Imagine for a minute that you just received a letter from a corporate recruiter congratulating you on a new position you’ve been selected for. It’s a dream job just miles away from your favorite Premier League club in England. Sure, it would be a massive life change, but the new company you’ll be working for will make the transition smooth by offering to pay all relocation fees as well as to help you find a home in your price range, and to ease you into life in the British Isles.
So far, so good, right?
The question I have for you is how would it change the way you’re a supporter of your favorite club?
Living wherever you do now in the world, it’s a comfortable relationship with your club. You look forward to watching the team play week after week on television. You buy a shirt of your favorite Premier League club. You may even save your money and go fly over to England once a year or so to see them in person.
But that relationship you have with your favorite club would change when you lived near their ground. But in what way?
For example, would you buy a season ticket? At Old Trafford, just as one example, Manchester United season ticket prices range from the equivalent of $777 to $1411 per season.
And would you travel around the country to watch your team play away, which could cost you a few more thousand dollars?
The choices are endless especially when you live closer. But one of the major impacts on your life could be the exorbitant cost it would now cost you to follow the favorite club.
In addition to that, there would be a host of other clubs in the area vying for your attention as well as clubs across the entire country who would welcome you through their turnstiles.
Would living closer to your team make you more of a supporter, or would you find yourself watching fewer games of your club because only a much smaller percentage of your team’s games are shown on television in the United Kingdom compared to where you live now?
Going to see your favorite team in person on a regular basis would be a luxury, but would it be a luxury you would be willing to pay on a regular basis, or would you watch most of the games (that were available) on television?
Please share your honest insight in the comments section below. I look forward to reading your responses.
Photo credit: Chrisjohnbeckett
Season tickets would be bought and paid for. I would cancel my cable subscription if I had to. I watch alot of football on tv and never seen Man Utd as much as I would like. If I had the opportunity to see United at Old Trafford on a weekly basis with the family in tow I would be chuffed to bits. I would travel to the away fixtures as much as possible, but if not it wouldn’t cost tuppence to see a lower league side instead.
I wouldn’t pay for season tickets to Old Trafford until the Glazer’s are out. I would instead be a traveling supporter. I would be a season ticket holder to FC Untiedof Manchester.
I’m not a United fan, but good on you for supporting FC United of Manchester.
Believe me, the amount of footie we get on TV here in Canada (via Setanta, Gol TV Canada, the Score and cough, cough Fox Sports World Canada) for the price involved would put UK footie to shame. I would try and get a shared pass for season tickets with some other people and go see Man U quite often.
However, I believe I would become more insular in my outlook on the game as when you are in the UK it is quite easy to not pay attention to other leagues (german, french, italian, spanish) and only focus on the Premier League.
Does such a thing (as a shared pass) exist in the UK though? I thought with all of the anti-hooligan security measures, you could only buy a ticket – especially at a big team like Manchester United – by giving them like a blood sample and a retinal scan to prove you’re not a hooligan. Maybe I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that things were much less like they are in the U.S. where tickets are pretty much interchangeable.
“….and cough, cough Fox Sports World Canada…”
Punk.
If I lived in London (which I intend to at some point, by the way), I would buy a season ticket at the Emirates. And if we were away to some crappy team or to Sunderland where I would have to travel a gazillion miles I would probably head down to Stonebridge Road and watch Ebsfleet United if they were at home.
Great article and an interesting thought.
I have a feeling I would become an active supporter of a lower league, non-Premier League club. I would still watch my favorite Premier League side on TV, but expensive ticket prices might lead me down the table somewhere. I see it being fun to follow the fortunes of a lower league team, knowing that kickoff was practically always at 3pm, or 7:45pm on weekdays. The possibility of giant-killing in cups becomes a real possibility. Coming from a situation where I have no real connection to my team, it should be relatively easy to pick up support for a team which is located geographically close to me (I mean, I started following Liverpool in 2002 because I knew the Beatles were from there…I didn’t even know about Everton, the fact that none of the Beatles supported Liverpool, and the fact that there were other teams in Merseyside and their environs).
In the USA we don’t get a whole lot of exposure to lower league English football on TV; the Premier League is, for the most part, the only game in town. However, I believe that living in the UK, especially close to a team, would change the equation for me dramatically.
I agree with Sasha on many points. I, too, am a Liverpool fan and don’t have much of a connection to the team (I started following last year because of the brilliant play of Gerrard and Torres – which seems so long ago after just watching the horrible loss to Wigan). I, too, would follow a smaller local team. It would be better to be able to bring my wife and kids to the matches regularly, be closer to the pitch and players and to have lower expectations than to pay more, go with only friends and expect to win all of the time. I would definitely go to Liverpool matches each year and follow them on TV, but it would be my local team matches that I would attend regularly.
Hey Ovalball,
Please don’t tell me that you are a fan of the corpse of a station known as Fox Sports World Canada…the home of hmm, no premier league games, no Champions League, no World Cup, syndicated crap talk shows that meet cancon requirements but diss footie, j-league and australian soccer (hmm, how many people do you think watch that) and about 10 -12 hours/day of the Fox Soccer report that magically meet can con as it is filmed in Winnipeg..other than that I think the channel is great.
Whoops. I missed the sarcasm….thought you were trying to rub it in.
Oh, and on the subject, I would probably be attracted to smaller venues where I could feel a little more connected in a smaller crowd. It sure would be nice being able to make the choice.
If you want to reply, just hit reply. It’s not hard.
I have done the same thing as MUFC1964 without perhaps giving it much thought. It’s not a crime….or worth a comment.
It’s impolite to people who don’t want to have to scroll up and down the page to follow the conversation. If there wasn’t the option to reply, then fine, but there is, so use it.
When I lived in London, I would get to 10 games a year at Upton Park. But I probably took in another 10 of lower level clubs. up The O’s.
The reality is that it would take probably years to acclimatise. I was there last year for about 10 days in March with a mate of mine and was fortunate enough to watch Bournemouth at Fitness First, Liverpool at Anfield against Madrid, Tranmere at Prenton Park, and Wolves at Molineux. My experience was absolutely incredible and I’ve made it a habit of going over there at least once a year for the football.
However, I’m from California and the mild weather really has an impact. I am absolutely mental about my football, but my pervading thoughts when I was there was how freaking cold it was. I was layered properly and had me bovril and ate a few pies but damn it was cold. That surprisingly made a difference.
As unbelievable as this may sound, I really enjoyed “watching” tele in England just as much. Soccer AM, Match of the Day, all the other local shows devoted to football I couldn’t get enough of. I’d literally sit in my mate Ian’s livingroom until one or two a.m. just watching coverage. It was so comprehensive and insightful that I almost was lulled into wanting to watch the game rather than go to it. But of course there is no feeling like being on the terraces. In all honesty, if I lived in Liverpool, I’d try to make it to as many games as I could but would probably end up at around 10-15.
You’re from California? Do you speak with British vernacular at home also? Do people understand you? Just curious.
yes, yes, and no. Fact of the matter is, I appreciate the British vernacular a bit too much and it unconsciously finds its way into my vocabulary. That, and I talk to my mates over there at least twice a week and my conversations are laden with British vernacular. I don’t even think about it anymore. I am a Superior Court judge and last week I found myself in open court using the term “chin wag” as in “Why don’t you two attorneys go outside, have a chin wag, and come back in when you’re done so we can get this case sorted.” My use of the word sorted also confused them.
innit
Interesting…..do you do the accent as well? Maybe just when you’re there? If so, which one?
It’s more Yosser Hughes in Boys from the Blackstuff. Doesn’t really work in court for some reason though.
M Garcia, great comment. I had a similar feeling too the last time I went to the UK. I walked through the rain on a cold wet night from Blackburn’s Ewood Park back to the train station and, while I enjoyed the game, I definitely see the appeal at staying at home with a nice hot cuppa and your feet curled up in front of the fire watching Match Of The Day.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Gaffer-
Great thought experiment. I have seen a healthy pile of games when I used to have to go to Europe on business, but that was easy. I was alone and without commitment on a Saturday afternoon. However, back in the States, my Saturday afternoons are anything but free. We have kids’ sports, school outings, barbeques, birthday parties and all sorts of things that require time and logistics. The idea that I can check out from the family from 1PM – 6PM on a Saturday on a regular basis to get to a game – well, that is probably not in the cards at this stage of life. That is what makes being a west coast soccer fan so convenient – my weekend fill of sports is usually ending just as the kids are waking up. I could see being a rabid fan in England for certain stages of life, but this period, which gives me no cause for complaint, probably would keep me at a 3-4 games per season kind of fan.
If I was being honest I don’t know how it would change me. My fear is that I could start to have the same cynical outlook I have towards American sports. The NFL with its air of self importance lost me many years ago. Being in America we’re insulated from a lot of the nonsense that goes along with the most popular sport in the country. I can only imagine the coverage over there of the whole John Terry issue. It must be nauseating by now. At least here I only hear about it when I go to specific soccer sites. Being semi-detached I have a childlike outlook on the sport. I try to read everything I can get my hands on. Since I didn’t grow up with it I am constantly learning about the history and other aspects of the sport. To top it off, when I do get the chance to see matches over in England I feel as I did when I was a kid going to my first baseball and football matches here. I’m afraid I could lose that if I was in the heart of it.
When I was a kid in the ’80s (when there was much less in the way of televised sports), my dad had season tickets to Penn State football. On home game Saturdays, we’d get up early, take the four hour trip west, enjoy the gameday atmosphere in town for a few hours, go to the game and come home. On away game Saturdays, we’d watch on TV if they were on and listen on the radio (called back then by George Paterno, Joe’s brother) if not.
If I could afford season tickets in a reasonable part of the ground (not, for example, the corner of the upper deck at the Emirates), I’d do something similar. Attend the home matches and away matches that were both (a) close and (b) affordable, and make do with TV/radio/live blogs for the rest.
If not, and there were a nearby Championship/League One/League Two side that had a decent history and seemed headed in the right direction (read: upper half of the table), I’d probably switch my allegiances. With the money I’d save, I could even go to more, and further away, away matches.
The dilemma then, of course, is what happens if and when that side is promoted to the Prem?
Id purchase a season ticket at Old Trafford (in an ideal world, and removing the aspect of the team ownership for the sake of the article). In general in moving from the US to Britain, the season ticket price even at bigger clubs is on the lower side when compared to season ticket prices for major american sports teams (compare the most expensive seat at Old Trafford to that at Giants stadium for the Giants, or MSG for the Knicks or Rangers). I’d also welcome the opportunity to travel to away matches for the little it costs to fly around Europe as compared with flying around the US for, well, anything really. As it is, the thousands of dollars is costs just to get me to Manchester, on top of the price I have to pay for a ticket (which depending on where I can get it from is at least as expensive as a decent seat at the Garden) makes me a bit more appreciative of the relative ease with which I can get a match on TV here.
Can I just say that if you’ve never been to an EPL match to see your chosen team play at home then you need to do it at least once before you die. I’d whole heartedly also recommend following your team to at least 1 away match with your fellow supporters all crammed into one end of the stadium – but for goodness sake make sure you’ve got tickets for for the same section as your fellow supporters or life can be…uncomfortable…for the 2 hours.
But, even then, the experience is Magical and it’ll take a while for the adrenalin levels to return to normal.
I’ve thought about this often. I’d love to say I would purchase a season ticket AND go to all the away matches. I think more realistically I would buy the season ticket and not go away. If I was only living over there for a fixed time I would use the weekends that Liverpool are away to take in matches at other grounds as money allows. If money were not at all an issue I would think about spending a season going to every match possible. I am sure after awhile I would begin to tire of the constant trekking to matches, even though it seems so enticing now.
hmm.. i have never been to england nor do i a plan to go anytime soon, so never experienced the EPL matchday drama.. i watch all Arsenal games on tele.. if i am at home, i will watch any EPL or Serie A games on FSC.. oh i have TWC and no FSC HD.. thanks ESPN2 for HD..
In a word – absolutely. I have been a Chelsea fan for quite some time, but I live in Southern Ohio and only could follow through the internet and when ESPN or FSN picks up a game. Assuming I had the money for season tickets and I lived nearby, I wouldn’t see that as any problem. I would be glad just to be able to listen to games on the radio. I do think that it may be a challenge to get season tickets worked out with a young child, but I honestly attend maybe 3-4 college level events a year and one pro event a year here in the States, so I could see making it to at least a game or two, which would be a higher level of support.
I cannot believe you’re being such pussies about the weather! I think it’ll have to be Canadians only then.
Who said anything about having to pay to watch your team over here? I’ve got a Stoke Season Ticket but have won TEN PAIRS of match tickets this season, most I’ve given away to mates who cannot afford to go.
I like the fact that a lot of you are open to trying lower league football as I think it’d be a good dose of what football is really like for most fans in England. Don’t forget that the big four teams are massively oversubscribed in terms of ST holders and their waiting lists can be huge, so that may be your only option.
Try listening to http://new.talksport.net/dart/Splash/Betfred_poker_20100803.htm if you fancy finding out what some of the coverage is like over here on the radio. Stan Collymore and Mark Saggars are pretty good but the rest are knobheads.
I think what draws you in more then anything is going to a game with a white hot atmosphere, having a cracking mental when you score, grinding out a result you’re not expected to get or hammering someone once in a while.
Away games are where it’s at in terms of dedication. Chelsea next month will cost me £50 to get in and probably the same same again in food drink and transport. Try doing that 19 times a season plus cup matches. On top of a £400 season ticket.
Now’s the time to buy your club training wear and strips, most are knocked down to half price ready for next seasons new stuff.
If you want to listen to live matches on the radio why don’t you sign up via the clubs official website? All sides have their local BBC Radio Station coverage relayed through the internet so long as you subscribe, it’s pretty cheap. Here’s Stoke’s as an example http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/player/BuyNow?WT.mc_id=14DayFreeHPT_B I’m pretty certain all other clubs have this facility.
This is the best website I can think of in terms of relaying the atmosphere of English League football and following the national team. There’s some cracking pictures of lower league grounds and the grounds teams used to play at such as Roker Park, The Victoria Ground and Highbury. http://www.homesoffootball.co.uk/
Sell the house, car, wife, kids, dog, get on a plane and live the dream. You don’t know what you’re missing!
“Sell the house, car, wife, kids, dog, get on a plane and live the dream. You don’t know what you’re missing!”
I was OK till you got to the dog. Deal killer.
You’d best hope that your missus doesn’t get on EPL Talk! I think dogs only stay in quarantine for 6 months.
6 months? Hmmm. Things are looking up….and no worries….”She who must be obeyed” just figured out how to read email.
Listening online is definitely an option. The biggest thing up until this year has been timing. I worked 50 hours a week at a job with no internet other than mobile internet, and that was sketchy at best. I also recently moved so I have no internet in my home yet, but have access all day while in my office at my new job, so there have been days when I have come in early, grabbed a bite to eat, and listened to a game online. Luckily, not a word has been said yet. Hopefully we can get the internet connected to our rural home soon.
I’d do it. Heck, I do it now! At least, as best I can.
I’m up in Seattle and am a proud member of the Rave Green Army. Yes, I sit in the Royal Broughm end and stand all 90 minutes. I even sing that god-awful song we’ve got. But my heart lies in Liverpool and wears blue.
Were I to move over there, I’d invest in the season ticket. Away games would be rare for me (too much going on in life to really sacrifice *every* weekend to the glorious game), but if they could happen they would. Especially for important/critical games (away to the Reds? Oh yes. Oh yes indeed). That’s something lacking in American sports due to the massive distance between major teams in my humble opinion; the away fan factor. Regardless, that’s another discussion.
Long story short: I’d buy the season tickets. But then, I’m proud of my owners and manager.
The away games are better if you’re young, free, and single. My friends and I used to travel to watch Preston away games and make a weekend of it. We would get a B&B, chuck all our stuff there and then hit the pubs. We would go to the game and cheer the team on and then go back to the B&B to get ready for a night on the town.
I would like to say that I did it for the fantastic talent that was on display but to be honest I did it for the fantastic times we had travelling round the country.
Going to watch those games live doesn’t appeal to me nowadays, I am a couch potato and prefer watching Premiership games on the TV, although I would love to go and watch England at the World Cup or the Euro’s one day, It’s one of those things on my list of things to do before i die.
great thought! If I could shell out the money for an Arsenal season ticket I think I would do it. Always wanted to be a part of that atmosphere. I also like the idea of following a lower league team as well. Just to go check out the different parks, and maybe see some upsets in Cup matches.
I’d love to travel if possible. Being from the U.S. a 6 hr drive would be nothing to go see Arsenal away at a cool stadium. Heck, I drive 8 hrs to watch Notre Dame in South Bend each fall (just once a year tho!)
If I lived anywhere in England, I would follow Fulham as closely as I could & travel as much as I could. If I lived near the Cottage…shiiiiit, I’d be in the Hammy End every single game and may even just sit in front of the stadium and stare in between games.
I live 45 minutes from South Bend and I still get insane chills every time I see Touch Down Jesus, the Golden Dome & Notre Dame Stadium. I imagine it would be about the same.
COME ON FULHAM!
No doubt would I be in the same boat. If I lived in or around London, I’d be at the cottage for the weekend games and try and hit up the away games in the area too. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t make enough money to live near Craven Cottage, but I guess I could dream a bit, eh?
I also imagine I’d get inexpensive (relatively) season tickets in the Hammersmith end.
I’ve done the same thing with my alma mater here in Fort Worth, TCU. My wife and I have season tickets for football and baseball games. I’m sure we would do the same thing if we lived in England.
COYW!!!!
Definitely would buy season ticket. Soccer is being covered better and better on television, but it is totally different in two respects at the actual event: (1) you can see the whole play develop. You can see every run being made by strikers outside of range; you can see which teams do and don’t use the full width, you can watch the player of your choice move off the ball, etc. (2) television does not do justice to the volume of the singing, nor the ability to understand what the fans are singing. It also doesn’t do justice to how they applaud the small things, like a great tackle, a strong effort in pressuring, or winning a corner. These types of things rarely happen in American sporting events and always bring a smile to my face.
I play soccer here in NYC in 20 degree (F) weather, so the cold doesn’t bother me!
Jason….nothing like South Bend in the fall!
Just watching Wigan Vs Liverpool, if any of you come over it’s got to be one of the easiest places to get tickets to an EPL match. You should search for Springfield Park on Google to see what their old ground used to look like. Just a grass bank behind one goal, and that was the 1990s!
Another great post/thought experiment. Over the past few years, I have been fortunate to make at least one trip a year to see football live. Seeing a live match has increased my appreciation and understanding of the game as a whole. There is so much you can see live that you can’t see on TV, as well as being able to take in the atmosphere.
If the scenario above presented itself, I would love to say that I’d buy a season ticket and most likely I would, however there is a flipside. I’m a huge sports fan generally, and while I would gain the great benefit of being able to see more football live, I’d miss out on the opportunity to see the other sports that I love here in the states, most notably, baseball and basketball. As a season ticket holder for the Sixers and Phillies (at different times), I would likely reallocate those funds to purchase a Man United season ticket (although with the prices quoted in the post, I may only get one United ticket where that kind of money would easily buy two season tickets for many US sports teams). The end result however, would put me in a situation where while enthusiastic about my new surroundings, I would have to root for the Phillies the way I support United, from a far – A half dozen in one hand, six in the other…
Fulham fan here. Living in England wouldn’t change the way I follow Fulham. I’d see more games live, that’s it. I wouldn’t purchase in the Hammy End either, but preferably in the Johnny Haynes stand and low, to get some camera time for people back home. I’m also not the rah rah type, so the more laid back part of Craven Cottage is where I need to be.
The problem would be if I was having to live somewhere other than London. I might feel compelled to follow whichever team I’m closest to.
“I might feel compelled to follow whichever team I’m closest to.”
As it should be.
Very true, but I don’t live in the small country of England, so I can follow whomever I please. Probably could still get away with being a Fulham fan even if I lived in Sunderland.
Of course but I have lived in England so I know the difference between living in the US and living in England
Those who have never been to a game of their “supporting team” are glory hunters anyway
How you can say you support a team and have never been to their city/country is laughable
“Those who have never been to a game of their “supporting team” are glory hunters anyway
How you can say you support a team and have never been to their city/country is laughabl”
Oh, please. Not this, again. **sigh**
Mea culpa, Jious. Mea culpa.
As you know, Chris, when the Fusion were here Sherrie and I went to every game the last two seasons. I’ve had season tickets to the Dolphins before and partials to the other teams in Florida. So I’d have to say if I lived within any sort of reasonable distance of St. James’ Park I’d be inside the stadium on match day if at all possible. And I’ve had season tickets for Penn State, so I think even after all this time I think I’d be able to deal with the cold.
As for away matches it’s hard to say – even though I’ve never done that here it would be significantly easier to do that in England. For example, the 8 road games for the Dolphins in 2009 would have taken you to the west coast once (San Diego), and the northeast 3 times. By contrast, the most difficult journey this season for Newcastle is to Plymouth (which SkySports recently moved to a Monday night, showing no sympathy for potential visiting supporters) which will cover 409 miles – other than a Jacksonville game and a Tampa preseason game, all Dolphin games were much farther.
Also, once you consider that the sporting landscape is, well, a bit different outside the US, I’d say that being able to concentrate solely on NUFC rather than 4-5 pro teams I’d be on hand in black and white as much as my job and financial situation would allow.
well, i’ve just returned to the states from london yesterday. i spent 16 hours plus on an airplane to go see my team (WHU) play an uninspired and flat game against bolton. all told, i probably spent close to a season ticket total just on seeing this one fixture. not being a supporter of one of the big four teams can make it more difficult to find good streams on my computer to watch their matches, so i often suffer through watching in languages that i can’t even tell what they are and video quality just this side of the moon landing.
in short, if i lived in london i would definitely pony up for season tickets. it would be too much of a temptation for me not to. i would also probably allow myself one or two traveling games a year as well as any derbies i could manage to get tickets to.
the one nice thing about living in the states for me is that i really enjoy watching these games in the morning. having a cup of coffee and watching in my pajamas has become a welcome ritual.
Steven, as a long suffering American Hammer fan, I feel your pain. (Bolton)
THough I have watched every single West Ham EPL game this season on FSC or setanta-i.com, all in English, all legitimate, no pirating. And now fs.tv will allow us to watch more of their matches live rather than many hours delayed.
david. true about fsc, though i never actually did the setana.i thing, 20 bucks PPV per match right? that seems a little steep, fortunately i live in chicago and we have a pub here which is great (the globe) where i can go and watch with some fellow hammers fans (most are ex-pats, though the pub itself seems to be a little more of a liverpool haven).
i wish there was some kind of directv type package (sort of like they have for the big sports here) where they show all of the fixtures on several dedicated channels, i’d pay big bucks for that. COYI!!!
Naaah, $20 PPV was years and years ago.
setanta-i.com and now foxsoccer.tv are much more like directv than PPV! You pay $15/month for fs.tv, and between that & ESPN you will get to see all 38 Hammers matches per year in a very good stream, legitimately. Based on the upgraded fs.tv, if you have ESPN2 & FSC on your TV, and fs.tv on your internet, you should get all 38 hammers games LIVE every year.
NFL Sunday ticket costs $315/yr I think. To watch 38 (rather than 16) Hammers games will cost you $150.
I should have said THIS PRESUMES THE HAMMERS STAY UP!
david. cheers for the info, i haven’t looked into it in a while. but that’s well worth it. we have a lot of other teams ineptitude to thank for not being rock bottom this year, i think we will stay up but a different year than this would have been a different story. this will all be a distant memory when we are playing in europe in a few years, right! haha. hope dies last.
Ok, I didn’t read every comment so if someone already touched on this…my apologies.
How does this work in the UK if you’re from Portsmouth, go to college, graduate, and then get a job offer in Birmingham. Do people in the UK not travel as far afield from their homes as we do in the States?
Here in the States I know plenty of folks who grew up in Chicago…but now live in LA…they still support Chicago and no one really questions it. There’s probably more of a problem if you’re from NYC or Boston and end up living in the other city (which is quite common) and lots of people give you shite, but it’s totally understood that you’ll always rep your home team.
So, does that just not happen in the UK…is it really that rare for people to grow up in Liverpool and then get a job in London or Birmingham or wherever?
“Here in the States I know plenty of folks who grew up in Chicago…but now live in LA…they still support Chicago and no one really questions it.”
Most proper football fans here wouldn’t question it, in fact you’d be admired for it.
What royally pisses us off though is the gloryhunters who rather than support their local team, for arguments sake Ipswich Town, but choose to support Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea or whoever is the flavour of the month. Within football circles in the UK they are truly despised, however it doesn’t stop the BBC employing DJ Spoony a born and bred cockney from supporting Liverpool to present their 606 show.
It truly is a serious thing in this country and whilst people might be nice to your face and talk things through about ‘your’ team they tend to laugh at your shallowness.
I’m realistic enough to say that people in my own city are guilty of this. Up until reaching the EPL Stoke’s attendances hovered between 14-17,000. Now I’d say we’re pretty much full to capacity, with over 20,000 season tickets sold. These same people couldn’t be arsed before and if we get relegated I’m sure the same people will disappear soon enough.