When and why did football become so tribal?

[jrb]

Social media has made football more tribal. It’s a free for all where you can post anything about any club and their fans and pretty much get away with it and hide behind a username.

 

[TonyM]

I'm probably 100% wrong so I apologise in advance but is it that because England was a warrior nation (British Empire ruling half the world) it's working classes were rougher than other places. While the toffs were watching cricket and rugby, the masses were beating the heads off each other at the footie. No????

 

[manclad]

I'm probably 100% wrong so I apologise in advance but is it that because England was a warrior nation (British Empire ruling half the world) it's working classes were rougher than other places. While the toffs were watching cricket and rugby, the masses were beating the heads off each other at the footie. No????

The toffs, were the people who started organized Association Football in the late 19th century.
Hence why Old Etonians,The Royal Engineers and The Wanderers were among the first winners of the FA Cup.
And Lord Kinnaird (an Old Etonian) was the first president of the Football Association, and Captain of The Wanderers who won the FA Cup about 5 times.

 

[northendenton]

We've all heard stories of how in the old days people would go to Maine Road one week and the Swamp the next. Football seems to have had a much more sporting, gentlemanly feel back then. I now feel that the tribal aspect of football has overtaken all else about the game (social media has definitely contributed towards this) I was wondering what caused this change and when. When did the songs baiting other clubs start? Was it the hooligan mobs of the 70s and 80s or something else? When did we start properly hating Utd? Was there a particular event that made most fans of other clubs so hostile to each other and, if so, what?

I am led to believe there is anti untied graffiti in Cresswell Crags
caves in Derbyshire

 

[Ithryn Luin]

I'm probably 100% wrong so I apologise in advance but is it that because England was a warrior nation (British Empire ruling half the world) it's working classes were rougher than other places. While the toffs were watching cricket and rugby, the masses were beating the heads off each other at the footie. No????

It's a world wide phenomenon. Many foreign countries have much fiercer football rivalries than here in the UK. By fiercer I mean awful consequences such a deaths and stabbings rioting etc on a much more frequent basis.....so it is not an English warrior, Empire thing at all.

 

[mexico1970]

We've all heard stories of how in the old days people would go to Maine Road one week and the Swamp the next.

People still do, they are called plastics. I have known some people who would go to any match but in all my years the huge majority of city fans wouldn't be seen dead inside the swamp unless it was derby day.

All footballing nations have huge rivalries that are tribal.

 

[bluemoon32]

Don't get me wrong, stuff that goes on today, some songs, remarks, situations etc still make me laugh but a lot of the humour has gone from the game.
Either that or i've just gotten old ha.
Everyone just seems so angry nowadays, i miss having decent, open and honest conservations with other clubs fans.
Like i said, maybe its just me getting older

 

[Bozzie]

Certainly back in the 30's/40's my Dad and his brother regularly went to both Maine Road and Old Trafford. They were both essentially City fans. City were the main club in Manchester at that time but, for many people, the real enjoyment in the game was watching the 'stars' of the time and so if a Finney, Lofthouse, Matthews etc was playing in Manchester fans would go primarily to watch them rather than the home team. Teams were announced by a bloke walking round the pitch pre match with a name board and if the star you'd all come to see wasn't playing an audible groan would echo round the ground. Today, if you're playing Spurs and Kane isn't fit, every opposition fan is delighted because they can watch him on the TV any other week. The other attraction for them at Old Trafford was that there were so few spectators you could sit down and watch the match on any of the terraces!
Attending football was far easier and more spontaneous up to the 80's whereas now it's, in many ways, a bit of a pain, and an expensive pain at that. Since the advent of the PL and Sky TV I believe coverage has become far more adversarial (not just in football but in all aspects of sport and life in general). We now have a constant 'Neville slams Carragher', 'Meghan vs Kate/William vs Harry', 'UK vs Europe' narrative, and many others, that dominate our daily media intake.
That said, I've disliked the rag bastards for as long as I can remember and the dippers since Boxing Day 1974!!

 

[KS55]

It’s not just football, though is it?
Club rugby in S.Wales and the English West Country is very tribal; not violent but very vocal. Also Rugby League such as Wigan vs St. Helens.
I think the difference between football and others is the violence and hooligan behaviour which is less overt now other than the dippers.
Football violence still prevalent in Italy and Turkey; Germany, Spain very tribal. Irish football divided on religious grounds. Rangers and Celtic are best buddies of course.

 

[woody1968]

Can only speak for myself as my dad would tell stories of like you say people going to watch both City and the rags. My old next door neighbour did.

One person Ferguson

He changed it for the worst. He belittled our club. Our club that in the past had helped the rags so many times. The twats didnt have floodlights so played at our place is just one example. Plus the noise neighbours, of course we are noisy we are Manchester a big City.

Now we have the press/media turning up the hatred because they are basically fanzines for the dippers and rags.
The bent use of VAR to help them.

The dippers getting away with the coach attack.

The older I get the more tribal I have become because of the way City seen in the press/media. I tell anyone who will listen the rags arent from Manchester. How the rags treated the survivors of Munich.

Manchester has one club and is ours. Our council should demand that the rags stop using our name ! Certainly shouldnt be using our coat of arms. What's wrong with Traffords ?

Nailed it . Ferguson,nasty,spiteful,rude and arrogant. Even now he would choke on acknowledging the beauty of the football we play and the manager we have. Hateful bastard who should fuck of back to his hateful, spiteful roots.