Originally: The fickleness of Naija fans

I have a question to ask the Naija based fans of the premiership.

Why are a lot of the fans very fickle? I have an inlaw who was a die hard Arsenal fan for years and even had an email address Arsenal_till_I_die, now the guy has turned to a Chelsea fan!!

I now know at least 3 other people who all of a sudden are now Chelsea fans and have abandoned thier former team.

Is this common in Naija? I told my brother that if I ever see him in a different top than Arsenal's I will personally kick his a$$!

This never ceases to amaze me.

I thought if you support a team, it should be for life.




GUNNERS 4 LIFE

I'm a "gunner" for life.

There are two football teams in London,

Arsenal and the others

I wonder why I din't notice this thread before...

Fickelness is common among most people wo watch the game, they are not fans, just suporters who are lured by the smell of success. It occurs not just in football, but in the other minor sports as well. So...

We will gun the,till de all die.gunners for life

We will gun them,till de all die.gunners for life

I can't accept that as being fickleness, it it some people will have passion for the winning team It is natural, when chelsea had no title we didn't have enough fans here in Nigeria only some who admirer there brother then [b]Babayaro[/b]I
Man Utd and Arsenal were able to gain fans then because they were the winning team then.

I welcome anyone who want to be a fans of Chelsea

dan you have a point, but if people do not remain loyal to a team if the going gets rough, then they aren't truly supporters, they are just success followers

I pray Portsmouth/Bolton win the premiership someday, hopefully twice in a row, most of our beloved NL fanatics will lose their fanatism overnight and give 'mouth-watering" excuses for changing clothes.

As for me, i'm wearing 888.com for as long as Yak is there, cup or no cup

that reminds me, there is another type of fan, that supports a team because of a certain player/players

i doubt if most Nigerian supporters of Bolton would ever have supported them if not for jay jay playing there.

@ Debo,

Is patriotism not better off? I won't sell my support for cups ( i mean trophies not "cups"

But for Man-U fans, most Chelsea/Bolton and Arsenal Fans are there cos of Nigerians except of course those who've been in the UK for over a decade.

Christino:

But for Man-U fans, most Chelsea/Bolton and Arsenal Fans are there because of Nigerians except of course those who've been in the UK for over a decade.

OR those who have been following football in england for over a decade, like my humble self.

I remember those days of 'Rothman's of Pall Mall Present : The English Premier League' ah the good ol days!!

The fact that some people dont see anything wrong in switching loyalties is crazy.I was telling someone that am sure he started supporting chelsea last year and he said what is wrong with that,nothing wrong in supporting a winning team.
I cant imagine supporting any other team apart from Manchester United and i have been doing that for 10years,i have soft spots for other clubs in europe because of some players but that doesnt mean i wld be supporting them.

LOL!!

and this my inlaw no even get shame.

how can a person who once used that kind of email address wake up one morning and start supporting Chelsea?

I no even fit follow the guy discuss football again becuase he don show a fdundamental flaw in his approach.

forza juve!

I have always been a die hard fan of Bayern Munich and many people wonder why but I hooked on to Bayern since the days of Football made in Germany and have stuck sice then.14 years and counting

People tend to switch their support to the 'team of the moment' but as the saying goes "Success brings many friends" so it is not really suprising, and i dont see so much wrong with it when even players too change their allegiance!!!I agree that the real fans are the ones that stich to a club through thick and thin.

Hi there Viera. Remember me?? Spurs?

The simple reason for the fickleness is that Most of the Naija fans follow the crowd. Come to Lagos, its just a fashion trend to support Arsenal, Chelsea or Man Utd. Liverpool hardly has support, but you'll find that most supporters of Liverpool are older guys that grew up watching the likes of Kenny Dalgish or Ian Rush play.

Its just a fashion trend for most of them. The Jerseys, the hype, the arguements. Its just fashionable. PERIOD.

When I get asked about the Premiership from anyone and I say my team is Tottenham Hotspur I get , what teams that? Yesterday, 2 guys were still talking abt the Arsenal /Man Utd match at a party I was at, and when I said I supported Tottenham, one Said: "Does anyone in Lagos support Tottenham"?

Lagos is all about following the Joneses, am not like that, There are still some true fans of those teams I admit, but in 'Gidi', its just the trend to try and be fashionable or trendy!

PS. Thats me in the Pic

its not olny nigerian fans its all over .
some people just like following the bandwagon
when barca won the ucl . .
they had so many fans it was crazy
people cant just make up their minds
nowadays everyone supports chelsea
they've started losin now
very soon . .you'll have them in arsenal

didoflex, that is why I will always have time for people like you who stick with thier team regardless.

I don't mind peeps supporting a team becuase they are good but please stick with them, not abandon them as soon as they are not playing so well!!

That is why English fans are much better. You will see a guy spending thousands following a team like Port Vale up and down the country.

He will be singing that his club is the best in the world and he will 100% mean it! True fans!!

In Nigeria my team was IICC (now CsCC or something) and I loved them even when they were crap becuase they were my home team!

Vieira, I guess we have more in common, IICC!!!!! Shooting Stars!!!!

That's my team although they got relegated AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, another thing that happens in Naija, when they talk abt an Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea match and you say "Oh, I missed that game moreover none of them are my teams" and you tell them to guess which team, they mention the ones they know, then mention Barca or Madrid!!! We are talking about the Premiership not La Liga!!! They forget that the Priemiership is made up of 20 teams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its irritating, almost illiterate!!

Up Shooting!

If onlyall fans were like Codec!
that guy is still a juve fan even after their relegation to serie B.

They're are not true fans brought up in the traditions of the clubs they're rooting for. If you are born and bred a fan of a club, you live and die with the club. I've not had the opportunity to follow soccer like I used to in my early years, but I remain a fan of Rangers International Football Club of Enugu till death. It's a tradition and way of life.

Mike Awoyinfa of the Sun Newspapers even said he used to be a GUNNER, but when Kanu was sold to WBA, he jumped Highbury fence to the bridge, to be a Chelsea fan

SirKay,

Tell me something?


This is unbelievable. I will make sure I yab him so much.
He has been putting himself forward as an "AUTHORITY"
in the Blues affairs.

Hmmm, na wa o.

Been A United for 15 years and will NEVER change, NO MATTER WHAT!

Mike Awoyinfa?? Authority as per blues' affairs? Lol, abeg make e go cdon make we see road!!

I really do not know what this humdrum is about

Human beings are fickle in nature, LIVE WITH IT

Ok let me give you an example, God created Adam, and Adam was so in love with God and the Animals, he had no cares in the world, running about naked with the goats and lions, Now when God gave Adam a woman in Eve, Can you guess what happened Yup!! you guessed it, Naked Adam jumped ship, he was no longer interested in Leo the Lion, and God Well God became a bore to him, i mean how do you relate with someone that created you (why do you think Parents and kids always have issues ) Well i guess you all know the end of that story.

Fact is with everything in life, Sports is no different. Most folks are not Fanatics of a particular club, but are fans or just basic supporters, and it could be for a variety of reasons, Either because one of their nationals is playing for the club, a la Jay jay with Bolton, or because of the style of play, a la peeps that support Barca or Arsenal, or it could just be because of the recent success/history of the Particular club, a la Chelsea or a Real madrid.

What ever the reason anyone has, everyone is entitled to his or her stance, thats why "the only thing constant in live is change", Not everyone can be a true supporter of a particular club, its not possible, thats why i was so pissed off with Eurphoria's rants about being born and bred in London, which gave her a right to be considered a true supporter of arsenal, i only kept quiet because she was a lady and the arguement didn't concern me. (still doesn't, i am only illustrating to make a point, before Madam gives me a piece of her mind , What do the say "HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE "

Fact is 60 percent of supporters of AFC are foriegners, Was the Emirate stadia built by Londoners D'oh!! Do you think only true North Londoners can even fill half of that stadia A club becomes popular and grows in strenght from its ability to increase its fan base, thats why there is always pressure for Arsenal to remain in the UEFA CL, that is why Chelsea and United have pre seaons in Country's as far away as America and Asia, they do this to get more fans, why did Real buy Beckham, becase they know he was an icon and so most of his fans would start supporting Real because of him, Sad truth, but still the truth.

I don't need to throw up my Arsenal credentials, but for the sake of arguement i will! I started supporting the club while i was in England studing, My cousin used to play in the Arsenal academy (didn't make it in the end ), (by the way, he was born and brought up in London, but not North london, so i guess he can't be a true fan right ) and also because at that time, (we are talking about 1988-89) Arsenal were the team that had a fair amount of black players, in Wrighty, Kevin Campbell, Micheal thomas and co, so it was natural being black and African to support Arsenal (My college was in Reading, so why didn't i support Reading FC ) To cut a long story short, since then my love for the club has grown, Even before anyone had heard of Arsene (i went through , Bruce Rioch, Stewart Houston and Pat Rice, before Arsene)

In those days before Arsene came, i can tell you that Spurs and to a little extent Chelsea had a huge fan base due to their mix of foreign stars and flair footie, but when Arsenal took over that mantle, The fan base increased, this just shows that folks love good football, and its all good. There was a time i used to get all wound up about this "I am a True Gooner stuff!!" Getting into fights with rival fans (or should i say, getting beaten up by rival fans, as we never won any of the fights ) But i have matured and realised that, these stuff are not a "do or die" issue for some folks as it might be for me, therefore i should respect their opinions. we all grip about Chelsea supporters being plastic, but hey!! thats the point, thats why they hired Peter kenyon, and Jose, not only to win trophies but to bring in new fans.

Being back in Nigeria working, I am still a paid up supporter of AFC, but that doesn't mean i should look down on someone that buys an "Aba made jersey", feeling like, the person has no idea about being an Arsenal supporter, that to me is just being childish. I remember i used to have this habit of correcting folks in Pubs and joints on Info, feeling smug with myself!! But then i realised that what i only ended up doing was looking like an "ITK" so now either i don't, or i do it with a better matured approach, cause you have no right to take away the joy of any fan, even if that fan is fickle or just a plastic supporter, let them enjoy supporting your club, cause during game time, there is no real joy than seeing 100s of strangers jumping, hugging  and screaming like children over a round ball being put into a net. So guys guess in one way or the other, we are all fans of football, not just our respective clubs or countries.  

GOONER 89

Hey!! does that mean loyika has changed a new leaf , HELL NO!! i am running over right now to the Manscum and Chelsea threads to give them hell By the way let me start with fidodido How sad it must be for you to support the Spuds Anyone but the Spuds , please it is never to late to change, Charlton look like they might stay up, you could support them .

Will put up two articles by Myles Palmer later that looks at this issue, its all good, Enjoy guys, and Oga V Hope our little warrior (your son) was screaming his head out on sunday oh!!i feel you bro, Me sef membership of AFC na criteria for any chic i go marry oh!! cause all my kids will be GOONERS, (i will even ask the Doc in the delivery room which team he supports, No Man united doc will give birth to my children )

Kit

E Pele oh sir!! Bola ni did i get it right

i dey give you work on your mobile, don't worry send the bill to me, i go pay for the time you dey spend to read my posts oh!!

Or better yet, send the bill to Bola, i go square am back wen i show for eko!! , Egbon B (i am on a roll now oh!!) ejo!! please take care of Kituan's mobile bill. e shei!!

GOONER 89

Good post Loyika, but I do not have an issue with how anyone becomes a fan.

My issue is with remaining a fan!

I cannot imagine supporting a club with passion for 2 years and then switch to another team and then start hoping for that team to beat the other team that used to be your passion!

People become fans of clubs for many reasons and honestly any reason is as valid as any other.

Some people feel a connection based on a club being their local club but it is also equally valid if love for a club comes from watcing them on TV and loving the style of play, or admiring one player so much and then falling in love with the whole team.

But to turn around a year later and then start having a go at the club while supporting the new fad in town leaves a bad taste.

A fan who has stuck through thick and thin with one club will not have much truck with a guy who has been an Arsenal4life a year ago and now is a Chelsea4life!!

I generally dismiss people like that and treat them as non-fans of clubs and just trend followers.

Fan stands for FANATIC.

so pick a team and stick with it, otherwise just call yourself a fan of football not a fan of a club.

Oga V

If footballers can now do this, a la Ashley Cole, then why can't supporters, people want to go to the reigning thing, thats life. Look at SWP, you would think with his Pops being an Arsenal legend, he would come here, but hell no!! he chose to sell his soul to the devil and the funny thing is, His pops even advised him not to come to Arsenal

Look at Tony Adams another legend, the guy has chosen to snub every arsenal event since he left, he wasn't at the closing ceremony at Highbury, He wasn't at dennis testimonial, He wasn't at the opening game at the emirates, he wasn't at Wenger's 10 years stuff, Does anyone even know if he still loves the club Thats just life. Folks can love something and then change over night. Its just like liking a chic and then a finer one comes along, Damn many guys will jump ship (Oga V i no go include you oh!! as you don marry and your wife go kill you if you even think about am )

Believe me if Accrington Stanley FC are ever promoted to the Prem, Boy i am leaving Arsenal immediately , no shaking about that

GOONER 89

That one na bad comparison o! Your club is closer than your wife o!

I would compare it to the love of a parent to a child jare!

No matter what foolishness your child does, you will still love him now.

(make my wife no see this post o!!)