nobbys girl

[tiny tom]

Nobbys girl says he was born and bred in st helens but supports fantastic wigan, the reason he and most others of them do this is because there own team is crap and they want to have success, the only way they can do this is by turning on their own team. You wouldnt get anyone from wigan supporting a team from another town.

[DaveO]

tiny tom posted:
Nobbys girl says he was born and bred in st helens but supports fantastic wigan, the reason he and most others of them do this is because there own team is crap and they want to have success, the only way they can do this is by turning on their own team. You wouldnt get anyone from wigan supporting a team from another town.

Well what a great first post.

1. Nobby's girl is a "she" and not a "he"

2. I think if you look hard enough around the internet you will find plenty of Wiganer's support otther clubs such as the Bulls and Saints.

Dave

[highland convert]

Strange smell about. Could a troll have entered the house? Or is there a latic in de attic :conf: :conf:

[tiny tom]

Wasnt slagging anybody off, just making a point.

[Fraggle]

tiny tom posted:
Wasnt slagging anybody off, just making a point.

What kind of point though? There are a huge number of people on here who are not from Wigan, are you saying we are all not proper fans because we choose to support a different team from the one in our own town? That's the kind of thinking that leads to teams like Wakefield only having a couple of thousand fans. Anyone who wants to support our team from anywhere in the world is more than welcome to do so if you ask me.

Given the geographical spread of users of this website, our comments are likely to anger quite a lot of people. There are enough people supporting other clubs happy to slag of Wigan and its fans without us doing it to ourselves.

[tiny tom]

Thats possibly why wakefield only have a couple of thousand fans they are all supporting other teams, would it not be better for them to support their home town club, thats the point i am making. If it carries on with people from their home town not supporting their own club that will be an end to rugby league. What would you think if suddenly the central population of wigan started to support warrington would you be happy i thnk not, its alright for us to come out withthe kind of statement support who you want, but we should give some thought to the smaller clubs. Dont you agree or would you rather seethe game go down the pan, good point eh.

[Fraggle]

tiny tom posted:
Thats possibly why wakefield only have a couple of thousand fans they are all supporting other teams, would it not be better for them to support their home town club, thats the point i am making. If it carries on with people from their home town not supporting their own club that will be an end to rugby league. What would you think if suddenly the central population of wigan started to support warrington would you be happy i thnk not, its alright for us to come out withthe kind of statement support who you want, but we should give some thought to the smaller clubs. Dont you agree or would you rather seethe game go down the pan, good point eh.

Is that really likely? It's easy for me to say this, I'm from a place that has no sports teams of any description, but I also now live in Manchester which is famous for having a successful team with relatively little support from the local area but huge support from the rest of the world (including places like Wigan...). You would be laughed at for suggesting football was in disarray because of the likes of Man Utd not having many local fans. And the same is true for most football teams, at least at the highest levels (and remember Super League is our Premeirship). We've got St Helens people supporting Wigan, and I've seen Wigan residents supporting St Helens. Here in Manchester there are people who support those teams and not Salford. The days are very long gone when you only went to see your local team, television in particular has put an end to that.

It might also be the case that people live in one place but support another town's team because of family connections to that other town? I doubt if most people choose where to live based on the rugby team they support...

[tiny tom]

Its all very well comparing rugby to football but unfortunately you cant, the fan base for football is huge whereas the fan base for rugby league is tiny.

[Fraggle]

tiny tom posted:
Its all very well comparing rugby to football but unfortunately you cant, the fan base for football is huge whereas the fan base for rugby league is tiny.

Ok, but how do you then explain the fact that crowds have been rising almost every year since the advent of Super League? If we were losing fans then comments about the end of RL might have some relevance, but our top flight is attracting new fans every year, and the summer conference is apparently one of the fastest growing competitions of any sport in the UK.

To be perfectly honest, I think the number of people who support other clubs when they come from RL towns themselves is relatively small and not likely to make much of a difference. More relevant to the long-term future of the sport is attracting the likes of me who are from non-RL places, have seen the great entertainment that is provided by the sport and become regular long-term supporters. There are far more people like me than there are "traitors" to their own town's team.

[highland convert]

It is called bonding. Loyalty begins with the family. The family is the place you want to be. Be it church, politics, football, band or rugby league each becomes part of your extended family. Am I supposed to go to the catholic church in my village because my protestant one is in the next town. Am I supposed to vote tory because the community is tory. Am I supposed to support Livingston because they are the local team, What band/group should I support Scottish or English because I live north of the border. What league team am I supposed to support cause we don't have any.
Whatever I choose it will be because of family. The people in Wigan don't know me but through the team and through this site I am comfortable with them. We fall out as with all family groups but they are still family. Now if Nobby's Girl feels the same as I do how dare you question her motives. In doing so you challenge her freedom of choice. When rugby league passes an edict that players must be born and bred in the town they play for your criteria will have merit. As it is she supports a team close to her heart for all the right motives. She actually gets my vote for the no1 supporters badge. HC
PS Your argument would have far more relivance on the latic label. Footbal supporters are the worlds worst at loyalty.