You have no history that the vast majority of people in Wigan are aware of. I was born in the early 50s, lived out my youth in the 60s, my young adulthood in the 70s and so-on. Throughout that period - note, this is BEFORE the Golden Age of the late 80s/early 90s - the pubs around Wigan were largely adorned with Wigan RL memorabilia. If anyone mentioned Wigan Athletic, it was to snigger (and that wasn't just RL fans, it was footy fans who followed the likes of Man U, Liverpool, Bolton etc).im_a_cuckoo posted:
No history. What a cretinous insult.
Here's one tiny except from Latics' history. Naturally, there's 70 years of cup runs, giant killings, league championships, Wembley wins and 60-goal-a-season heroes to choose from, as well as the bad times, the 25 years of applying for election to the Football League, and the club being saved by its supporters on more than one occasion.
In 1953, part-tme, Lancashire Combination league Latics travelled to Newcastle to play the FA Cup holders (1951 and 1952), six full internationals, Jackie Milburn and all. The non-league men took the Toon to a replay, 2-2, in front of 52,222 supporters at St James's Park The team returned to Wallgate station with a crowd of 4,000 waiting for them as if they'd won the cup.
The replay took place at Springfield Park, which was three-sided due the main stand having burnt down the year before. In fact, the Latics asked Wigan RL if they could play at Central Park but permission was denied. (The Newcastle players were most put out at having to change at Wigan baths, and get the team coach to the match.) Despite only having three sides open, 26,500 packed into Springfield Park (it would have been more, but the pre-floodlights tie took place on a Tuesday afternoon - in the previous round, the 27,562 turned up to see Wigan beat Hereford, still the biggest ever crowd between two non-league clubs outside a Cup Final). Playing the trumpet with the brass band on the pitch before the match that afternoon was a certain Mr D Whelan. Latics agin put up a superb fight, losing narrrowly 3-2 and wouldn't meet Newcastle again for 53 years. Since being elevated to the Premier League under the chairmanship of Whelan, little Wigan Athletic have beaten Newcastle United three times.
Bring a tear to a mon with a glass eye that tale. But just two matches out of thousands.
You people are Johnny-come-latelys, who can thank a very rich man for buying you a place in the Premiership. The fact that your crowds are an embarrassment (and don't measure them against ours, measure them against fellow Premierships clubs) suggests that you haven't 'arrived' even yet.
