Aston Villa v Manchester United Post-Match Thread

[glasses]

How come football still seems to be the only sport where fans can't sit next to each other without wanting to fight each other?

I wouldn't have wanted to fight him. But I'd also be pissed off that I'd bought tickets in a family section marked 'home fans only' and had a family of the opposition sat next to me celebrating. It's not what you paid for.

[Chris Smith]

How come football still seems to be the only sport where fans can't sit next to each other without wanting to fight each other?

No other sport is quite as tribal as football. It doesn't make it right but it is not comparing like with like.

[Dave Cooper please]

How come football still seems to be the only sport where fans can't sit next to each other without wanting to fight each other?

No other sport is quite as tribal as football. It doesn't make it right but it is not comparing like with like.

Not trying to, just sort of wondering out loud about why football has never managed to completely break away from such tribalism despite the gentrification of the game at the higher levels.
 Seeing people who you just know would be perfectly lovely and rational human beings in any other setting turn into foul-mouthed idiots when they see someone in a football ground who dares to support the opposition amuses me a lot.
 Some of these same people probably go to, say, cricket and will quite happily chat away to a fan of the other side no doubt, and would probably share a drink or two with any opposition fan in a pub watching a game on TV.

[Richard E]

Another factor is probably that as a general rule (granted there are exceptions) sports other than football do not tend to attract such large crowds in this country and in particular do not tend to have away followings.

[dave.woodhall]

How come football still seems to be the only sport where fans can't sit next to each other without wanting to fight each other?

I wouldn't have wanted to fight him. But I'd also be pissed off that I'd bought tickets in a family section marked 'home fans only' and had a family of the opposition sat next to me celebrating. It's not what you paid for.

But what would be so terrible about it?

[Dave Cooper please]

Another factor is probably that as a general rule (granted there are exceptions) sports other than football do not tend to attract such large crowds in this country and in particular do not tend to have away followings.

But as you say there are exceptions, and in general fans of those sports can mingle quite happily and even celebrate goals / points / wickets* (delete as applicable) in front of each other without it turning nasty. It's only football fans that don't seem to be able to get along.

I don't see the significance of the large away followings either, in the case which started this debate there were just three Man Utd fans who were singled out, two of them were kids under ten.

[hilts_coolerking]

He's only saying what we're all thinking.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30581143

[glasses]

How come football still seems to be the only sport where fans can't sit next to each other without wanting to fight each other?

I wouldn't have wanted to fight him. But I'd also be pissed off that I'd bought tickets in a family section marked 'home fans only' and had a family of the opposition sat next to me celebrating. It's not what you paid for.

But what would be so terrible about it?

How come football still seems to be the only sport where fans can't sit next to each other without wanting to fight each other?

I wouldn't have wanted to fight him. But I'd also be pissed off that I'd bought tickets in a family section marked 'home fans only' and had a family of the opposition sat next to me celebrating. It's not what you paid for.

But what would be so terrible about it?

It could ruin your experience of the game. And you'd be there next week, unlike the daytrippers.

[dave.woodhall]

How come football still seems to be the only sport where fans can't sit next to each other without wanting to fight each other?

I wouldn't have wanted to fight him. But I'd also be pissed off that I'd bought tickets in a family section marked 'home fans only' and had a family of the opposition sat next to me celebrating. It's not what you paid for.

But what would be so terrible about it?

How come football still seems to be the only sport where fans can't sit next to each other without wanting to fight each other?

I wouldn't have wanted to fight him. But I'd also be pissed off that I'd bought tickets in a family section marked 'home fans only' and had a family of the opposition sat next to me celebrating. It's not what you paid for.

But what would be so terrible about it?

It could ruin your experience of the game. And you'd be there next week, unlike the daytrippers.

How does it ruin it? I can never understand how being in proximity to someone who supports the other team can be such a traumatic experience.

[glasses]

Subjective, isn't it. It would irritate me, as it would others. I wouldn't be howling for their removal, but then wouldn't miss them either

[dave.woodhall]

I wouldn't miss them, but I can never understand why it is that people get so upset about having other supporters nearby. As I said earlier, the comment about being taught to be terrified is a good one.

[glasses]

I can see where you are coming from. There should be nothing to fear. I've pointed out I'd be in favour of a small area in the ground where families could all sit together, so long as everyone knew what they were signing up for. Like, a family section you could only buy tickets for children accompanied by an adult, booked by anyone who wants them. Home, away, neutral, whatever. It may be a start to addressing the fear factor, as people would gradually become used to it.

[dave.woodhall]

I can see where you are coming from. There should be nothing to fear. I've pointed out I'd be in favour of a small area in the ground where families could all sit together, so long as everyone knew what they were signing up for. Like, a family section you could only buy tickets for children accompanied by an adult, booked by anyone who wants them. Home, away, neutral, whatever. It may be a start to addressing the fear factor, as people would gradually become used to it.

Wasn't the idea that the family section would be like that? As Sir Graham once said, if we'd spent as much time bringing fans together as separating them none of this nonsense would happen.

[hilts_coolerking]

Wasn't the idea that the family section would be like that? As Sir Graham once said, if we'd spent as much time bringing fans together as separating them none of this nonsense would happen.

And he's exactly right.

[PeterWithesShin]

I would like to point out that it's not just football. Football is almost certainly the worst example of it but spend a while on youtube and you'll see plenty of videos of rival fans fighting at baseball, American football etc. It's a bit of a bugbear of mine that it's 'only' our football where there are problems when rival fans are near each other.