Fans And Supporters

[SimplyRed]

Over the last few days, it has occured to me (as I'm sure it has occured to others in the past) that there might be two different types of people who follow City and, for that matter, any other club.

From the accusations and vitriol that pass between people on the forum - who follow the same team! - I wondered whether it had anything to do with the level of importance the club plays in an individual's daily life.

For want of a better definition, I will call the two factions 'fans' and 'supporters'.

I would say the 'fans' are nicely described by the term 'fans' because is short for 'fanatics' and that is exactly what they are.

Now, your typical 'fan' lives, eats and breathes BCFC and has the following characteristics:

* The club and its management can do no wrong.

* They follow the team all over the country whenever they can.

* They take days to get over bad results.

* They are very vocal in their support, especially during games.

* They become defensive over any criticism of the club.

* They are passionate about their colours, the badge and the team.

* They would most likely have a BCFC tattoo somewhere on their body.

* They tend to be young-ish people.

* They are always optimistic.

* Either a STH or would be if they could afford it.

Conversely, for your average supporter, the club has always been and always will be in their heart but not quite so high on their list of priorities for daily life:

* The club and management are fallible and are fair game for criticism if the club fail to deliver.

* They probably attend mainly home games with an occasional awayday.

* They feel angry after a bad result but the anger fades to philosophical reflection by the time they get up Sunday morning.

* They are very vocal in their support AND criticism of the club.

* They can't understand why 'fans' are so defensive of any criticism levelled at the club.

* They might occasionally wear colours, especially for a big game, but generally don't bother too much.

* They would never dream of having a BCFC tattoo anywhere.

* They tend to belong to a more mature age group.

* They're usually optimistic, but seem to worry more about the direction the club is heading.

* They're probably either a STH or someone who likes to pick and choose the games they watch.

So there you have it - each one a true and faithful follower of BCFC, but each having their own set of goals and rules.

So how close is either description to you?

Which sterotype are you?

I would place myself firmly in the 'Supporters' camp.

Do you agree or disagree with any of the characteristics?

Would you add others?

Over to you...

[The Man In Black]

But surely the group 'supporters' can be broken down even further - it's way to general to break it down into two simple categories.

For example, what about the 'manager from the stands' - the guy who will criticise the team whatever happens - the tactics, the substitutions, passing it in the wrong direction, when you're three goals up you should be five etc.

Plus you have people who criticise during the game compared to those who boo.

As for me:

• I see that the club is fallible
• Image of the club is important to me (such as the badge)
• I will defend the club against fans from higher clubs who think that lower league teams don't deserve to be supported or even exist (happens often)
• I do not go to every game religiously (in fact, I find it difficult to string two consecutive matches together for various reasons)
• I do criticise, but do not think that the ground is the best place for it. Even worse is people criticising players constantly throughout the match... especially for no apparent reason
• I am vocal during matches; I'll sing if chants are going (I don't start them though) but I don't join in with every single chant
• I think that seating has destroyed atmosphere (but don't go out of my way to flout the regulations
• I'm often optimistic, sometimes on the verge of being happy-clappy. But sometimes I do question the way the club is going. But then I don't see conspiracy theories everywhere
• Bad results annoy me but don't ruin my life (mind you, the play-off final last season did depress me for several days, jsut because it was such a let down)

[Red Sinjen]

I would agree but I would say a supporter of a club would have his/her football club as a higher priority than a fan so in essence swapping your two definitions around. A supporter by the very definition of the word is someone that tangibly does something to 'support' their club i.e. buys a season ticket or chants on the terraces away from home and also financially supports the club. A fan could just sit on his armchair and shout for Man U on the telly, he would be a fan but has not actually done anything to 'support' them i.e. financially.