Personally I think if you are a fan you are a fan - whether that is after 1 day/week or year or even after going to one game. I ask because I saw an opinion that length of time is what makes a fan rather than other factors such as say passion etc. I see these sort of debates on other fan sites for other clubs - real v plastic or real v casual.
There is no time......IT'S IN YOUR BLOOD.
Well I'm on 70 years,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that'll do
I tend to agree length of time is a bigger factor than others such as passion.
Quote from: Fernhurst on August 02, 2021, 01:55:48 PM
Well I'm on 70 years,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that'll do
Only done 65 years of suffering so a baby compared to you Fernhurst. But as KoCheese says you're a fan from day one and should be treated as such.
No time factor.
I'd say you were a real fan if the idea of supporting someone else would seem impossible.
I could say I was no longer a Fulham fan, I could say I supported someone else, I could even buy a Crystal Palace season ticket (if I could afford it) but I would still, in reality, remain a Fulham fan.
Unless you've seen Haynes in his prime. Stood on the terraces in the pouring rain, socially distancing yourself from other fans (decades before you actually needed to) in the third division,watching us being beaten by Carlisle. It's not going to happen.
PS Pain suffering and heartbreak are key factors!
Quote from: I Ronic on August 02, 2021, 02:18:55 PM
Unless you've seen Haynes in his prime. Stood on the terraces in the pouring rain, socially distancing yourself from other fans (decades before you actually needed to) in the third division,watching us being beaten by Carlisle. It's not going to happen.
Aha, but watching us win at Carlisle was fantastic.
A real fan?
One that stays with the team when the going gets tough and stays tough.
Spends too much time thinking about the club and pointless things such as whether a goal was offside in a meaningless mid table end of season 0 0 draw.
A real fan stretches the patience of there family when the holiday/day out etc is re-arranged to accomodate a cup replay
A real fan speaks up when things are wrong and doesn't let the WUMs stop them.
a real fan knows we should be in the prem, it our rightful place and not say I prefer the championship just because we might be a bit more competitive, real fans aim for the sky and not accpept as a matter of course the poor management we have had these last few years.
Real fands think ian brnfoot dealt rory hammil a very bad hand and messed up a promising career.
real fans think kenny achampong was one of the greatest wastes of talent we ever had. natural ability but no sustained application.
Real fans write pointless messages like tis one.
Quote from: ALG01 on August 02, 2021, 02:57:42 PM
A real fan?
One that stays with the team when the going gets tough and stays tough.
Spends too much time thinking about the club and pointless things such as whether a goal was offside in a meaningless mid table end of season 0 0 draw.
A real fan stretches the patience of there family when the holiday/day out etc is re-arranged to accomodate a cup replay
A real fan speaks up when things are wrong and doesn't let the WUMs stop them.
a real fan knows we should be in the prem, it our rightful place and not say I prefer the championship just because we might be a bit more competitive, real fans aim for the sky and not accpept as a matter of course the poor management we have had these last few years.
Real fands think ian brnfoot dealt rory hammil a very bad hand and messed up a promising career.
real fans think kenny achampong was one of the greatest wastes of talent we ever had. natural ability but no sustained application.
Real fans write pointless messages like tis one.
Real fans reply :0) (or is that Real Madrid or Betis) ?
I've done about fifty years so I guess that's a reasonable amount of time. I think standing on the open terraces of the Putney end watching 0-0 draws against the likes of Port Vale or Crew Alexander in the piddling rain and still coming back for more qualifies you. Pretty much agree with the previous post....it's in your blood (Father, uncles, aunts, grandfather, all lived local and supported Fulham) and I have now passed that passion on to my eldest daughter.
Highs Carlisle away under Micky Adams light at the end of long dark tunnel.Losing at Swansea getting relegated to 4th div under sir ray loosealot,having a whip-round for team coach,during muddyman period sponsoring youth policy during muddyman,we grew from 3thousand to 4thousand gates.I salute us fans,who kept Fulham afloat.They are the real fans,even though people like Tony tries to derail us.
I am 68 years through thick, thin and thinner. My motto is 'FFC Forever Whatever'. 049:gif :54:
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Quote from: ALG01 on August 02, 2021, 02:57:42 PM
A real fan?
One that stays with the team when the going gets tough and stays tough.
Spends too much time thinking about the club and pointless things such as whether a goal was offside in a meaningless mid table end of season 0 0 draw.
A real fan stretches the patience of there family when the holiday/day out etc is re-arranged to accomodate a cup replay
A real fan speaks up when things are wrong and doesn't let the WUMs stop them.
a real fan knows we should be in the prem, it our rightful place and not say I prefer the championship just because we might be a bit more competitive, real fans aim for the sky and not accpept as a matter of course the poor management we have had these last few years.
Real fands think ian brnfoot dealt rory hammil a very bad hand and messed up a promising career.
real fans think kenny achampong was one of the greatest wastes of talent we ever had. natural ability but no sustained application.
Real fans write pointless messages like tis one.
Thinking about wasted talent, does anyone remember Michael Mison? We put him in a struggling team at too young an age and destroyed him. He had everything, built like Yaya Toure and as athletic, such a shame.
I have to admit, I grew up supporting Man Utd because that's what my family did. When I was older I started taking my young children to Fulham, because it was one of the few clubs I know where fans in general don't feel the need drop a c bomb or f bomb every 2 seconds or abuse away fans simply because they happen to support a different team (not in JH or riverside anyway) or call the ref a w##### all game. A decent proper family club.
The kids lost interest after 3 years and I fell in love with this underperforming championship side and found myself watching Charlton and Millwall away in nasty surroundings instead of Man Utd in the champions league!
Wouldn't change it and have enticed 3 others to buy season tickets. A 'new fan' that's created at least 3 other ST fans and has dragged god knows how many people to the cottage.
You're a real fan when it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks about your choice of being a fan.
For me, a real fan, is someone who feels an emotional connection to the club, and has a real passion, rather than how many years they have been supporting, or have had a season ticket.
But i do think there has been a change in how people 'support' a team today - hypercritical, especially of highly paid players, to whom they feel little connection, and intolerant of every poor performance or point dropped, with the level of player wages the answer to every plea of 'but they're only fallible human beings, just like us.'
And, to me, this says a lot about how we are today as a a society.
For me, supporting a club, means supporting them warts and all to a large extent. It's like your family (for most of us)- you are tolerant and forgiving of them, despite all their foibles, which may drive you mad on occasion.
But i suppose I am going down the road that I say i decry - of criticising other fans because they don't support the team in the same way that I do.
Let's just say that if you attend Fulham games regularly, or even occasionally, and want Fulham to win, or even if you just follow games online, wanting Fulham to win, for whatever reason, you're a real Fulham fan, and it doesn't matter how long this has been, or if you have a season ticket.
But I do think 'it's i your blood', by which i don't mean belonging to generations of family members supporting the club, which i don't myself, is quite a good definition of what I mean by being a fan.
I've known people, like my , brother - and we aren't related through blood, both being adopted - who though he's always been keen on on the game, and actually had, unsuccessful, youth trials for Fulham and Palace ( what i would have given to play for Fulham), just don't support a team in the way I do, just don't have that emotional connection.
My mate is another - goes to different games that mates support and who get him tickets, and has been with me to see Fulham, but just isn't the type to blindly support a team, just doesn't have that gene.
Some people are that type who are fans, have that emotional connection, will be sad if their team loses, and exhilarated if they win, and some people just aren't like that, it's not in their DNA.
Only 25 years for me. The marker of supporting a team is based on how you feel. For me it is when going to games defies logic and regardless of how poor the team can be you still care and support the team regardless and cant really sever the ties. God knows that as a fulham fan nothing is ever done straightforwardly and is never just as easy ride- under Al fayed we would more often than not be in a relegation scrap, minus the years of top 10 finishes mainly under roy (sanchez in particular was dire).. and the khan's ownership and our yo-yo status is exhausting when I can help but think if they had any genuine knowledge or interest in football we'd have gone up and stayed up years ago.
But every now and then a season, game or run of games or manager or players or team or Cup run make it worth it.
Roy hodgson and getting to the europa league final and seeing us miraculously beat Juve and shakhtar and hamburg etc, getting to cup semi finals, seeing players like duff, Murphy, berbatov, boa, van der saar, malbranque, Saha, babel and schurrle etc and then beating the big teams again and again.. the first time we beat Chelsea and the pitch was invaded and our first win at Wembley in the championship final with the white wall..
The wall of noise at hamburg in the europa league final and the community of season ticket holders near where we had ours etc. All add up.
Quote from: cmg on August 02, 2021, 02:08:45 PM
No time factor.
I'd say you were a real fan if the idea of supporting someone else would seem impossible.
This seems right to me.
Roland
Quote from: ianthailand on August 02, 2021, 03:47:53 PM
Quote from: ALG01 on August 02, 2021, 02:57:42 PM
A real fan?
One that stays with the team when the going gets tough and stays tough.
Spends too much time thinking about the club and pointless things such as whether a goal was offside in a meaningless mid table end of season 0 0 draw.
A real fan stretches the patience of there family when the holiday/day out etc is re-arranged to accomodate a cup replay
A real fan speaks up when things are wrong and doesn't let the WUMs stop them.
a real fan knows we should be in the prem, it our rightful place and not say I prefer the championship just because we might be a bit more competitive, real fans aim for the sky and not accpept as a matter of course the poor management we have had these last few years.
Real fands think ian brnfoot dealt rory hammil a very bad hand and messed up a promising career.
real fans think kenny achampong was one of the greatest wastes of talent we ever had. natural ability but no sustained application.
Real fans write pointless messages like tis one.
Thinking about wasted talent, does anyone remember Michael Mison? We put him in a struggling team at too young an age and destroyed him. He had everything, built like Yaya Toure and as athletic, such a shame.
I think you are right. But in the end you can have all the talent you want but without the proper application it will not happen. I remeber alec stock saying that bobby Moore, evemn at the end of his career would stay after to training to prefect any new little technique/skill they had been practising.. that is how you get to the top.
There is no time limit.....I spoke with a feller a few seasons back at a game and he had a season ticket but then also confessed he was an Arsenal season ticket holder and that was his team but he enjoyed watching football at the Cottage.
Personally I think the debate about a true fan is a bit daft. I've been following FFC since 1989 and have had a season ticket for 20. I didn't go to Carlisle, or Ashford, bizarrely I was unable to get to the home game v Juventus though I made it to Hamburg for the final. Although I have seen FFC at over 70 away grounds, for over 10 years I haven't done much by way of away games. I know there are supporters who go to pretty much every game, home and away, and I tip my hat to them. But I am afraid you cannot say the only "true fans" are those who attend all the games, home and away. There will be those who have followed the club for years and now, for whatever reason, do not get to games but who still have a special place for FFC in their hearts. Some day I (as will most of the people who post on this forum) will be one of those people that health and decrepitude prevents me from getting to games. I don't see these as any less "true" than those who attended the Autoglass Trophy preliminary round second leg at Torquay on a wet Tuesday in February.
And at the other end of the spectrum there are those just starting out on their love affair with FFC. Why should they not be seen as "true fans"? It's a curious debate which only ends up dividing us.
Quote from: Fernhurst on August 02, 2021, 01:55:48 PM
Well I'm on 70 years,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that'll do
I am on a similar time but have considered myself a fan since day one.
I'm on 63 years and I totally agree with OP if you're stung by it first game then that's it .
A minimum of three relegations and a cup defeat to a Div4 side.
As others say, 90 minutes plus added time.
71 years and although for nine of those years I played on Saturdays I was thinking about Fulham the whole time.
Brought up in Fulham in a mostly Chelsea supporting family our team have been in my blood from the first moment.
Quote from: cmg on August 02, 2021, 02:08:45 PM
No time factor.
I'd say you were a real fan if the idea of supporting someone else would seem impossible.
I could say I was no longer a Fulham fan, I could say I supported someone else, I could even buy a Crystal Palace season ticket (if I could afford it) but I would still, in reality, remain a Fulham fan.
This is the correct answer, perfectly capturing the essence of what it means to be a fan. It's like being a hostage at times with Fulham, mind!
I think once you make a conscious decision to support the club and it becomes ingrained in you to the point where a result will affect your mood for the next 24 hours or so, that's when you're really hooked. Doesn't matter if it takes 1 game or 100, football seems to be that sport where you make your bed and lie in it when it comes to supporting a team irrespective of good or bad things happening to them, something the plastics will never understand
42
Postponed my marriage for the 1975 Cup Final, and my love for Fulham has lasted longer than my marriage !!
When you would never wear another teams shirt, national team excluded.
Fulham are my team ,its not a matter of choice. Once you support a team,theres no going back and if you do your not a` true fan` , because for the `true fan` thats not an option.
Quote from: Holders on August 02, 2021, 06:33:55 PM
A minimum of three relegations and a cup defeat to a Div4 side.
Not too long then !
Quote from: Ludlow Richard on August 02, 2021, 05:04:29 PM
Personally I think the debate about a true fan is a bit daft. I've been following FFC since 1989 and have had a season ticket for 20. I didn't go to Carlisle, or Ashford, bizarrely I was unable to get to the home game v Juventus though I made it to Hamburg for the final. Although I have seen FFC at over 70 away grounds, for over 10 years I haven't done much by way of away games. I know there are supporters who go to pretty much every game, home and away, and I tip my hat to them. But I am afraid you cannot say the only "true fans" are those who attend all the games, home and away. There will be those who have followed the club for years and now, for whatever reason, do not get to games but who still have a special place for FFC in their hearts. Some day I (as will most of the people who post on this forum) will be one of those people that health and decrepitude prevents me from getting to games. I don't see these as any less "true" than those who attended the Autoglass Trophy preliminary round second leg at Torquay on a wet Tuesday in February.
And at the other end of the spectrum there are those just starting out on their love affair with FFC. Why should they not be seen as "true fans"? It's a curious debate which only ends up dividing us.
I agree with this.
Its not time sensitive, its not about where you were on what day and its not that you go watch them play every week home and away.
That just turns it into a pissing contest that some could never win.
Coming up to 75 years, does that qualify me?
It's inside you either have it or not.
Attending the club's lowest attended league match against Rotherham must be up there. I also attended the lowest ever home gate, which was a Freight Rover Equivalent game from the same period. Cannot remember the game or the gate, but have a recollection that it was at least half the gate of the Rotherham game. In my head I have the gate at under a 1000 but I could be barking.
Been going to games since I was 7 in 1974. Family-based insanity that started with my grandfather who lived in Fulham and saw his first game in 1915.
Quote from: Fernhurst on August 02, 2021, 01:55:48 PM
Well I'm on 70 years,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that'll do
Me plus that Fernhurst so a new qualifying level for the "youngsters."
When you can answer "craven cottage changing ends at half time depending on which way we're shooting" when rival's shout "where were you when you were sh1t".
Time is irrelevant due to different ages etc.
However I think loyalty and regular commitment despite results is key.
If you step into Craven Cottage and know you will never support any other team as much even if FFC end up in League Two, then I think even if it's your first time at the cottage then you are a true fan.
By comparison, I know many ManU fans that have followed them since 1991 and ready to leave after coming 2nd if they don't get a trophy soon.
No length of time matters, but everyone that supporter Fulham in the late eighties and early nineties is almost certainty a true fan, anyone else may or may not be.
Unless your ashes are on the pitch you are only a fair-weather supporter!
Quote from: Southdowns White on August 04, 2021, 07:49:10 AM
Unless your ashes are on the pitch you are only a fair-weather supporter!
Does pipe ash count?
There is always snobbery in the weirdest places. Even in listening to bands. It goes back since man first came upon the Earth and sait my snake is bigger than yours and I bet I can find a better apple.
I never understand it. My Dad was a Fulham supporter. I have been a supporter all my life. My family were fans. But that doesn't make me better than a kid going to his first match. Yes I have been to more games and can remember Haynes and Barrett and Cohen and Conway. However that counts for sod all. If you a fan then welcome and enjoy.
The only time I object is when fans scuttle from one club to the next.
We have too much snobbery in music and sport and many other things that cannot be mentioned. Sometimes reversed snobbery.
We are all going to end up in the same place. Just enjoy others who share the same enthusiasm for what you enjoy. Even if nobody enjoys my interest in thigh boots filled with custard. I am no snob about being the only one.
