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Replying To bruffgael:  "I think why so many support them is because they are anti- establishment."
It might be all a bit more straightforward. Kids attach to these teams at a certain age, if they're winning all round them.

You can nearly tell a person's age oftentimes, by what team they 'support'. If it's Leeds, you're over 70. If you're in your 50s or 60s, you're possibly a Liverpool fan. United's 'new' fans are probably pushing into their 30s and 40s now. There's probably a sprinkling of Chelsea fans in their 20s at this stage, while I'm sure there's a fair few Man City fans in the teenage and national school age groups currently.

Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 3498 - 17/05/2024 12:55:38    2545261

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Replying To Pope_Benedict:  "It might be all a bit more straightforward. Kids attach to these teams at a certain age, if they're winning all round them.

You can nearly tell a person's age oftentimes, by what team they 'support'. If it's Leeds, you're over 70. If you're in your 50s or 60s, you're possibly a Liverpool fan. United's 'new' fans are probably pushing into their 30s and 40s now. There's probably a sprinkling of Chelsea fans in their 20s at this stage, while I'm sure there's a fair few Man City fans in the teenage and national school age groups currently."
Ah yeah, I think you're right.

Just strange that Ireland didn't see an explosion of Glasgow Rangers fans following their dominance of the SPL in the 90s, yet when Liverpool dominated in the 70s and 80s, people were falling over themselves to follow them.

Both clubs from remarkably similar origins.

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5028 - 17/05/2024 15:21:40    2545295

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Replying To ForeverBlue2:  "And even more baffling that they would support Manchester Utd…. that's the equivalent of depressing yourself…!!!"
I don't support either club.

But it's not really baffling that a soccer fan would support Manchester united.
George Best was the sporting equivalent of the Beatles back in the 60s.
The Munich disaster garnered a lot of support for the team too.

There's nothing dark/sinister in United's history that success has compensated for - certainly nothing compared to Liverpool's.

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5028 - 17/05/2024 15:26:31    2545296

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "No, I'd include soap opera, rap, tabloids, etc, etc. Douglas Hyde was correct. The anglicisation of Ireland meant dragging us into an intellectual sewer."
Good to see you stay relevant to the century you live in Barney ;)

SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2400 - 17/05/2024 16:51:25    2545309

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Replying To Galway9801:  "Ah I don't agree with that at all saffron, I mean if you grew up in an area or spent time there, maybe had ancestry there I'd see why supporting their sports representatives would be natural,it's a healthy way of showing loyalty, but to have no attachment to it whatsoever?
Besides the live and let live mantra works both ways. People are perfectly entitled to find irish people supporting English teams silly,especially when that support sometimes resembles something akin to religious devotion."
Why is it that you can only have a geographical attachment to a club? It's like saying only people from Detroit are Eminem fans when he has a global fan base just like many football clubs. When I lived in Belfast, my local club was Linfield. It wasn't my duty to 'show my loyalty' to them every week when I had zero connection to them or interest in them ever. These passions usually start as a kid at school or from the influence of a parent or sibling and grows from there.

I agree that people are entitled to think what they want of Irish people supporting English clubs but I'm also entitled to call them silly for claiming some sort of armchair ownership of the same club. They are happy enough when it comes to having international superstars on their club's team sheet and wouldn't be too happy if they had to play all local lads when the rest of the division beats them by cricket scores into the lower leagues. So how serious are we meant to take the fickle mob's opinion on someone else's passions that frankly, is none of their business when it boils down to it.

SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2400 - 17/05/2024 17:40:44    2545313

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Replying To cavanman47:  "Ah yeah, I think you're right.

Just strange that Ireland didn't see an explosion of Glasgow Rangers fans following their dominance of the SPL in the 90s, yet when Liverpool dominated in the 70s and 80s, people were falling over themselves to follow them.

Both clubs from remarkably similar origins."
To be fair to Liverpool they seem to have lost their Orange Order connections much earlier. Where Rangers have never let go their sectarianism. By the time the 70's and 80's came around they were signing players like Kevin Keegan and Terry McDermott, you'd imagine from Catholic Irish ancestry. Dalglish had the Celtic connection. Then in the 80s they signed the likes of Ronnie Whelan and host of players who had Irish connections and who played for the ROI. That just would not happen at Rangers during the same period. You think of Alex Ferguson basically forced out of Rangers as a player because he married a Catholic woman. Would the same have happened at Liverpool?

MachaireConnacht (Roscommon) - Posts: 811 - 17/05/2024 17:44:44    2545314

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Replying To SaffronDon:  "Good to see you stay relevant to the century you live in Barney ;)"
Cardi B and Eastenders and overpaid barely literate soccer players are obviously the future.

I must catch up. .

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 2657 - 17/05/2024 18:50:26    2545320

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Replying To SaffronDon:  "All very "this one time at band camp" evidence there Barney. But do you look down your nose at ALL people with passions that don't align with your own or is it selective to soccer only?"
Mabey if Antrim people and residents of Ireland's second city were more engaged with their native games than the "premier league" circus you might have something to shout about.

tireoghainabu (Tyrone) - Posts: 278 - 17/05/2024 21:12:11    2545330

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