AuthorJeffEyesRimmer A Plastic fan, it’s a term many of us will have heard and I'm sure numerous of you will have been called it as well. It’s a term that can often get the back up of supporters who consider themselves ‘true fans’. Well what is a plastic fan and what is a true fan? Is being plastic that bad? Plastic supporters are fans of clubs that are typically not based on any geographical or family ties and what we would call a glory supporter. They typically support a team that is currently very strong, aiming to win league titles and major honours, think Barcelona, PSG and Manchester City. They are often considered to be fake fans.
While ‘true’ fans see loyalty and having some link to the club they support being the greatest virtue a supporter can have. Historically this has been geography that has made you a true fan. If you lived in Plymouth then supporting Plymouth Argyle is the only right answer to the question ‘Who do you support?’ Any other answer would be seen as abhorrent in the eyes of a ‘true’ fan. I was surrounded by Liverpool, Manchester Utd and Arsenal fans growing up and as a very young lad I leaned towards Manchester Utd. Yes I admit it. I grew up at the beginning of the Premier League Era and the accessibility, marketing and increased volume of football on TV at the time made watching the big teams easy and so I understand that as children why you would pick a side that was heavily promoted and was winning. Kids love the winners after all. My father was a rugby fan and so didn't have a team for me to support, so ultimately when young I went for Utd, mainly because of Ryan Giggs and Mark Hughes playing for them (I am welsh after all). Additionally several friends did have family that supported the bigger teams, Liverpool being the big one, probably due to the 1980s being such a glory time for them. I suppose they would be considered plastic too. However, growing up through my teens and becoming an adult, my football views slowly changed and to be honest I would consider myself to lean towards the ‘true’ fan camp now, supporting my local team, Cardiff City, who were the closet team from my hometown, my family came from there and I went to University there. So it made sense to support them in my eyes and being able to go and watch live football at an affordable price was great. I would suspect that ‘true’ fans would consider me to also be a plastic supporter. Not that supporting Cardiff growing up I would consider being glory hunting mind, the Division 2 playoff victory being the only particular highlight in 2003. There are some that would consider me to a ‘Johnny come lately’, a fan that switched my allegiance even though I don’t think as a child I could have been held responsible for my actions. I have also moved to Australia and so going to a home game would be somewhat difficult but that’s beside the point. However, I think the lines between what true fans and plastic fans are have blurred, more so at the top of the game. Football has become a huge global business, billions of dollars slush around the world of football. Sponsorships and the much talked about TV deals have brought vast sums of cash to the game. With this clubs have become brands, everything is marketable, Jose Mourinho’s name being owned by Chelsea while he manages Man Utd being a perfect example of this. While it might be easy to knock this, I suspect the likes of West Brom, Derby and Millwall et al would love the global appeal of the Chelseas, Liverpools and Man Utds of this world. A global fan base that is actively pursued by teams travelling to play friendlies etc. to grow the ‘brand’ is now the norm. Man Utds local support in the UK alone is dwarfed by fans in Asian for instance; plastic fans the lot of them (apparently). The owners and clubs no longer see the fans as fans; they are consumers of football and hopefully the brands that align themselves with that particular football team. While lower down the pyramid attendances at games are important to the finances of the club, this is less the case in the top tier. Full grounds are not seen as great for bringing in the cash but rather for perception, for the TV crowd to see the stadium is full and quite simply it doesn't matter to the clubs if you are a ‘true’ fan or a plastic fan, if the grounds full then happy days. So as we have become consumers of football, is being what would be called a plastic fan a bad thing, can anyone be called ‘true’ fans or plastics any more? Football is no longer a sport really, long gone are the days that football was a working man’s game, played by and for the local people, Football is considered to be another form of global entertainment now and we are the consumers of that entertainment. And is it that bad to want to see entertaining football? Is demanding to see the best entertainment when so much more is available wrong? Football is expensive and so wanting value for money in an age where so much entertainment fights for our attention is a good question to ask. I can understand that some people when spending large amounts of money on watching football will want to see entertaining and free flowing football, teams that score plenty of goals and win often. And if they don’t I can understand why they would take their attention to another team that does provide the excitement they crave. Is it not better from them to watch football rather than going to watch another form of entertainment, maybe not even coming back to the game at all? I think I would prefer them switching and staying in the game than leaving it altogether even if I cannot imagine myself switching teams. It is also interesting to note that as fans you want your team to do well, to play great football and to win trophies, sign the best players and coaches and have a great stadium. Wanting success for the club you love and cheering them on to great achievements is what we all want to do. But the irony is that when success comes to the club (hopefully) then it is natural that the club expands beyond its traditional supporter base, to broaden its appeal and to try to continue the success. This brings fans from far and wide that then are looked down on with scorn by those that were there before the success occurred. But these new fans are essential to the clubs continued growth. And what of the children that see this new club doing well and choose to support them like some many of us did all those years ago? I'm sure Leicester won’t mind the added fan base they now and will have after the title win. There are plenty of issues in regards to the globalisation of football, corruption, racism, homophobia etc. being the main ones. I think I can deal with a few so called plastic fans and also the ‘true’ fans calling them out at football, we all enjoy the game and that is the main thing. So go support your local side and enjoy the football, you may end up supporting a side before they become really successful, although there will probably be someone there who would consider you a plastic. |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
Categories
All
|