If you've never seen your team play...

Post by **brazilianGOONER** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:19 pm

i really don't want to discuss if i'm a real fan or not, as this thread was made to have a dig at me. truth is, i don't give a shit about what people think of my love for the club. when i'm sad because of a loss, happy with a victory, broken because i spent my money on a new shirt, or spend the weekend reading books and watching videos about our history, it is my feelings on the table and i give a crap about what others think.

it's very easy to support the club a few miles from your home. it is very hard to work on the opening of the first supporters club of the club in the continent, have to pay extra credit card taxation for the online tv or the scarf you buy, and have to celebrate your victories alone without a buddy to hug and scream 'we are fucking awesome' while having a beer. it's frustrating, and the worst part is not being able to watch your heroes live. my dream was to watch my all-time hero dennis play in front of me, but the cost for that pleasure was always unreachable for my situation.

do those things make me more a supporter because of what i have to bear with, or less a supporter because i never even went to our stadium, i could not give less a fuck about it. the only thing i care about is how much emotion and joy supporting this team brings me, and no monoslop could never take that away from me, thank god.

Post by **flash gunner** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:42 pm

Good post BG somethings youve written really make me feel sad for you. You'll be over in Sept with any luck and then you can make some of your Arsenal dreams come true

Henry Norris 1913 · Post by **Henry Norris 1913** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:42 pm

great post BG

Post by **brazilianGOONER** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:53 pm

flash gunner wrote:Good post BG somethings youve written really make me feel sad for you. You'll be over in Sept with any luck and then you can make some of your Arsenal dreams come true

you bet i will mate!!! i managed to save the necessary money already, so the trip is now 100% sure. i'll be attending as many matches as i can buy tickets to during the month!!

greatgooner · Post by **greatgooner** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:58 pm

BG fantastic post fella, it made me feel how privileged i am to have been able to see my beloved Arse on a regular basis.
I stopped going a few years back after an awful performance against Chelski at Highbury. I made that choice through what at the time was probably more childish petulance than actual reason. I now regret giving up my season ticket and wish that i had been able to enjoy the highs and lows of the last few years.
I hope the Arse do you proud for your first time

corkbarry · Post by **corkbarry** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:59 pm

When you see tears streaming down your ten Year old sons face after a cup final defeat, you realize you are looking at a REAL fan. Even if he had never seen the Arsenal live.

Post by **brazilianGOONER** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:08 pm

greatgooner wrote:BG fantastic post fella, it made me feel how privileged i am to have been able to see my beloved Arse on a regular basis.
I stopped going a few years back after an awful performance against Chelski at Highbury. I made that choice through what at the time was probably more childish petulance than actual reason. I now regret giving up my season ticket and wish that i had been able to enjoy the highs and lows of the last few years.
I hope the Arse do you proud for your first time

amen, mate. but even a defeat on my first day will probably make it one of the happiest days of my life. i'm quite an electric fella, my first day at the grove will be quite massive, i'm sure.

it only makes me sad that i never got to go to highbury...

but i'm sure that seeing denilson, almunia and walcott in front of me for the first time will make up for that

LDB · Post by **LDB** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:11 pm

brazilianGOONER wrote:
greatgooner wrote:BG fantastic post fella, it made me feel how privileged i am to have been able to see my beloved Arse on a regular basis.
I stopped going a few years back after an awful performance against Chelski at Highbury. I made that choice through what at the time was probably more childish petulance than actual reason. I now regret giving up my season ticket and wish that i had been able to enjoy the highs and lows of the last few years.
I hope the Arse do you proud for your first time
amen, mate. but even a defeat on my first day will probably make it one of the happiest days of my life. i'm quite an electric fella, my first day at the grove will be quite massive, i'm sure.

it only makes me sad that i never got to go to highbury... but i'm sure that seeing denilson, almunia and walcott in front of me for the first time will make up for that

Well everyone should get to meet their heros at some point

Post by **REB** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:18 pm

corkbarry wrote:When you see tears streaming down your ten Year old sons face after a cup final defeat, you realize you are looking at a REAL fan. Even if he had never seen the Arsenal live.

corkbarry · Post by **corkbarry** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:18 pm

BG, at least when you go in Sept you wont end up like poor ram who had a match and flights cancelled because of bad weather

Can you imagine the happiness you will feel as you enter the Rocket,Phibbers,The Twelve Pins, Gunners and many more

franksav63 · Post by **franksav63** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:34 pm

eDub wrote:i've been supporting Arsenal since the early 90's, when match highlights began to be broadcast sporadically here in the States. most of my mates at the time supported Liverpool or ManU, but because they were all glory-hunting c*nts. i was drawn to the brand new Premier League because it was more exciting play than the Italian football that my father loved. and it was the play of a certain bloke by the name of Ian Wright that made me start supporting this club. the more i looked into the Arsenal, the more and more i felt drawn to it...

i live in the San Francisco area... 5,400 miles away from London. we are 8 hours behind, and most times my best mate & i watch the matches live, whether its on cable tv, via satellite or on an "illegal" stream (those mid-day kickoffs are the worse... 4:45am our time, and even then pints are consumed). he's a die-hard supporter... moreso than me. he has yet to miss a single Arsenal match since mid-last season (i know he'll see this as he is a regular visitor on this forum). we've also learned about the club's history from the writings of Hornby & Jon Spurling. does this make those of us who have been unable to make the pilgrimage to London any less of a supporter?

i've only been to London once (back in 1996, on vacation during the Euros), and made my way to Highbury alone as a teenager.. although i was not able to tour the grounds or watch a match, seeing the majestic art deco walls of that beautiful ground was more than enough for me to feel a connection with my club.

and don't get me wrong. i have nothing but admiration for those on this forum who saw greats like George & Radford play live... those who have supported the longer than i've been alive. those who remember times when the sport was just that, and not a business... i also admire those who can go to the Grove week in & week out, stand up and cheer on the club amidst fear that the gestapo will tell them to sit down and be quietâ€¦ but just because i can't be there inside the grounds with them does not make the defeats any less painful, the victories any less joyous... or the frustrations any less stressful.

i'll just end my long rant with this: my woman knows very well to know the score of the Arsenal match every week to know what mood i will be in for the next few days after...

Good post eDub, and welcome to the forum (if you haven't been welcomed before that is)

franksav63 · Post by **franksav63** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:35 pm

brazilianGOONER wrote:i really don't want to discuss if i'm a real fan or not, as this thread was made to have a dig at me. truth is, i don't give a shit about what people think of my love for the club. when i'm sad because of a loss, happy with a victory, broken because i spent my money on a new shirt, or spend the weekend reading books and watching videos about our history, it is my feelings on the table and i give a crap about what others think.

it's very easy to support the club a few miles from your home. it is very hard to work on the opening of the first supporters club of the club in the continent, have to pay extra credit card taxation for the online tv or the scarf you buy, and have to celebrate your victories alone without a buddy to hug and scream 'we are fucking awesome' while having a beer. it's frustrating, and the worst part is not being able to watch your heroes live. my dream was to watch my all-time hero dennis play in front of me, but the cost for that pleasure was always unreachable for my situation.

do those things make me more a supporter because of what i have to bear with, or less a supporter because i never even went to our stadium, i could not give less a fuck about it. the only thing i care about is how much emotion and joy supporting this team brings me, and no monoslop could never take that away from me, thank god.

Class B.G. I feel your pain, looking forward to seeing you when you're over here.

Kiwi Gooner · Post by **Kiwi Gooner** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:49 pm

brazilianGOONER wrote:i really don't want to discuss if i'm a real fan or not, as this thread was made to have a dig at me. truth is, i don't give a shit about what people think of my love for the club. when i'm sad because of a loss, happy with a victory, broken because i spent my money on a new shirt, or spend the weekend reading books and watching videos about our history, it is my feelings on the table and i give a crap about what others think.

it's very easy to support the club a few miles from your home. it is very hard to work on the opening of the first supporters club of the club in the continent, have to pay extra credit card taxation for the online tv or the scarf you buy, and have to celebrate your victories alone without a buddy to hug and scream 'we are fucking awesome' while having a beer. it's frustrating, and the worst part is not being able to watch your heroes live. my dream was to watch my all-time hero dennis play in front of me, but the cost for that pleasure was always unreachable for my situation.

do those things make me more a supporter because of what i have to bear with, or less a supporter because i never even went to our stadium, i could not give less a fuck about it. the only thing i care about is how much emotion and joy supporting this team brings me, and no monoslop could never take that away from me, thank god.

Top post BG.
Anyone that could start a thread like this doesn't understand what it is to be a football fan.
I grew up listening to Arsenal matches on the radio at 3am local time, so football to me was real "theatre of the mind" stuff.
The only live football on NZ television in the '70s was the FA Cup Final.
It took me 30 years to get to see Arsenal live (I posted a story on my pilgrimage here a while back), but everybody who knows me knows of my fierce love for Arsenal.
Geography is irrelevant.
It's the connection with the heart that makes you a fan.

Post by **g88ner** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:51 pm

franksav63 wrote:
brazilianGOONER wrote:i really don't want to discuss if i'm a real fan or not, as this thread was made to have a dig at me. truth is, i don't give a shit about what people think of my love for the club. when i'm sad because of a loss, happy with a victory, broken because i spent my money on a new shirt, or spend the weekend reading books and watching videos about our history, it is my feelings on the table and i give a crap about what others think.

it's very easy to support the club a few miles from your home. it is very hard to work on the opening of the first supporters club of the club in the continent, have to pay extra credit card taxation for the online tv or the scarf you buy, and have to celebrate your victories alone without a buddy to hug and scream 'we are fucking awesome' while having a beer. it's frustrating, and the worst part is not being able to watch your heroes live. my dream was to watch my all-time hero dennis play in front of me, but the cost for that pleasure was always unreachable for my situation.

do those things make me more a supporter because of what i have to bear with, or less a supporter because i never even went to our stadium, i could not give less a fuck about it. the only thing i care about is how much emotion and joy supporting this team brings me, and no monoslop could never take that away from me, thank god.

Class B.G. I feel your pain, looking forward to seeing you when you're over here.

Yep, top post BG!

Post by **brazilianGOONER** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:03 pm

Kiwi Gooner wrote: Geography is irrelevant.
It's the connection with the heart that makes you a fan.

mate, that sums it all up perfectly