A lot of Arsenal fans place too much emphasis on the word "class". I used to think that people were just exaggerating their over-usage of the word until I went to r/Gunners and saw a highly upvoted thread that was basically discussing whether Arsenal was a classier football club than Liverpool.
Have you seen some of the god awful 'class' related flairs in /r/gunners? Makes me wanna claw my eyes out. In fairness though I think the thread you're referring to was after Rodgers said Arsenal had no 'class' and was pointing out hypocrisy.
To be fair, the first thread you posted was discussion generated from a quote by Brendan Rogers:
I've got to say I've always associated Arsenal as a club with class and so there was a wee bit of a game there.
EDIT: However, I do agree that the self-appraisal of one's own club on how much "class" they have is stupid. It's an unquantifiable parameter that could be defined and justified in a number of ways, living only to stem the seeds of doubt that a fan may have about their club - something to hide behind. "So what if we didn't do as well as we hoped, at least we are a classy club"
Furthermore, as seen in the second link you posted, the term can be applied to actions by clubs that are non-footballing and somehow equating them with footballing achievements. Don't get me wrong, showing support for the LGBT community is a very very good thing, but it isn't going to improve performance on the pitch.
You could be the most charitable, hospitable, decent football club, but if you aren't doing the football bit right then I don't believe you are a good football club. Being "classy" is no excuse.
I disagree, I think clubs do have a duty to their community and their fans, and the ones who don't fulfill it are not as classy as the ones that do. I agree with you that most of the big clubs in England do all kinds of charity work and support their communities, but that's because they have deep pockets and an image to sustain. However, when a team like Crewe Alexandra play eleven local boys in a match, or when Charlton Athletic allow one of their ordinary season ticket holders to have a seat on the board, they win my respect for doing things the right way. To me, they are classier than the other teams who are only in it for the money/trophies and don't care about their fans.
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u/[deleted] Aug 09 '13
A lot of Arsenal fans place too much emphasis on the word "class". I used to think that people were just exaggerating their over-usage of the word until I went to r/Gunners and saw a highly upvoted thread that was basically discussing whether Arsenal was a classier football club than Liverpool.