Could you go back to watching rubbish?

[Scrumpy]

When I first began watching Fulham we were pretty good. We had a good manager in Malcolm Macdonald and a great young team. However, within two years we were on our downward spiral into the bottom division. We had about 12 years of pretty rubbish football, before Micky Adams came along and began the great climb back. So 12 of my first 14 years were, well, crap. I didn't really know any better and, although it was frustrating at times, I just thought it was normal that professional sportsmen could not trap a ball instantly, pass with both feet, take a corner, train every day etc.

I used to chat to a couple of old fellas and they used to constantly moan about the standard of football on offer, always reminiscing about The Maestro, Leggat, Cohen etc. The Good Old Days! They also talked about their many mates who had fallen by the way-side as they struggled to watch 'their' team degenerate into what it had become. I just thought that they were looking back through rose-tinted specs. Now, I know what they meant. Having seen just how good the beautiful game can be, just how well MY team can play and how wonderful The Cottage looks when it is packed to the rafters for magical evening European games it would really break my heart to see us go backwards for years and years, dropping down into the lower reaches again. I think it's unlikely to happen, given the great foundations we now have. However, say we dropped back down to The Championship, got relegated and then bobbed around the bottom of Div 1 for a while before final relegation to the bottom Division again. My question to the young and old of the FOF forum is..

Would you still go?

[LBNo11]

...the second season I supported Fulham (by attending) we were relegated, the season after that - we were relegated, and I had to wait 32 years for us to get back into the top flight, arguably I have not watched a great deal of classy football since Fulham got into the premiership until Mr Hodgson came onto the scene.

So going back to watching rubbish will hold no fear for me, it is all part of supporting a club, the highs and lows, the cameraderie and hopes and fears. The chances are that one day we will drop out of the top flight, and I will still go to see the hapless players doing their best in a white shirt...

[HatterDon]

well, since I don't live in England, I won't go any less that's for sure. I have come to realize, however, that supporting Fulham is not like having a favorite pub or movie or comfortable pair of shoes. It sort of takes over several aspects of your life. I can't speak for the young folks who post here who only think of football as the Premier League, but I can tell you that I'll be Fulham until my toes curl up or until the earth rids itself of the human race -- whichever comes first.

[Chopper]

Absolutely agree with LBNo11.

In 2008 we were relegated. Down and out with no possible way of coming back. I accepted then that whatever happened was just a new chapter in our history. I know a miracle happened and we stayed up but that has made me bullet proof. I have no fear of relegation and all that it might bring. I'm enjoying every moment though of the wonderful team we've got now.

I had (almost) as much fun watching the team in the "bad" old days as I do now. 

[Rupert]

I fully expect us to return to a lower level sooner or later, been there, done it, will do it again. It is all about supporting your team through thick and thin, however appalling the "thin" turns out to be.
Put it this way, we currently hold one of only twenty slots available in the Premiership. Assuming that the "big 4" , plus a couple of others, are now so strong financially that they are only likely to be relegated if their ground is the subject of a direct hit from a meteor during a match, wiping out the board, players and supporters in one glorious blow (so long as we aren't the opposition, of course), in effect only a dozen or so "others" can be in the Premiership at any time.
So long as we are there I fully intend to enjoy it, when it is somebody else's turn, I hope I don't begrudge them their fun.

I'm two years behind LesB No 11 in my attendence, Dad first dragged me along the season after we got relegated from the First Division (as was), and when Supermac's team blew it in 1983, for a long time I was resigned to never seeing us in the top flight, So I suppose I am of the generation who regard our current situation as something beyond our wildest dreams, are pathetically grateful for any crumbs of glory that fall our way and who expect that Lady Luck or Fate or whatever other denizen of the Pantheon who controls this sort of thing will eventually tire of our presence and banish us to the wilderness.

As the saying goes, Fulham till I die. In my case it is literally true.

[ron]

Saying you could walk away if things got bad again fails to take into account that your club chooses you, rather than it being the other way round. I'm a third generation White, but for those who have no family connection with the club there would still have been a spark ignited in you by an aspect of FFC that captured you for good.

By the way, I think the old saying "Don't spoil today's sunshine with tomorrow's clouds" rings very true here and now. These are wonderful times for we band of brothers (and sisters!)  :clap_hands:   COYSW !

[CorkedHat]

I grew up on a diet of Stapleton, Lampe, Stratton, Smith, Cronin, Edwards, Pavitt, Chenhall et al
To pay good money to see these blokes took a lot of commitment and even if a certain player wearing number 10 hadn't come to lift the gloom in 1952 I would have still turned up week after week.
If I didn't support Fulham who would have I supported? The same applies today. Premier League or Conference you will still hear some old codger wallowing in the back of beyond shouting COME ON YOU WHITES :clap_hands:

[jarv]

The team you become attached to and support, usually when a yong boy, is absolutely non transferable. Once there, you are stuck with it. I agree with LB. I started at Fulham in 1960. Long story but really cemented my support in the 70s. A diet of division 2 football and it was pretty bloody good. I had moved back to the area (Putney). I could walk to the ground, the cottage was never out fo sight from my favourite pub, the Dukes head, just across the river.
I used to play football every saturday but would never miss a home game when I did not have the conflict and midweek games were a permanent fixture for me.

Fulham may not be in the premier league for ever (I, incorrectly predicted to my mates 4 years when they went up) but at least they should be what they have been for a lot of their history, a decent 2nd division team if they ever do drop.

[TonyGilroy]

I stuck with it throughout the lean years but it was like a duty visit to a terminally ill relative.

I went every two weeks because I thought I should, didn't really resent it, sometimes the visit brought back memories of better times and I knew that someone had to keep visiting if only so that the patient knew that he hadn't been forgotten.

I didn't look forward to the visits and largely put the patient out of my mind between games.

(metaphores getting mixed)

I'd keep going if we crashed through the Leagues but less often and you can be sure that sites like these would become the home of a very small number of diehards.

These days admitting that you're a Fulham supporter invites real interest. If we crashed down the Leagues we'd go back to the days when the response was usually incredulous stares or, surprisingly often, stories of enjoying going to Fulham years ago but no thought of doing so now.

[blingo]

I personally will NEVER change my colours. Fuham born and bred and will remain so until I die.

[Abbotsbury White]

Like others it would not make no difference to me,I enjoy the prem dont get me wrong but it's not the be all ,I like the fact that I can recite the names of grounds of teams their nicknames etc in the lower leagues this is because of the times we were down there it keeps you grounded,ask a Man U,Arsenal,Chelsea etc  fan to name plymouths ground,their nickname I bet 99% wouldnt be able to beacause they never look outside the Ivory Towers of the premiership.Also I would look at some of the benefits,cheaper tickets,more games on a Saturday chance to win the league(yep every season I used to think we would!!).
One thing is for sure our away support wouldn't be any worse :clap_hands: :clap_hands:

[Lighthouse]

Agree with whats been said. I can tell you the first time I saw Fulham away, the first time at home. The feeling, the people around me, the excitement. I can also tell you about awful games and sad days. Fulham Flu on a Monday Morning and tearful joy. I could bore you with tales of broken relationships. when Fulham at home to Chesterfield was more important than sorting a problem out with a relationship. It all seemed so important then. Still does.

Can't remember the first time I went to work very clearly. Or the first time of many other things. Fulham in the lower leagues would just mean cheaper tickets and more room. Being  in the Prem for so long is simply beyond words. The stupid pride I feel is no sensical. But when you are a fan or supporter of Fulham. It becomes a state of being, part of every day thought process. Could I go back to watching rubbish? Did I tell you about the time I saw Brian Dear and thought he was really good...

[Vinnieffc]

I started following the Whites in the MacDonald era but as we tumbled down the leagues my main memories are mainly of mediocrity with the odd good result thrown in. To be honest, average or below was the norm but you just accepted it. So if the bubble does burst I'll still be here but enjoying the ride whilst I can.

[Scrumpy]

I stuck with it throughout the lean years but it was like a duty visit to a terminally ill relative.

I went every two weeks because I thought I should, didn't really resent it, sometimes the visit brought back memories of better times and I knew that someone had to keep visiting if only so that the patient knew that he hadn't been forgotten.

I didn't look forward to the visits and largely put the patient out of my mind between games.

(metaphores getting mixed)

I'd keep going if we crashed through the Leagues but less often and you can be sure that sites like these would become the home of a very small number of diehards.

These days admitting that you're a Fulham supporter invites real interest. If we crashed down the Leagues we'd go back to the days when the response was usually incredulous stares or, surprisingly often, stories of enjoying going to Fulham years ago but no thought of doing so now.

Summed up perfectly for me. Yes, we would all be there supporting the team, but maybe we would just miss a few home games, and go to a few less away games. The crowds WOULD reduce, so some fans would lapse somewhere along the line. I imagine it would be a nightmare to follow the team from abroad, if we weren't in the Premiership. Do they show Championship matches in Oz or The States?

[White Noise]

I stuck with it throughout the lean years but it was like a duty visit to a terminally ill relative.

I can see the sense in that analogy. Occassionally you see a rally in the patient and a spurt of something like their old selves and a little bit of hope and optimism creeps in. You reflect on the good times you have shared in the past and that a miracle cure may come along or, at the very least, a good young doctor with a feel for your relative's condition who can revive them for a spell and make their suffering less. Other than that, the nurses are mostly very nice and make a good cup of tea, you build up a rapport with other visitors over time and it gets you out of the house and doing something different.

[Jimpav]

I can't lay claim to standing on rain soaked terraces with the other man and his dog during the dark ages but I certainly watched my fair share of dross under Coleman and the brief reign of Sanchez to appreciate the rennaisance we are currently experiencing.

If we were to plummet through the divisions or revert back to a more familiar style of play I would still be here because to me Fulham is not about beautiful football and trophy hunting it's about walking through Bishops Park, good natured banter with away fans in the Crabtree beer garden, the bustle of Stevenage Road on matchday, getting sunburnt on a late August afternoon or freezing to death in the middle of winter, hugging a random stranger, lazy Sunday afternoon drinks  in before a match, lazy Sunday afternoons drinking before the match, reading the program on the train home, placing a cheeky bet on the first scorer, giving my Granny a call after the match, watching the sunset over the river, breaking into song with thousands of others, week kick off, getting texts from my Father in law when we've had a big result, crossing Putney Bridge in a river of black and white, it's about being part of something, belonging, being Fulham.

[The Equalizer]

My first game was our Milk Cup defeat against Chelsea in 1985. We were, for want of a better word, absolutely pony! But I loved the ground, the fans, the characters on the pitch, the whole schmeer.
When we got beaten 10-0 by Liverpool in '86, there were only 3 Fulham supporters in my school. My friend Si and the headmaster. We were the butt of everyone's jokes (them mostly Chelsea and Liverpool supporters), but we didn't care. We were Fulham and went to games regularly, none of them had even see Liverpool play before!

I will continue to support this wonderful club for the rest of my days whatever the weather, the league, the manager, the results.

[Tonywa]

I've been hooked ever since my dad first brought me to the Cottage as a kid in 1962.  I've ben through it all since, spent years travelling up and down motorways watching us get beaten week after week by the likes of  Mansfield and Lincoln.  Although the football was awful in the days of lower division struggle the regular supporters built a bond between themselves which will last as long as we do.   Believe me it's easy supporting a team that thrashes Juventus at home - rather more difficult getting yourself up to Hartlepool for a midday kick-off on a freezing-cold, snowy New Year's day.