a scum fan and present a case for superiority when clearly our club had nothing on the pitch it could boast about instead. For instance, we talk about how the "legitimate" reasons for supporting a club are A - they are your local team or B - your family supported them and passed it onto you. Yet can we really treat these as implicit? For instance, if you knew a really obnoxious armchair rag, the kind who claims there's too much of a waiting list to get to a game and often doesn't know what game is on, who lived in London and he happened to get a job in Manchester (or Trafford or Salford depending on your particulars) and ended up living closer to OT than you did to COMS, yet they continued making no attempt to attend games and generally acted like a fair weather fan, how many would turn around and say "fair play, they're your local team, you're as true a fan as I am so long as you support them"? Maybe some, but I reckon even I would begrudge any rag of that sort the "moral superiority" of living near the ground and would probably refuse to extend them that courtesy. And what about people whos' parents were Mancs but moved away? People who talk about being Manc making you true blue may agree that if it's in your blood then you are still blue, but we still get lots on here saying "unless you live in Manchester you aren't as blue as me". Is that an implication that, if you're a Manc and move away, then you should stop supporting City, or you become less of a fan? And what about those who have been there through the hard times, and never questioned their support, but are bigger fans now than they used to be? Are they good fans for being there at our worst point, or bad fans for not supporting actively enough until the club became big.
Take me for example. I am perhaps the ultimate "mongrel" City fan. I was born in Herts and have always lived here. I love it here and feel no affiliation to the city of Manchester. However, my mum came from Cheadle Hulme and passed her city blood to me. She was only ever a mild fan of football, and finds the actual game tedious and refuses to watch it, yet follows the scores. I therefore had no driving force to become an absolute fanatical supporter, yet I was always a City fan, no question. I still have memories of my friends at primary school singing me the "After all, they've got Alan Ball" song. Since I had family up in Cheshire still, my parents took me to see league games at Christmas when we were on holiday, but only when we dropped out of the Prem and the prices dropped (I assume). The only two home games I've been to see were 2-1 win against Stoke in the third tier and the 2-1 win against Grimsby in the second tier, boxing days 1998 and 1999. I have numerous replica kits - all the way back to a Phillips shirt - remember listening to the play-off final on the radio and always loved Kinkladze yet I couldn't remember most of the other names until I properly got into football when I went to university and was suddenly surrounded by friends who were actual full-time supporters, as opposed to the "occasionally say I like a team" typical supporters in Herts - this was coincidentally right before Thaksin's takeover. Now I will follow every game by any means I can when I can, can't stop talking about City to family and friends, etc etc. My faith in City is unquestionable, and I still classify myself as an "older" fan, the type who expects us to lose every week and celebrates the 40 point mark every season. I only don't attend games personally because I am skint and jobless, though I was sat with the Brums fans at the latest match, and I tell you I the penalty was the worst feeling in the world. Oh, and to top it all off, my family goes far enough back to Manchester that I actually had a great-great-(great?)-uncle invited to play for City (and the rags, but let's ignore that one) in 1914, but unfortunately that never came to fruition since he died in the war.
Aside from personally being born in Manchester, I therefore satisfy every condition, and yet in a way satisfy none of them. Am I therefore a real fan, or a fake one, a johnny-come-lately?
At the end of the day, I don't think you can use these things to judge people. Having the history is good and allows you to share memories others don't have, but I bet there are more knowledgeable fans than me who have been supporters for less time, and who have attended more matches. To me, the real test of a true fan is whether they truly care about the team - whether each loss genuinely hurts, whether they follow the team regularly, and most importantly, whether they will still be fans if we go back to the third tier.
Rant over.
