The plastic fan.

Please can someone explain how so many people can support a team that they have no affiliation with ?
I’ve done it to death with people and still to this day, I cannot get my head around it.
People are entitled to do what they want and ‘support’ who they want but I really am lost with it.
Perhaps someone who supports their local club can shed light on it!?

Please can someone explain how so many people can support a team that they have no affiliation with ?
I’ve done it to death with people and still to this day, I cannot get my head around it.
People are entitled to do what they want and ‘support’ who they want but I really am lost with it.
Perhaps someone who supports their local club can shed light on it!?

out in their droves tonight.. was thinking about doing a crowdfunding to clear our pubs of plastic bit like the ocean one.

I supported Man United before I started supporting Cardiff about 10 years ago. I think it's just where top teams are easily accessible especially if you're NOT looking to support a football team, they just watch them when it's on the TV, and it can get you hooked. A player, a moment, a match in general can make you a fan. If you're a kid growing up it's very difficult to naturally support your typical local championship/league 1 or 2 team unless you have a family member who takes you to the games.

No 10 year old, 14 year old or 18 year old wakes up and decides they're going to become a fan of any particular club. It just happens, and for the reasons I explained it's more difficult to become a fan of a team you've never watched.

Please can someone explain how so many people can support a team that they have no affiliation with ?
I’ve done it to death with people and still to this day, I cannot get my head around it.
People are entitled to do what they want and ‘support’ who they want but I really am lost with it.
Perhaps someone who supports their local club can shed light on it!?

out in their droves tonight.. was thinking about doing a crowdfunding to clear our pubs of plastic bit like the ocean one.

f***ING CLASS

I supported Man United before I started supporting Cardiff about 10 years ago. I think it's just where top teams are easily accessible especially if you're NOT looking to support a football team, they just watch them when it's on the TV, and it can get you hooked. A player, a moment, a match in general can make you a fan. If you're a kid growing up it's very difficult to naturally support your typical local championship/league 1 or 2 team unless you have a family member who takes you to the games.

No 10 year old, 14 year old or 18 year old wakes up and decides they're going to become a fan of any particular club. It just happens, and for the reasons I explained it's more difficult to become a fan of a team you've never watched.

Fair enough.
My dad supported Cardiff always as did my grandad I believe.
I grew up having it drilled into me that Cardiff was our local club and that’s who I would support, my son will be the same.

I supported Man United before I started supporting Cardiff about 10 years ago. I think it's just where top teams are easily accessible especially if you're NOT looking to support a football team, they just watch them when it's on the TV, and it can get you hooked. A player, a moment, a match in general can make you a fan. If you're a kid growing up it's very difficult to naturally support your typical local championship/league 1 or 2 team unless you have a family member who takes you to the games.

No 10 year old, 14 year old or 18 year old wakes up and decides they're going to become a fan of any particular club. It just happens, and for the reasons I explained it's more difficult to become a fan of a team you've never watched.

Fair enough.
My dad supported Cardiff always as did my grandad I believe.
I grew up having it drilled into me that Cardiff was our local club and that’s who I would support, my son will be the same.

I've had this argument with my 12yo granddaughter not the same outcome

We lost a huge amount of fans through 30 years because the club was in the lower divisions for so long in the 80s & 90s, that meant people would follow a more successful team and chose liverpool/Man.
That choice was then passed to there children who decided to support a team there dad supports.
It's only since our Fa cup run and the arrival of Vincent Tans era that local kids have a successful top tier local club to support and be proud of.
The numbers of people in south Wales supporting different teams will drop dramatically if city keep this up for the next 15/20 years because the kids will be the children of the youngsters who are watching us now and as such will follow there parents who are city fans.

I know a guy and his son who supported Man Utd when we played them, wore the shirts and cheered when they scored. Asked how many times either had been to Old Trafford the answer was once.
They are both Cardiff born and Bred , I could not get my head around the fact they actually wanted there home town team to lose so badly

I supported Man United before I started supporting Cardiff about 10 years ago. I think it's just where top teams are easily accessible especially if you're NOT looking to support a football team, they just watch them when it's on the TV, and it can get you hooked. A player, a moment, a match in general can make you a fan. If you're a kid growing up it's very difficult to naturally support your typical local championship/league 1 or 2 team unless you have a family member who takes you to the games.

No 10 year old, 14 year old or 18 year old wakes up and decides they're going to become a fan of any particular club. It just happens, and for the reasons I explained it's more difficult to become a fan of a team you've never watched.

What just happens to be the club that’s top of the EPL when you’re 10? Thing is genuine Liverpool fans hold Welsh “Liverpool” Fans in absolute contempt.

I supported Leeds until I was 10 My dad had no interest in football at all . I choose Leeds because I saw them in match of the day a few times and as 7 year old that’s how I came to support Leeds then . My uncle took me to my first football match on a Boxing Day and it was at Newport He just wanted to see a game of football but I knew that day he was not a city fan I think I was used as the excuse to go to the game Look love I am taking your nephew sort of thing

Then in the following March he took me to a City match and from that day I have always supported city and watch over a 1,000 City games My kids all are city fans but most of my mates are not During the 70/ 80s they did not go to games and not because we were shit but mainly the parents would not go because the rep of our hooligans Don’t underestimate the 1000s of fans they lost us
If someone supports another team so be it

Thing is people like following success.I'm sure a sustained stay in the prem would see the so called plastics dwindle.Don't forget,we haven't been a long term success yet.

These plastics will never have the same feeling of the fans who attend the games. The feeling of a goal is something you can not replicate on your settee or in a pub

I supported Man United before I started supporting Cardiff about 10 years ago. I think it's just where top teams are easily accessible especially if you're NOT looking to support a football team, they just watch them when it's on the TV, and it can get you hooked. A player, a moment, a match in general can make you a fan. If you're a kid growing up it's very difficult to naturally support your typical local championship/league 1 or 2 team unless you have a family member who takes you to the games.

No 10 year old, 14 year old or 18 year old wakes up and decides they're going to become a fan of any particular club. It just happens, and for the reasons I explained it's more difficult to become a fan of a team you've never watched.

Fair enough.
My dad supported Cardiff always as did my grandad I believe.
I grew up having it drilled into me that Cardiff was our local club and that’s who I would support, my son will be the same.

I've had this argument with my 12yo granddaughter not the same outcome

I think I was 2 or 3 at my first game mind

A pet hate of mine is when plastics refer to the team they "support" as we and, like the OP I still can't my head around it. A guy I used to work with even referred to Real Madrid as we or us !

I also feel some people need to associate themselves with success. I mean how else can you explain many people wearing Blackburn shirts in Cardiff on the strength of one PL league title ?

Whilst I can understand youngsters being 'fans' of these big clubs during their formative years, it does seem faintly ridiculous when this is carried on into adulthood, when they have no real attachment to the club, more often than not they have never seen them play live or even visited the city in which the club is based.

Maybe I'm being a grumpy old git but plastics are guaranteed to wind me up.

They are not all plastic. My next door neighbour is a Man Utd fan. A proper one even though he was born and bred here. Goes to every home game and most away games. I sometimes hear him coming home at 4 am in the morning after a mid week game and then he goes to work the following day. Drove to Hull and back on a Tuesday night to watch a Carling Cup match. I respect him for that. He is a proper fan. He told me that on a number of occasions he has had spare tickets for games and offered them to so called United fans who have turned him down because they don't venture of their settees. He dislikes them as much as us especially a he gets tarred with the same brush.


At Old Trafford I managed to catch his attention when we went 2 up and give him a wave to him as he sits directly above the away fans. Sweet moment!!

I tried explaining to a "fan" of Liverpool that if Yeovil town were big in the 80's he would be a Yeovil fan . But he still can't see it . Also he is we and us , when he talks about them. He as never been to anfield either.

I tried explaining to a "fan" of Liverpool that if Yeovil town were big in the 80's he would be a Yeovil fan . But he still can't see it . Also he is we and us , when he talks about them. He as never been to anfield either.

Its the "we and us" thing that annoys me the most.

My mate says he has always supported Man City yet he has never been further north than Ebbw Vale and has never seen them play, except on TV. Can't get my head around it.

my dad was a city fan took me to my first city game aged 11 , l,ve supported the bluebirds ever since , cant stand the plastic fans or armchair fans as i call them , thanks dad , you made me a proud bluebirds fan , I support MY LOCAL TEAM , so do my sons BLOOBIRDS

When I grew up in the late 80s/early 90s the only way you were ever going to be a kid and a Cardiff fan in the Valleys was if you had someone who was going to take you and I had my Dad who took us. Many of my mates never had that and so Cardiff City were probably as far away to them in their minds as Man Utd or Liverpool or anyone else and naturaly as we were languishing in the dungeon most of my school mates supported/followed whatever you want to call it the two Northern Powerhouses with the odd Arsenal/Spurs/Leeds thrown in.

Lots of those same mates gravitated towards us as we got older and old enough to travel to Cardiff ourselves and some didn't.

The only way it's ever going to change is for us to have a prolonged period in the top flight so that the generations to come grow up with a Premier League Team on their doorstep.

They are not all plastic. My next door neighbour is a Man Utd fan. A proper one even though he was born and bred here. Goes to every home game and most away games. I sometimes hear him coming home at 4 am in the morning after a mid week game and then he goes to work the following day. Drove to Hull and back on a Tuesday night to watch a Carling Cup match. I respect him for that. He is a proper fan. He told me that on a number of occasions he has had spare tickets for games and offered them to so called United fans who have turned him down because they don't venture of their settees. He dislikes them as much as us especially a he gets tarred with the same brush.


At Old Trafford I managed to catch his attention when we went 2 up and give him a wave to him as he sits directly above the away fans. Sweet moment!!

There are exceptions of course but why did he start to support them in the first place ?
Even though he goes to games it still pisses me off that he can support a club so far away, although not as bad as the ones who claim to support them and use the no money excuse.

They are not all plastic. My next door neighbour is a Man Utd fan. A proper one even though he was born and bred here. Goes to every home game and most away games. I sometimes hear him coming home at 4 am in the morning after a mid week game and then he goes to work the following day. Drove to Hull and back on a Tuesday night to watch a Carling Cup match. I respect him for that. He is a proper fan. He told me that on a number of occasions he has had spare tickets for games and offered them to so called United fans who have turned him down because they don't venture of their settees. He dislikes them as much as us especially a he gets tarred with the same brush.


At Old Trafford I managed to catch his attention when we went 2 up and give him a wave to him as he sits directly above the away fans. Sweet moment!!

There are exceptions of course but why did he start to support them in the first place ?
Even though he goes to games it still pisses me off that he can support a club so far away, although not as bad as the ones who claim to support them and use the no money excuse.

the we, us, putting on accents ,wearing the shirts and calling each other mancs, scousers and yids all while never going to watch games spins my head...but why they start is easy....its who is on TV a lot and who is doing well when you first take an interest in football...we spent and lost 18 years in the lower leagues with another 9 seasons prior to that a bottom half championship team...hardly ever on the box..
as ive said in another thread , there is a positive in this ,as lots of these are interested in football ,not interested in travelling and are there to be converted should we do well enough...

When we moved here in the early nineties from South America my Old man took us to watch the local football club, Cardiff City, because that's what you do, you support your own! It was a European match (back in the days when we used to play in Europe for winning the Welsh Cup), anyway been a city fan ever since and my kids will follow suit!!!

When we moved here in the early nineties from South America my Old man took us to watch the local football club, Cardiff City, because that's what you do, you support your own! It was a European match (back in the days when we used to play in Europe for winning the Welsh Cup), anyway been a city fan ever since and my kids will follow suit!!!

I do like stories like this..

My first team when I was around 8 years old was Liverpool, partly because they were doing well but mainly because my eldest Bro (I'm No. 3 of 4 boys) at the age of 13/14 decided he was a Man Utd fan (he'd never been to a Man U game then or now!). I knew it would wind him up.....you've gotta love sibling rivalry.

My Father, bless his soul, was not a live football fan, but did support his hometown team of Aberdeen. My 1st live ever game was when his Dad took me to Pittodrie when I was 6/7.

So this plastic rivalry between me and the eldest went on for about 6 years. And then out of the blue, at a Friday night school youth club disco, a few Bridgend lads invited me to come to a Cardiff match the following day, 24th March 1979. I was 14 years old. We played Stoke City that day with Garth Crooks scoring one of their 3 goals in a 3-1 defeat, which helped Stoke secure promotion that season.

But that was it, I was hooked within 15 minutes of that game. The noise, the atmosphere, the tribal rivalry, the sheer jubilation and energy when we scored our goal......I knew this was the place for me.

40 years down the road and I'm still here. Not only that but my two sons, both taken to their 1st games at the age of 5 and 9 months respectively are still here. I became a Grandad this year and fear not, my Granddaughter will be supporting the Bluebirds long after I have passed this mortal coil.

Sorry for the precis on my Bluebird life but to summarise, it does get passed on down in the generations. I was lucky that I had friends who initially showed me the Blue light. That light and joy of live football and supporting your local team, which is tangible, has been passed down to the next generations. I totally agree with the posts that state a sustained period in the top flight is needed to wipe away the scourge of armchair fans, supporting English teams, in South Wales.

My first team when I was around 8 years old was Liverpool, partly because they were doing well but mainly because my eldest Bro (I'm No. 3 of 4 boys) at the age of 13/14 decided he was a Man Utd fan (he'd never been to a Man U game then or now!). I knew it would wind him up.....you've gotta love sibling rivalry.

My Father, bless his soul, was not a live football fan, but did support his hometown team of Aberdeen. My 1st live ever game was when his Dad took me to Pittodrie when I was 6/7.

So this plastic rivalry between me and the eldest went on for about 6 years. And then out of the blue, at a Friday night school youth club disco, a few Bridgend lads invited me to come to a Cardiff match the following day, 24th March 1979. I was 14 years old. We played Stoke City that day with Garth Crooks scoring one of their 3 goals in a 3-1 defeat, which helped Stoke secure promotion that season.

But that was it, I was hooked within 15 minutes of that game. The noise, the atmosphere, the tribal rivalry, the sheer jubilation and energy when we scored our goal......I knew this was the place for me.

40 years down the road and I'm still here. Not only that but my two sons, both taken to their 1st games at the age of 5 and 9 months respectively are still here. I became a Grandad this year and fear not, my Granddaughter will be supporting the Bluebirds long after I have passed this mortal coil.

Sorry for the precis on my Bluebird life but to summarise, it does get passed on down in the generations. I was lucky that I had friends who initially showed me the Blue light. That light and joy of live football and supporting your local team, which is tangible, has been passed down to the next generations. I totally agree with the posts that state a sustained period in the top flight is needed to wipe away the scourge of armchair fans, supporting English teams, in South Wales.

it was the tribal rivalry bit that hooked me...

Couldn't agree more.
I've lived close to some of the most prestigious clubs in the world at different times but the only one I'm interested in is Cardiff City and I've followed them from L.A to the polar circle and many points in between, in good times and bad.
I've never ever understood how people can somehow pick out a team which is successful and give a f**k about them.

My first team when I was around 8 years old was Liverpool, partly because they were doing well but mainly because my eldest Bro (I'm No. 3 of 4 boys) at the age of 13/14 decided he was a Man Utd fan (he'd never been to a Man U game then or now!). I knew it would wind him up.....you've gotta love sibling rivalry.

My Father, bless his soul, was not a live football fan, but did support his hometown team of Aberdeen. My 1st live ever game was when his Dad took me to Pittodrie when I was 6/7.

So this plastic rivalry between me and the eldest went on for about 6 years. And then out of the blue, at a Friday night school youth club disco, a few Bridgend lads invited me to come to a Cardiff match the following day, 24th March 1979. I was 14 years old. We played Stoke City that day with Garth Crooks scoring one of their 3 goals in a 3-1 defeat, which helped Stoke secure promotion that season.

But that was it, I was hooked within 15 minutes of that game. The noise, the atmosphere, the tribal rivalry, the sheer jubilation and energy when we scored our goal......I knew this was the place for me.

40 years down the road and I'm still here. Not only that but my two sons, both taken to their 1st games at the age of 5 and 9 months respectively are still here. I became a Grandad this year and fear not, my Granddaughter will be supporting the Bluebirds long after I have passed this mortal coil.

Sorry for the precis on my Bluebird life but to summarise, it does get passed on down in the generations. I was lucky that I had friends who initially showed me the Blue light. That light and joy of live football and supporting your local team, which is tangible, has been passed down to the next generations. I totally agree with the posts that state a sustained period in the top flight is needed to wipe away the scourge of armchair fans, supporting English teams, in South Wales.

Great story! I've watched Cardiff from a very young age with my old man and I can't remember the exact moment I got hooked. I do however remember going to Spurs away and Willie Boland hit the bar I think... Also when we played the a few years later at Ninian Park when the flare went off. Those games stick in my mind.

Please can someone explain how so many people can support a team that they have no affiliation with ?
I’ve done it to death with people and still to this day, I cannot get my head around it.
People are entitled to do what they want and ‘support’ who they want but I really am lost with it.
Perhaps someone who supports their local club can shed light on it!?

What do you class as "no affiliation with"?
Some people choose to support clubs where they personally feel they have a connection with, or like the values of the club, could be an affiliation from a family member.

Maybe the question should be why do we support a club based on geography, which for the most of us we have no control over for the majority of our younger days.

I do remember a lady from the old official message board, she was from Germany and lived in Liverpool but decided to support City because she was the closest thing to the German club she supported. She travelled every week to watch City and went to most away games. her username was Petra, very nice lady she was as well.

So what does a plastic mean? do you have to be born in the place? live local? do you have to go to so many games? its all a bit silly really.

As you say people are entitled to do what they like, what i've never understood is why people get so annoyed/frustrated with what other people do which has no effect on them. I wouldn't name anyone a plastic just because they don't do as I wish they would.

2blue2handle I know where you're coming from but for me it is those people that attach themselves to a successful club and adopt a superior attitude that gets under my skin. They then think they know more about the game by virtue of their adopted club's status.

A couple of years ago I had to meet a courier where I was working and he was coming from Manchester. We had a cuppa when he arrived and got talking about football. He said he had to get back pretty quick to meet his dad and his son as they were all season ticket holders at Stockport County who were playing that night. I mentioned that with all the big clubs on his doorstep, it was nice to hear of someone supporting their local team. He said Stockport was in his blood, and didn't matter what division they were in, he'd be there until they carried him away. Salt of the earth fans who are totally committed to their local teams. Respect to them.