Unity in football?

[Chris]

I've just been speaking to a journalist who praised how 'united' we (Pride of Nottingham) appears to be, some interesting points was raised on how rivalry can be bitter and that in sport like football there isn't so much amnesty. This isn't quite the case, however as a community we do rise above the political stance and to a degree the pettiness that can be shown - yet outside it's not quite all that.

As most will be aware we helped pay respect to a fan who is sadly no longer with us, this drawn support from Grimsby fans who were simply amazing.

My question is: How do you feel about rivalry (even involving the same supporters base), do you feel football is naturally competitive? Also, how has things changed in recent years? Very curious to know and your views may help the said journalist finish his piece so be sure to join in (pretty please).

[Joe Jones]

It's about tribes isn't it? Allegiance to your tribe, disregarding of all other tribes, and outright hostility to local rivals over bragging rights and success in the same patch of land. But at the end of the day, it's a game. The players are, for the most part, mercenaries, the owners tend to be businessmen with little allegiance to the club (Alan Hardy seems to be one of an ever-decreasing breed of owners who are also fans)... to spill blood because someone else supports a different team, or engage in shows of pettiness which wouldn't be out of place in a primary school (I used to know someone whose father was a Derby fan and he refused to step foot in Nottingham because of Forest, even taking the long way round if he had to go through it to reach a certain destination), is just pathetic. Sure, support your team. Sure, engage in banter. Maybe even swear towards opposition fans or flick a V or something, but anything beyond that is just sad. Luckily the vast majority of fans in the game are fine.

[liampie]

no need for bitter rivalry and its nice when two teams can share common ground for the better.

think the culture now people think you have to be in a group or biased towards a certain section, away fans arent as bad it seems. it also winds me up when people use the word banter to be plain right offensive. i think besides this there is more unity within the sport.

[DangerousSausage]

I agree with the others really. Football is a passionate game - things can become heated and insults can fly. That's all part of the fun. But once the match is over, we're all just people who love football. And football would be a little dull without other teams to play against

Of course we all want our teams to win. But football fans also have a lot in common and many joint interests (safe standing, affordable ticket prices for example).

[Who r ya?? You Pies!!]

Liked mentioned above , it's tribal , to what length that goes is mainly dependent on other factors , when you get the deep hate between factions it's not really the football more things outside football that cause the deep divide , even hatred , the vast majority of football fans like and maybe enter into the light hearted banter , that makes the atmosphere at stadiums enjoyable , but when talking can share with maturity the others views on football and on much much more .

[Chris]

To a degree I understand cliques but inside football they aren't worth the time, there's no need to cut people off or threat anyone different. I think this is one of the key reasons as to why people who support football teams aren't truly 'united' within the sport.

Togetherness actually improves the vibe, not just inside stadiums but within the community as an whole.