Toinho Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 My ted talk. It is quite often hard for those living in England or with a very close link to towns and cities in England to fully understand, and I truly believe with good reason, that people abroad with no or little link support teams from England (often the premier league) with such passion and conviction. I grew up into a somewhat football family. Dad liked football, and as did my grandparents on both sides. Dad was a Chelsea fan, he was born in London. His dad an avid Spurs fan. On the other side of the family, Chelsea/Palace/Charlton were supported. I started playing and of course, United were incredibly successful when I was a child. Most my friends supported either them or Liverpool. I became obsessed with Manchester United. I'm talking watching any game I could at ungodly hours, posters on walls, magazine subscriptions, cards, and god knows what other merchandise. I even somehow got a shirt with signed names on from a family connection. I met Sir Bobby by chance when I was a young boy, still an incredible experience nearly 25 years later. However, as I got older, I felt distanced from the club (not just geographically lol), and I also became a really active fan of my local side Perth Glory. I would say over the past 9-10 years I have hardly followed or watched an EPL game. Apart from at bars every now and then. For quite a while now I have contemplated throwing my support behind a side I have always had a soft spot for, and whilst support is quite a loose term living so far away, I wanted a connection to English football again (I even purchased an Aldershot Town shirt years ago because some family lived not too far away lol), and I have decided that I want to follow this side I have a family connection to....Tottenham. I guess Big Ange helps a little too. So....is it too late to change your football team? Can you change your team? Have you changed your team? I mean, this isn't my FIRST team, that is and always will be (if we exist forever lol), Perth Glory, and would find it impossible to support anyone else here, but I guess a team from a different country..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted July 25 Administrator Share Posted July 25 Never too late but I guess it's not the done thing. Especially if you've invested years and years into supporting a side. But there's nothing stopping you from deciding what you want to do. You have your reasons! I don't think I could ever fully change my team; Leicester is what I grew up with and it's part of me. Have never changed who I support and not sure I ever will. Even with the way football is going I think it'd have to be a long process to eventually stop supporting them, and don't think I could ever get fully invested in a team like I have with them. As for teams from a different country, I'd say I follow a select bunch, as opposed to support. So those teams will come and go over periods of time in terms of who I avidly follow or feel connected to. I've noticed a lot of the time wherever I go on holiday I'll have a soft spot for for while after I've visited (I'm a sucker for a stadium tour ). Recently it's been Benfica, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Inter/AC Milan. There's also the nostalgia looking back on childhood when you perhaps first start watching, and there could be family connections for instance like you've mentioned that influence you. In terms of nostalgia, the 90s seemed a great time to follow football, and that inspired a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Coma+ Posted July 25 Subscriber Share Posted July 25 I change teams all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Viva la FCB+ Posted July 25 Subscriber Share Posted July 25 I dont think I could ever do it but I do have a handful of friends and family that have. I think all your reasons are valid and its what makes sense for you, thats all that really matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azeem Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Yes, a 9-10 year gap is basically like starting over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeKhrush Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 I would rather not watch football then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Tommy Posted July 26 Moderator Share Posted July 26 I mean it happened to me. I grew up as a Fortuna Düsseldorf fan, then lost interest in the sport altogether as a young teenager. Then I watched a few BVB games because Fredi Bobic played for them, and my friends were like "he supports BVB" and I was like "okay, I guess I do". But 10ish years ago my interest in Fortuna Düsseldorf came back. I visited a Fortuna game with friends, and while we were singing Düsseldorf songs in the stands like "Fortuna is my club, my heart belongs to Düsseldorf on the Rhine" I was like "hey...wait a minute... that is true." I never had a connection to the city of Dortmund, and was born and lived in Düsseldorf all my life (apart from a few months in England). I was even embarrassed to wear BVB gear around here haha. So yea, I would say I was rather misguided for a time. But I found my way back home. I really regret that I didn't support Fortuna at the time they were relegated to the 4th division. They played in the original small stadium, and the togetherness among the hardcore supporters must have been amazing. It is a shame that I missed that because I was a characterless glory hunting asshole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 20 hours ago, Coma said: I change teams all the time. Since Stan said he follows clubs from cities he's been to, does that mean you will be a Barcelona fan after visiting the city next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Culture Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 Yeah, of course you can. There’s this sort of belief in England that you can’t change your team but I find that to be nonsense, really. Maybe it’s because the team of my birthplace have not played higher than the seventh tier of English football (now playing in the tenth tier alongside clubs called FC Baresi and AS London) plus it’s one of those 60’s “new towns” so is a mix of fans from probably three traditionally big clubs locally and the usual Liverpool’s, United’s and with the younger ages, City. Family ties are all a bit mixed up for me as well, with both halves of my family being from the opposite end of the country, with one half not really big football fans, so I’ve never been that close to a traditional familial relationship with football and a football team. Perhaps that makes it easier to see things a little differently and that ties can’t ever be that solid for me given the circumstances I’ve grown up with and around geographically. As some will know, I stepped away from supporting club. I didn’t do it as a complete severing of ties and always expected I’d get that “itch” within weeks or, worst case, months but I just never did and the feelings and connection just subsided completely to the point now where they’re just another club and I have no feelings either way. That’s not to say I’ve jumped to somebody else. I’ve not really been bothered, again, probably because there aren’t any particular links (birthplace, current location, familial etc) to any one club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Coma+ Posted July 26 Subscriber Share Posted July 26 4 hours ago, Carnivore Chris said: Since Stan said he follows clubs from cities he's been to, does that mean you will be a Barcelona fan after visiting the city next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 On 25/07/2024 at 07:39, Toinho said: My ted talk. It is quite often hard for those living in England or with a very close link to towns and cities in England to fully understand, and I truly believe with good reason, that people abroad with no or little link support teams from England (often the premier league) with such passion and conviction. I grew up into a somewhat football family. Dad liked football, and as did my grandparents on both sides. Dad was a Chelsea fan, he was born in London. His dad an avid Spurs fan. On the other side of the family, Chelsea/Palace/Charlton were supported. I started playing and of course, United were incredibly successful when I was a child. Most my friends supported either them or Liverpool. I became obsessed with Manchester United. I'm talking watching any game I could at ungodly hours, posters on walls, magazine subscriptions, cards, and god knows what other merchandise. I even somehow got a shirt with signed names on from a family connection. I met Sir Bobby by chance when I was a young boy, still an incredible experience nearly 25 years later. However, as I got older, I felt distanced from the club (not just geographically lol), and I also became a really active fan of my local side Perth Glory. I would say over the past 9-10 years I have hardly followed or watched an EPL game. Apart from at bars every now and then. For quite a while now I have contemplated throwing my support behind a side I have always had a soft spot for, and whilst support is quite a loose term living so far away, I wanted a connection to English football again (I even purchased an Aldershot Town shirt years ago because some family lived not too far away lol), and I have decided that I want to follow this side I have a family connection to....Tottenham. I guess Big Ange helps a little too. So....is it too late to change your football team? Can you change your team? Have you changed your team? I mean, this isn't my FIRST team, that is and always will be (if we exist forever lol), Perth Glory, and would find it impossible to support anyone else here, but I guess a team from a different country..... The only person who should care is you, and teams do stupid shit all the time that alienates fans; like how Spurs right now are the most expensive team to follow in the UK. I watched Chelsea for like a decade now I can't stomach them at all, that club and what it does and has done makes me want to spew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted July 28 Subscriber Share Posted July 28 Before we emigrated to Australia in 1960 I was for some reason a Spurs man but never went to a game, my old man was a Hammers fan, fast forward to when we landed in Australia football, or soccer as they called it went out of the window and I started to watch Australian Rules Football and followed Carlton which I still do today. It was in Australia around 1970 that I started reading up on Man United when my old man would buy English papers to check up on his West Ham, fast forward again when I left Australia and landed in the UK I went to a United game and that was me supporting them ever since my army leaves in them days was making sure I watched a couple of United games. As I lived in Southend-On-Sea when I returned from Australia and have worked down there on and off over the years I always check on Southend scores Moving to Scotland I then took an interest in Glasgow Rangers and I am still a Ramgers man up here because their badge looks similar to Carlton in Australia, I always check on the Highland Club Wick scores too as I worked there for a while. I can't see any harm in watching and supporting other teams. I am not the type of person who would go to a game and get into any fights or whatever and as our son is a Liverpool and Hearts of Midlothian supporter I have brought him up the same way, go to a game and enjoy it whatever, win, lose or draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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