MadchesterCity said:
Frank H said:
All these negative comments about Chinese and asians!
I am British but of Chinese parentage. Sadly, I get the feeling that there are a quite a section of Man.City fans who would be annoyed by my very presence in the Etihad.
I am not a City fan. However I started attending football matches, as a general supporter of football, as long ago as 1964 (I am a pensioner now), and have done so ever since, although not so frequently in recent years, for non-football reasons. I remember clearly seeing the great City team of Summerbee, Bell etc.playing - Neil Young scored a great goal at WBA, IIRC - and I was very pleased that that team won the championship (then properly called the First Division) in 1968.
Surely there is nothing wrong, if there are spare seats, for some who are not fans of either team, but merely sympathisers, of even general supporters of football, to attend matches? Or should all spectators have to be hate-filled fanatics supporting either team?
I am not accusing Man.City fans in particular of what I see as a rather nasty sort of hidden racist xenophobia, as sadly I find these disparaging comments about Chinese and asians on football forums associated with other clubs as well.
To those who have posted these negative comments on Chinese etc. in these forums, I would just like to say that while you may not like the look of us, we do have to share this world together, and it might be just that little bit more pleasant if we sometimes tried a bit better to deal with our prejuduces - even if those prejudices might sometimes be justified.
excellent post, but what upsets people is when people don't celebrate when we score, there was a chap at the Chelsea away game season before last that had managed to get a ticket in the away end but never celebrated as we slipped in the 4th.
I can see why this upsets people
Is it only "Chinese" who don't celebrate when Man.City score? Do no "Chinese" ever celebrate when Man.City score?
There seems to be an assumption amongst some that the only genuine football fans are working class, and even that the only good ones are "white" working class. And that anyone else who takes any interest in any club must be a "glory hunter" - either a camcorder obsessed "Chinese", or a prawn-sandwich eating middle-class "prick".
I've admitted that I'm not a rabid Man.City fan, but I have long had a "soft spot" for Man.City. The reasons for that are the very opposite of "glory-hunting".
Apart from AFC Wimbledon, I haven't any reason for strong allegiance to any other club. However I have generally supported some teams for one or both of two reasons. I tend to support the "underdog", and I would rather support a team playing attractive skilful football, than one playing in a negative thuggish way.
The great Man.City team of the mid- and late-60s filled both conditions. They played attractive skilful football, and, compared to Man.U., Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and Everton (a big club then) they were definitely "underdogs".
Of course, since the arrival of the Sheikhs, Man.City no longer have the mantle of underdogs - so there is no longer any reason for sympathy for them on that score. But in compensation, I can see being formed a team which will probably be one of the most skilful and attractive teams to ever grace the English leagues. It will be great if this team fulfils its potential, and if such players as Silva, Aguero etc. get the acclaim their skills deserve.
As for camcorders, unless someone, "Chinese" or not, is using one which blocks the views of others, what is the problem? I don't have a camcorder, nor even a camera - but if I, and many people who haven't been at a match want to see bits of it on Youtube etc., we can only do so if someone is recording it.
As I am grateful to so many people who have put up videos on the internet, I was considering getting a video camera so I could repay something of the debt I feel I owe them. However, comments on this thread have reminded me of the hidden hostility of some (many?) at the very sight of an "asian" or "Chinese" with a camera or camcorder, so I am not sure I could ever use one in public without feeling embarrassed.
Besides being castigated as gloryseekers the other term of virtual abuse that is handed out about Chinese or asian looking people is that they are "tourists". It seems that only white Britons should be permitted to be tourists - as so many are in other parts of the world.
I have lived in this country since 1948 - all but the first two years of my life. I have been attending football matches since 1964, although the expense now means I can't attend that frequently recently. I thank the number of City fans who have been posting expressing sympathy after my post in this thread. I am quite prepared to be assured that they represent a decent majority of the Man.City fans.
However, I am a little annoyed at the frequency with which the presence of "Chinese" people at football matches is criticised on various football forums - especially as I am sure that most of the people so posting have lived in this country for a much shorter time than I have - and I suspect that I actually know a great deal more about the history and culture of this country - and of its football teams - than most of them do.