Long Distance Lovers

Take a quick walk down Exeter high street on any given afternoon and I’m sure you’d encounter a fair few people showing off their “Adebayor 25” or “Ronaldo 7” shirts in tribute to their unhappy idols.

Why not stop and ask the Man United ‘fans’ wandering through the City centre whether they make the 500-mile round trip to the ‘Theatre Of Dreams’ every fortnight?

Or enquire whether they’ve even been to Manchester before? And don’t hold your breath.

These are the long-distance lovers to whom the Theatre Of Dreams is just that.

Whether Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or any other glamorous side, there are those certain type of supporters who have unfortunately grown up with Sky Sports, Soccer Saturday and their side on the box more often than the Only Fools and Horses Christmas Specials! You know the sort of fan, whose idea of driving their team on involves subscribing to the TV channel and subsequently helping to fund Frank Lampard’s £135,000 a week pay cheque.

These type of fans love telling everyone and anyone just how successful “we” are and revelling in the glory whilst expecting congratulations for their long distance lover’s success. Is it really any wonder that armchair supporters get “looked down on and mocked” and give the other fans of their club a bad name? When these people expect their fellow football fans recognition for their team’s performance.  Their team that plays its home games 250 miles away at a stadium they’ve never seen outside their living room, a stadium filled with thousands of fans experiencing a side of fandom they have never encountered.

Sky make it far too easy for these fans to follow their club from their armchair. Why would they want to get soaking wet and out of pocket to go along to watch their local team when they can watch every game their side plays on Football First?

As I’m sure you do, I know many fans like these, supporters whose match day viewing is not at Southend, Southport or Sunderland but Soccer Saturday and 6-0-6. Lower league clubs throughout Britain are dying (some literally) for the support of these long-distance lovers from Exeter who spend their Saturday afternoons in front of Jeff Stelling. They are missing out on a lot of the unique and awesome experiences of being a football fan. But in many cases these fans don’t admit that their fandom is any different to those of those fans who travel up and down England and Europe week after week. They class themselves as equals to the die-hards who spend their weekends in the service stations of Britain following their club.
   
Of course any fan that sees their team in action can tell you nothing rivals the match going experience. That watching the match on television is undoubtedly a watered-down version of the real thing.  From the away games to the atmosphere, attending the football match itself is meant to be the crucial part of being a fan. A notion being bypassed by thousands of supporters every week.

Whether you’re one of the Norwegian Grecian’s who flew over for Saturday’s Exeter match, or a fan that walked round the corner to the ground, you all had that shared experience. You were feeling the atmosphere, the drama and the joy of Exeter’s return to the league whilst the armchair fans waited for Football First. Aren’t these long distance lovers jealous that we can experience our local team’s highs and lows every week in the flesh?

As an Exeter City fan I could take a liking to a Premiership side to liven up Match Of The Day. I could play as Arsenal on Football Manager long into the night. But at the end of the day I have a football team that give me a sense of belonging, that I’ve created bonds with and who’s history I feel I have played an active role in.

Those electric atmospheres, the demoralising defeats at some Non League outpost, the 6.30am bus to Carlisle. These are the sorts of experiences that define football supporters. I expect all bloggers can post all night about tales of epic journeys, unforgettable last minute celebrations and those wet, windy and miserable nights. Without any of these are you really a supporter at all? Aren’t you just a follower? Or an interested party?

You wouldn’t start a relationship with someone living 250 miles away with the intention of never visiting would you?! You might boast about it to your friends, they might give you regular updates of their lives but it wouldn’t be a real relationship at all would it?

Pete Evans

Comments

[Steve]

At the Champions League final in Paris two years ago (although i am a proud grecian, i am married to an arsenal supporter) i was sat next to some lads whose flag said "East Devon Gooners", it was very disturbing...

Also, we really can't get too rockist about this. Having been to more non-league grounds over the last five years than i ever thought possible, getting the kids in, even if they're in their Ronaldo/Fabregas/Torres shirts is the important thing. You can't expect them not to be impressed by the skills shown by these players and to idolise them, but it doesn't mean they can't support their local team as well...

[Oli]

Great article. The fans used to have a say in how their club was run as ultimately they were the customers. But if, for example, Manchester United (who took the words football club off the club crest) make more money from Sky, the Far East, preseason tours to Africa and merchandise, then what does the Stretford End mean any more?

United's customer is now a neutral watching on TV as much as it is a season ticket holder of 40 years. And that is reflected in everything the club does these days, including throwing the supporter's trust (with over 30,000 members) off the 'fan's forum'.

It is a sad reality of modern day football that many of the owners are in it for money, and that money can be found more from a tourist staying in the United hotel and going to the megastore on a once a season trip, than it can be from a regular lad in Salford who just wants a ticket alone. Our older chairman Martin Edwards famously told fans who had been priced out to stop moaning and watch the reserves instead, and that attitude set the tone for all that has followed.

The only way fans can have a say again is to own a stake in the clubs themselves. That is why Supporters Direct is succeeding, that is why its last Chief Exec is now a senior adviser to the government on sport, and that is why clubs like FC United are good for football. The United supporter's trust - MUST- has well over 30,000 members now who one day will own a stake in the club and have a say in who runs it and where the money it makes goes. Fans having a say can only be good for the future of the game, rather than now where the huge profits are taken our rather than re-invested in sport. Have a look at joinmust.org for more details...

[Scott the Red]

http://soccerlens.com/glory-fans-not-so-bad-afterall/9613/

[Scott]

Fair points, but surely the match-going hardcore are 'consumers' too.

This begins to sound like a romantic double-standard: if your team is unfashionable, your unswerving financial allegiance (replica strips and all) constitutes 'a real relationship', and you're an Authentic Fan. But if your team plays in the champions league, every penny you spend on being a 'long distance lover' taints your fandom, and makes you the prey of some sinister corporate shakedown.

Give us some credit: no-one (like me) who supports Man United from afar is under any illusions about experiencing 'real' fandom in some pure, unmediated way. But does anyone? No-one supporting a premier league team, nevermind a team with champions league ambitions, should kid themselves about what they're buying/supporting/consuming: a TV product. And a glorious one at that.