In today’s corporate world support is not what it one was when you were supporting your brother or sister in their local team. The true nature of support is supporting something that you are affiliated with, like the team your friends play in, or your villages’ football squad, or your universities rowing team. The true sense of support has been blown out of proportion when now it is success that attracts a large number of fans, hence why no matter how far away from Manchester you go there will always be a contingent of Man United supporters. Die hard fans claim to be ones that live within close proximity of a club, but in this day of professionalism these fanatics wouldn’t personally know a single player on the squad. So if there is no longer a relationship between supporter and club apart from geographical, there must be something that drives people to put such a commitment, both financial and physical, into a sports team.
Modern day football fans see supporting a top club as a way of being part of something big, it’s a community event done on a large scale which is almost tribal. In our period where large scale fights are few and far between we associate ourselves with the modern day clan to feel included or to belong. We wave flags and have banners on the terraces, chanting and singing, mimicking battle cries from centuries ago, although now the battle is fought between the players out on the pitch rather than in the stands. The cause of this modern day gathering to feel included in a similar way to a tribe could be the massive globalisation of the planet and the effect it has had on the community and sense of belonging. This hardcore supporting came about mostly after the Second World War, coinciding with mass immigration from the Caribbean, Africa and Asia; it could be that towns and cities became so multi cultural and diverse that a team was needed as a venue to gather with people of similar views on life. Nowadays background, race, culture or values don’t matter when conversing about the form of your team, this allows for a great melting pot where people from all walks come together to support their club, where no matter what heritage a person has they will always share in the medium that is their passion for a club.
In our world where the four corners are only hops on a jet away, it is important to remind oneself of their identity on the planet. Whether it be through a political party, affiliation with a music genre or supporter of a football team, these things contribute to the identity of a modern human, and in our cosmopolitan society we need to find ways to relate and find common ground with our fellow man, and what better way to do it while enjoying a magnificent sport.
