What is a ‘real’ football fan?

Chelsea
PodJockey David Chidgey looks into the psyche of a football supporter and
what makes a real fan.

On last week's Chelsea Football FanCast, Chidge
and Stu were joined by Mark Worrall, author of ‘One Man Went to Mow' and ‘Over
Land and Sea'. Mark has also founded a popular group called Gate 17,
representing the Chelsea fans who sit in that part of the Stamford Bridge
ground.

Mark's books brilliantly share with the reader what
it is like to follow Chelsea, most recently to far flung foreign fields in
Sofia, Prague, Bremen and Barcelona to name but a few. For many die hard old
school fans this is the benchmark for being a ‘real' fan.

The term ‘real'
fan has become quite an issue with the dominance of TV and the globalisation
and branding of the leading premiership clubs. Many of the ‘real' fans have been priced out of the
ground to be replaced by glory hunting Johnny Come Lately's who are there more
to be seen than for a dose of footballing therapy and a chance to exercise the
vocal chords! In fact, it has been said that whilst the armchair fan is now
calling the financial shots in the game, the average fan will now change
allegiance to their club 5 times in their lifetime. For ‘real' fans this is sacrilege!

But what is the reality? For many ‘old school' fans it meant following your
club as a short trousered snotty nosed kid, because it was the ‘local' team, even though they never won
anything, right through to adulthood when with a bit of luck circumstances may
have changed and a fair amount of success had come the clubs way.

In between, the addiction increased when attending
home matches, at first with the old man, and then as a teenager with your new ‘football' mates. This lead to a season
ticket and then ‘going away' with the
‘football' mates. A special breed who are closer than most mates, but for some
reason the acquaintance is restricted to the 9 months of the football season.
Exciting, alcohol fuelled, often hilarious adventures ensued.

The addiction to both club and mates is now complete
and you are set on a course which will no doubt cost you thousands of pounds
and a few relationships along the way. What can you expect for this? A huge
amount of pain and disappointment intermingled with unbridled joy by your team
beating a rival/playing beautiful football/winning a trophy/avoiding
relegation. Bottom line is you never know what you are going to get, so when
you get something good, enjoy it. It might not last!

Then of course there is the obsession; statistically
based on the whole. Who was the greatest player, who scored the best goal, how
many minutes into the match was it. Who managed the club in 1973 and so on? All
filed away in the noodle to be retrieved at crucial moments during pub based
banter.

Underlying all this is one word; passion. If being a
‘real' fan is about anything at all,
it is about passion. Passion for the game, the club, the fans, the culture, the
players, the ground, the mad characters that proliferate, the atmosphere, even
the smell of horseshit and hotdogs on a Saturday!

And this is the key. Not everyone has been able to
support their club since they were a ‘twitch
in the old mans nutsack'. Not everyone can live within 5 minutes walk of
the ground. Not everyone can display their love for the club with 15 tatoos or
body art as Becks would have it. But you can be as much of a ‘real' fan if you express your passion in
supporting your chosen club by understanding the culture of the club and the
people who support it. By singing the songs and diving headlong into the
terrace culture, by immersing yourself in the history of the club – even if you
can only watch the game in a bar in Indonesia or interact with fellow supporters
through websites like Football FanCast. But most of all by finding a likeminded
bunch of mates to share the journey, the passion, the highs, the lows, the
banter and insanity of what it means to follow your club, whether it be over
land, sea or from the armchair!

In the latest Chelsea Football FanCast,
Mark Worrall, Stu and Chidge touch on these themes and how clubs like Chelsea
have changed over the years, as well as finding out some of Mark's favourite things
Chelsea speaking. You know; the important stuff, like best Pubs and best songs
from the terrace! 

Click
Here to listen to the latest Chelsea FanCast – Enjoy the Show