Can you 'grade' a fan ?

[Louder]

I know supporters may be reluctant to consider themselves a better or worse fan than the next man and will be more enclined to consider us all ' a family ' that stick together regardless of 'time served', 'money spent', 'miles travelled', ' birthplace in relation to Highbury' etc. This idealism is all well and good but could be considered ' rose-tinted' .
This may be a touchy subject but it does come up quite often on this forum with digs along the line of there being an Arsenal before AW ( refering to JCL's ), some fans only being happy with winning trophies while others are happy to blindly follow a managers' and boards 'project', and on the flip side, certain fans are happy that the club is financially sound while others crave silverware and constant glory.
I've followed Arsenal since I was 9 years old, in '86. Now I may be wrong but I think the immediate reaction from a fellow fan willl be 'pah ! since '86 ?', from others it may be ' fair play, that's a while! '. I'm guilty of this and surely I can't be the only one. So straight away I weigh-up whether or not I can hold my own in certain Gooner surroundings ( this is instinctive by the way, not pre-meditated, although I am quite competitive by nature ). There are the other factors that I consider when in the company of fellow Gooners, as I mentioned before, money spent, miles travelled to matches, how close to Highbury you live, as well as your membership status whether it be red, silver or you're a ST holder. I myself don't consider the amount of money one spends as a measure of a fan purely because some have money and some don't. But most of the other factors I do consider. If you are highbury born and bred I automaticaly experience a wave of jealousy and admiration due to the fact that it's where I wish I was born, so I really could say Arsenal were mine, ergo a highbury-born fan would take seniority over me, but this must also mean that anyone who was born further from Highbury than myself is junior to me ( as I said, this is instinctive ). Away fans:- I myself couldn't and wouldn't prioritise Arsenal over a lot of what I have in my life, which I assume away fans must do. I will go to a few matches a season, will buy the odd shirt ( for myself and kids ), slippers, calendar etc but away fans must drop everything in order to follow the team. for this reason, I consider most away fans to be further up the ladder than myself. There are other considerations I make that have only really come to light in recent years, particularly due to the ease with which us fans congregate on forums. For example, whether or not Arsenal win trophies I will always follow, without question. But I get the impression that all the while we don't win something, certain fans' nerves start to go and they become overly critical of all things arsenal.

To summarise, At the top of my Fan ladder is A Gooner in his/her more senior years, born in Highbury, follows the team home and away and doesn't care overly about silverware !!
Nearer the bottom in relation to myself ( and not PC at all, I warn you may annoy some forum members ), a younger Gooner that never went to Highbury, rarely goes to a match, holds anything less than a silver membership and lives more than 30 miles from the ground !

As much as this thread may be football non-PC, I'm being honest. For me there are definitely more and less worthy GOONERS.

Sorry to offend anyone ( we're all Gooners )

[xDAVEYx]

i signed on in 2002, used to be united (live in sussex see?) but arsenal looked set to dominate football for the decade. thought about chelsea when roman starting spunking roubles all over the game but changed my mind when we won the league at white hart lane in 2004. when mourinho came along i was all over that so really i shouldnt even be here... i should fuck off down the road...

toodles!

[highburyJD]

if only I was older (same age as you) I could be your quintessential superGooner
was born at Barts rather than Whittington (not sure if it even had a maternity ward) but:
lived in Islington all my life
follow the team home and away
waste loads of money confidently betting on us to win the league every year
have borderline idiotic blind faith in the manager

[QuartzGooner]

A fan of one day or a fan of one hundred years, whether born in Avenell Road or in Azerbaijan, both can and do speak out.

Older fans should have perspective, but that is no guarantee that they will be more pro Wenger than newer fans.

The one thing that makes a difference that money cannot buy, is growing up or moving into the same social or business circles as the players, and hearing certain things that evade the press.

The good thing about a Forum like this is no matter which one you are, if you talk rubbish or if you cannot back up your argument with facts and well put opinion, you are going to be dissected.

[marcengels]

A fan of one day or a fan of one hundred years, whether born in Avenell Road or in Azerbaijan, both can and do speak out.

Older fans should have perspective, but that is no guarantee that they will be more pro Wenger than newer fans.

The one thing that makes a difference that money cannot buy, is growing up or moving into the same social or business circles as the players, and hearing certain things that evade the press.

The good thing about a Forum like this is no matter which one you are, if you talk rubbish or if you cannot back up your argument with facts and well put opinion, you are going to be dissected.

Great or shit gooner Quartz, it was a simple question!

(Hope USMartin doesn't see this thread )

[LDB]

We, the undersigned, come from many backgrounds and nations. The main thing we have in common is we are all Gooners and we all love Arsenal Football Club.

[marcengels]

We, the undersigned, come from many backgrounds and nations. The main thing we have in common is we are all Gooners and we all love Arsenal Football Club.

Another shit one!

[Gooner_Sam]

Born at the Whittington... Check
Raised in Highbury... Check
spend every penny on Arsenal... Check
blind faith in Arsene... Check
Silver member.... Fuck. I'll be off down The Lane.Bye

[safcftm]

The argument about place of birth doesnt really hold up tbh. I see the point that someone born in Highbury takes "seniority" to someone born far away (or could take seniority, but then you have to consider family ties etc, you could be born in highbury then move away at 2 months old, whereas someone else might be born outside highbury but to parents who were born and raised in the area and who have passed on their love of AFC to their children)

Where the argument really falls down, imo, is where you state that being born in Highbury gives someone "seniority", but that as a result, anyone born further away from Highbury than yourself has "less seniority". I wouldnt say that is true at all. Yes someone from the area can be assumed, generally, to be more of a fan than someone born and raised in, say, Glasgow, but why would the person from Glasgow be seen as having more seniority than someone born in Aberdeen? They are both hundreds of miles from Highbury, both might well have no link to the place (parents, lived there when younger etc), so why should one be seen as more of a fan simply because they are a bit closer, but still miles away, to the area the club comes from? Is a fan from Sydney more of a fan than someone from Tazmania, it just doesnt make sense

For me, being from the area helps (either born and raised, or at least having parents from the area). Mainly though it is just down to how much people try to see the club. If you dont have much money, but still go whenever you can, and still always watch/ listen to games or even resort to just looking on teletext every five minutes when the team is playing, then you are more of a fan than someone who has plenty of money, but chooses only to go to when they feel like it

Also, history of supporting has to be taken into account. If you were going every week 10 years ago, but now have a family etc, then it is unfair to suggest some lad is a better fan because he can go more regularly to matches

Basically if the club is in your heart, and especially if through birth or family there is a reason for the club to be in your heart, then you are a fan. People who try to say "i'm a better fan" or "i care more because i go to more games" are generally attention seeking twats who are supporting more so they can say what great fans they are, rather than because they genuinely just want to watch their team. Don't bother classifying fans, if you love the club, and try to see them by whatever means you can whenever you can, then you are a fan, and thats all that should matter

[marcengels]

Born at the Whittington... Check
Raised in Highbury... Check
spend every penny on Arsenal... Check
blind faith in Arsene... Check
Silver member.... Fuck. I'll be off down The Lane.Bye

Bye bye GS , close the door on your way out...

[LDB]

Born at the Whittington... Check
Raised in Highbury... Check
spend every penny on Arsenal... Check
blind faith in Arsene... Check
Silver member.... Fuck. I'll be off down The Lane.Bye

That works out perfectly, you wont even need a membership as you can pick up all your tickets for the great spurs european adventure off general sale.

[Henry Norris 1913]

You can't help where your born or how old you are, what matters is that your arsenal through and through

[QuartzGooner]

Great or shit gooner Quartz, it was a simple question!

(Hope USMartin doesn't see this thread )

?

[I Hate Hleb]

Great posts from Quartz and safcftm.

[Gilles Grimandi]

I find this post really funny, I seldom often actually lol but the opening post and some of the replies genuily made me LOL.

For the record I was born and have lived at least 60 Miles from Islington ALL my life.

But at the last count I have attended over 1300 games.

Should I pack it all in now Louder? Have I wasted all this time and money for nothing?