When and why did football become so tribal?

[Magicpole]

I’m from Glasgow. What is this tribalism you speak of?

 

[mancityvstoke]

I’m from Glasgow. What is this tribalism you speak of?

Partick Thistle nil V Rangers

 

[Magicpole]

Partick Thistle nil V Rangers

Ah, now it makes sense.

 

[EL APACHE TEVEZ]

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 ?

Top Post mate

 

[Cityfan]

I’m from Glasgow. What is this tribalism you speak of?

Third Lanark and Queens Park.

 

[roman totale]

My old man and his brothers, who were Moss Side born and bred, watched both City and United as youngsters in the 50s and 60s. He and some of his brothers favoured City and some United, but it was never a problem. He even hitch-hiked with his brother to the Bernabeu for the EC semi in 1968. Fast forward to today and he hates the rags with a passion. He reckons they started getting arrogant in the 70s and the Govan piss-can took them over the top.

 

[Blue and still suffering]

My Dad started to go to games at Maine Road in the late 40's, I remember him telling me that for one run of games involving both clubs over about eight weeks the lowest crowd was 78000. As others have already said people watched City one week then United next.
Part of the reason that the game became more tribal was the fact that in the 60's it became easier to travel to away games due to various reasons, less Saturday morning working, more car ownership, more motorways and special cheap trains.
Suddenly the number of fans from the other team increased considerably and this combined with the younger and noiser elements of the home crowd starting to congregate in one stand contributed to the adversarial stance of protecting your own end from the away fans. It all escalated from that into the scenes in the 70's which led to fences and segregation, increased policing and security in and around stadiums to what we have today through new technologies and social media.
I was born in 1960 and my primary school on the North side of Salford was fairly evenly split between Blues and Reds with slightly more Reds as you would expect in that City. Secondary school there were a lot more Reds.
Interestingly any reference to Munich was considered off limits as the overriding perception at the time as it was considered a disaster for the city as a whole rather than just one club.

 

[bluethrunthru]

started going in 1966 - I don't recall it not6 being tribal. You went to Maine Road you abused the opposition and their fans. Hated the rags coz of rivalries at school and so on.

However in the 80's I did go with mates sometimes to see OAFC - Bury FC and the Donkey Dale as an interested outside observer but it was never tribal.

Thing is as there is more pressure on your time and far far more cost involved - I remember paying @ £2 to get into Spotland I am sure - its harder to spread the love

 

[Bluemoon2393]

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 ?

My Grandad who is long life Man United fan told me stories about United from the 1950s and the Munich Air Crash. He told me United had to groundshare with us because Old Trafford was bombed by the Nazis. So they had to play at Maine Road for a few years.

He used to see United one week and City the next. He then told me when United came back to Old Trafford a section started to support City or United.

He's never said anything nasty about our club or approves it. My Dad was City fan when he was young and started seeing players like Colin Bell, Mike Doyle, Mike Summerbee and the legends off the 70s.

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

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'm not sure folk went to Maine Road one week and the Swamp the next week, but they did watch both teams when they played at Maine Road.