What is a supporter?

[If wed only kept Howie.. 3]

Surely supporting a football club is an affair of the heart, not of the head?

I love my club and my support is unrequited.

I don''t support them more because we beat Man.Utd - just like I don''t support them less because we lose to Bournemouth.

They may disappoint me, or performances might make me angry - however I will always back them and I will ALWAYS want them to win (no hoping a loss will get a manager sacked or win me money).

I think that isn''t the way all "supporters" feel...

[Katie Borkins 1]

I agree with you.  The club owes us nothing, really.  We choose to support them.  It can be unrequited though I feel under the current ownership there is an appreciation and consideration for the fanbase which not every club has.

Sadly, I think there are some who see being a "supporter" as a competition of one-upmanship.  I have seen them criticise the behaviour of our supporters, both home and away, without attending matches themselves.  I have seen them attack the character of season ticket holders just because they hold a different view.  We don''t need plastic "supporters" who try to make it all about themselves; we need to keep our positive energy and support focused on the team and club.

[Barclay seats 4849 the 3rd 0]

Or anybody from the Lake District ?

[Lessingham Canary 108]

And i can criticise my club, but no one else can, never allowed !

[Mr Jenkins 0]

There is a mutation within the supporter genome, it''s not a happy story.

The mutant gene engenders a misguided belief of being a supporter, amongst it''s carriers, when in reality it actually corrupts the neurological pathways to make its host a compulsive critic of the kind it seeks to emulate.

Sadly this mutant is rarely able to comprehend the fallacy of its own existence.

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,220]

It is one of those things that you cannot really explain, for me supporting Norwich City is in my blood, it is part of me, but it does not define me.........

[TIL 1010 5,246]

[quote user="Darth Bor"]I agree with you.  The club owes us nothing, really.  We choose to support them.  It can be unrequited though I feel under the current ownership there is an appreciation and consideration for the fanbase which not every club has.

Sadly, I think there are some who see being a "supporter" as a competition of one-upmanship.  I have seen them criticise the behaviour of our supporters, both home and away, without attending matches themselves.  I have seen them attack the character of season ticket holders just because they hold a different view.  We don''t need plastic "supporters" who try to make it all about themselves; we need to keep our positive energy and support focused on the team and club.

[/quote]He will be along shortly once he spots this post Bor. [;)]

[Lessingham Canary 108]

Careful, this thread will be next to go !

[If wed only kept Howie.. 3]

Mr J...

is it my imagination.. that reminds me of Pontypool Changes Everything..?

[Mr Jenkins 0]

Well that''s a little extreme, certainly not espousing a cannabelistic

orgy. But there does seem to be a deepseated failure to comprehend how one is perceived and a desire to devalue those who one aspires to be.

[Since 1980 27]

A supporter pays to watch matches. A fan stays at home.

[C Goodenough 5]

One who buys a few shirts every couple of seasons. Wares it with pride pritty much anyway. Gets to a match when convenient and can get a ticket. One who never actually questions if they are a supporter cause they just are. Makes sure their kids do if they are into football.

[lake district canary 4,820]

Ok, what the heck, I''ll bite. A supporter of the club is anyone who has their football club in their blood, for whatever reason.  It can be literally anyone and it is more of a tie than marriage is - because if necessary you can divorce from your husband/wife but you can''t divorce from your football club. Anyone who says you can, is not a true supporter.   A true supporter will say what they think about their club, about other fans at the club or anything connected with that club, even if it upsets some people.  For example - if away fans shout "you don''t know what you''re doing" in a season where we are fighting for survival - they should be prepared to take some criticism for that, even if the person criticising is not at that match. If fans shout abuse or boo at one of our players before a match - they should be prepared to take some criticism for that, even if the person criticising is not at that match.  If those who use social media/forums to spread maliciousness and abuse in the name of our football club - then they should be prepared to take some criticism for that. Put simply, a real supporter puts the club first and themselves second, even if it causes upset to some precious egos in the process.    Supporters come in all shapes and sizes and you don''t judge their worth as a supporter because of how many matches they go to or not.  We are all supporters on here and many simply cannot get to many or in some cases any matches for many different reasons and trying to ostracise those who plainly only want what is best for the club and who are not afraid to speak out when they see/hear things they don''t like, is just close minded parochial gang style mobbism, more worthy of the mafia or the stasi than a friendly football club in the east of England.   Supporters who go every week are of course entitled to feel they have more credibility - but that moral high ground ends as soon as they bring the club into disrepute in any way - for example, if any of them boo, abuse one of our players, or start chanting negative rubbish in matches and situations where the opposite is needed.   Finally, (for now [;)] ) embrace all Norwich fans as the same as you are - we are all in it together whether we live on Riverside Rd or in Sydney Australia.  Every time I meet another Norwich fan I get a sense of real friendliness and a recognition of a common bond - that is what it is all about for me - supporters recognising each other and supporting a common hearfelt cause.Feel free to mock, ridicule this post as you will, it makes no odds to me, but if you are truly a real supporter I would be surprised if there is anything you could really disagree with there. But then, nothing really surprises me on here.....

[Yellowhammer 95]

A lot of fans would like to be a supporter but does not have enough income to attend every match ,but is still entitled to a view . I used to attend every match home and away but as prices went up am now now forced to choose just a few matches each season.

[Yellowhammer 95]

Totally agree with all said lake district

[morty 0]

[quote user="Mellow yellow 4 ever"]A supporter pays to watch matches. A fan stays at home.[/quote][Y]

[lake district canary 4,820]

[quote user="Mellow yellow 4 ever"]A supporter pays to watch matches. A fan stays at home.[/quote]That is way too simplistic. If you go to 37 matches a seasons out of 38, does that mean you are not a supporter for the one you missed?  If not, where do you draw the line.....20 matches a season?   15?  10?  What if you live in Australia and spend £5000 to see your club once is a season...is that person not a supporter because they''ve only been to one match? 

[Katie Borkins 1]

Supporting as an activity can only happen by those present during a match.

We are all fans, but supporters cheer the team on and give them confidence and belief during the game.

I have seen some of our fans criticise our home and away supporters from a distance, and I put this down to a combination of envy and Ignorance. Sadly it is those with the loudest online voices who have the least to say.

[Budapest Canary 154]

As football is a religion (an opium of the people if you wish) a supporter is a believer attached to a specific congregation. As it is with churches, some - for whetever reason - go less frequently than others, but keep the same faith nonetheless.

[Loyal Canary 0]

[quote user="Mellow yellow 4 ever"]A supporter pays to watch matches. A fan stays at home.[/quote]

Spot on and I would go further.

Anyone watching a game on an illegal stream depriving the club of their rightful income etc is no better than a thief

[lake district canary 4,820]

[quote user="Darth Bor"]Supporting as an activity can only happen by those present during a match.

We are all fans, but supporters cheer the team on and give them confidence and belief during the game.

I have seen some of our fans criticise our home and away supporters from a distance, and I put this down to a combination of envy and Ignorance. Sadly it is those with the loudest online voices who have the least to say.[/quote]

Soooo much wrong with that.  "Supporters cheer the team on and give them confidence and belief during the game"..............that does not always happen though, does it.  The games where the crowd is nervous or worried or simmering with anger and resentment (as in many games under Hughton) can have the opposite effect of "supporting".   Also, accusing people of envy and ignorance because they are criticising from a distance is flawed in the extreme, especially in these days of streams and radio commentaries where everything can be heard/seen.   If fans start acting up at times at matches and start with abuse at our players or get beligerent because things aren''t how they would like, then they have every reason to be criticised by anyone who hears or sees it.  Audio commentaries don''t lie, sometimes they need clarification (I''ve asked for that from those that were at matches on several occasions).   If  anyone online reports booing or things that have happened with fans during a match - then those things can be commented on by any interested party whether they were there or not.  As for your last sentence, imo the loudest voices on here tend to be those who can''t stand anyone away from the Carrow Road bubble daring to criticise anything - and those voices get extreme in their attempts to deconstruct those people''s persona and their opinions, regardless of whether they are any good or not.  We are all fans and we are all supporters.  You could call people who go to matches active supporters and those that don''t, just supporters. Then you are not making any dividng line between fans or creating divisions that are not there.  We may support a political party and may even be signed up members -  but we might not go to meetings, rallys etc etc, but we will still be considered supporters. We are all supporters. Get used to it.

[PurpleCanary 6,372]

[quote user="Mellow yellow 4 ever"]A supporter pays to watch matches. A fan stays at home.[/quote]I pay to watch matches and then decide to stay at home anyway. Not sure what that makes me - an eccentric millionaire perhaps. Or just not very bright.

[The Great Drinkell 51]

[quote user="morty"][quote user="Mellow yellow 4 ever"]A supporter pays to watch matches. A fan stays at home.[/quote][Y][/quote]

So where does this put a Man Utd Supporter/Fan with a Sky Subscription?

it just isn''t that simple

[Lessingham Canary 108]

According to the Oxford advanced learners dictionary;

A person who is actively interested in and wishes success for a particular sports team.

The key word is actively, otherwise a Fan / Plastic etc. ?

There are Man Utd supporters in Norwich who travel to OT as season ticket holders and miss very few matches.

[ron obvious 1,711]

"Supporting as an activity can only happen by those present during a match."

I tend to agree with this, except that attending is a necessary but not sufficient condition. Many ''supporters'' seem to do so in the same sense that Madame Defarge, knitting at the guillotine, supported the aristocracy.

[Mr Apples 1,406]

Support in whatever manner you choose, if you''re judged it''s just based on individually derived criteria and means nothing except to the person judging (and after all that''s just personal opinion).

 

Also, what happened to the Grefstad petition thread, wasn''t on-line last night so didn''t see what happened?

 

Apples 

[Lessingham Canary 108]

Also, what happened to the Grefstad petition thread, wasn''t on-line last night so didn''t see what happened?

Apples

No idea, though didn''t really think it would go as long as it did !

[Mr Apples 1,406]

Cheers LC, the last I saw Lapps was getting his popcorn ready (and that was when I had to leave).

 

Apples

[curious yellow 184]

It is about encouragement, telling somebody they can do it, even if you think they can''t. Positivity works wonders on players'' confidence which is their most important asset.

So you can be a supporter without going to the games, a true supporter will not boo or jump ship, or vote for POS for Carlo Nash.

Constructive criticism only.

[TIL 1010 5,246]

[quote user="Lord Nelson"][quote user="Mellow yellow 4 ever"]A supporter pays to watch matches. A fan stays at home.[/quote]

Spot on and I would go further.

Anyone watching a game on an illegal stream depriving the club of their rightful income etc is no better than a thief[/quote]What about those supporters who leave before the final whistle like some did at Bournemouth on Saturday hey Waveney ? [;)]