(05-24-2023, 12:26 AM)PaulP link Wrote:The behaviours in your first paragraph have a lot in common with organised religion - that's the first thing I thought of. The second thing is that if the right (or should I say the wrong) circumstances are all in play at the same time, Mr Snapper becomes Mr Snapped, and loses his nut completely, and does something drastic like those South American soccer fans. There's no invisible bubble that protects AFL from soccer. Tribal identity markers are very real (not necessarily based on ethnicity), the same passions are aroused, the same behaviours reinforced and expected.
And I disagree with your last point. Players and coaches at Carlton give significantly more time (physical, mental, emotional) than any fan, even if it's by necessity. Most players that move on are either retired, traded, or delisted. A small number of course move because they want to. And most coaches only leave because they get sacked. Fans focus on whinging and whining and making sure the world knows how much the club hurts them. Players and coaches focus on making themselves and their team mates better. Try rocking up to work and having 50, 60, 70, 80,000 fans telling you you're a piece of cr@p, you're only in it for the money, you don't deserve your pay cheque etc., and see how you like it
Players and coaches are professional, and they have to play the game. Of course they will talk about how great their new club is. They can hardly say otherwise.
We'll have to agree to disagree..because I think you're wrong on every point.
Your concentrating on the negative aspects of being a supporter way too much.
Supporters come in all shapes and sizes and the way they support differs wildly.
The behaviours I described in the first post were a bit of a joke based on extremes, but some quite sane and sensible supporters do actually engage in some of those behaviours.
We played the club's song at my Mum's funeral because the club and game were a large part of her life.
Football is a 'religion' for some folks, but religion in itself isn't a bad thing, and fills a spot in a lot of folk's lives. There are bad 'religions' but footy isn't one of them.
We don't have the extremes of violence, never had, despite nearly 200 years of Australian football and that supporter passion has been evident all along. One of the reasons for that is the game moves so quickly with lots of scoring, and the fans can have highs and lows within minutes and are pretty much free within reason to express their joy and disappointment, unlike soccer where there are often long pauses between scores.
And while a lot of ex-Carlton footballers are followers of the club, while they play and even once they finish their love, passion and hurt at the losses would be matched by the fans.
I suspect our guys are already talking, and focussed, about Sydney (I hope so) while three days later, we supporters are still suffering from the Collingwood loss.