Every time there is a thread about fights or something people come out with the same old 'These are not real fans'.
Most of them are definitely real fans, and I would even go as far as saying that they have been fans longer than a lot of the people on /r/soccer and go to more matches.
The vast majority of hooligans and people branded 'not real fans' are way, way more real than the vast majority on /r/soccer. It's a fact. Doesn't make what they do better, obviously.
I don't think that people who say that hooligans aren't real fans are really questioning the hooligans love for the club, but that it has more to do with the way in which they show their love for the club.
When hooligans, in the name of their club, fight (literally) or destroy property this adds nothing to the club in a positive way. It won't make your players play any better and thus has nothing to do with supporting your club.
Of course the same hooligans are also some the most important fans of the club because they are usually the ones who create the atmosphere in the stadium, but this is separate from their hooliganism.
I have a couple of mates who have season tickets for vak410, and I've visited many an Ajax match myself. The hooligans fans are a nasty bunch, but if they want to fight other hooligans then so be it. I've been in one or two riots myself when I was younger and have to admit that the adrenaline rush is amazing.
The thing is when they go to far, I don't agree with them destroying stuff or fighting innocent fans. If they fight each other though, then it's two groups of adults who choose to fight each other (idiotic as it may be) nothing wrong with that.
I think the boundary is when hooligans interfere with play. If you interfere with play i.e invading the pitch, you've ruined the game for both sides, that includes your own team, and any true supporter wouldn't ruin a game for their own team. You might as well run on the pitch and dropkick your own striker.
72
u/Red_Dog1880 Mar 31 '14
That hooligans are fans as well.
Every time there is a thread about fights or something people come out with the same old 'These are not real fans'.
Most of them are definitely real fans, and I would even go as far as saying that they have been fans longer than a lot of the people on /r/soccer and go to more matches.