Supporting other countries

[Beleg]

I don't want to silence any one. I have no problem if some one thinks x, y, z as long it is not targetting a team just for the sake of it. I don't see why people should tolerate such nonsense. It is boring stuff and after a while, targetting stops remaining funny. When people start saying Indian fans are fascists, it goes in the territory of throwing unnecessary insults.

Uh-huh that's your opinion mate. Half of the fun in sports is targetting the opposition for the sake of it. Most of it is taking the piss in any case and fuels the competition. And targetting the opposition is hell of a lot different from calling fans (read: people) fascists and there's no need to lump them together.

Regarding patriotism and supporting teams, I am firmly in Burr's camp. Good post.

 

[silentstriker]

Yeah, I guess so. I'm not arguing against his reasons or anything - just wondering to myself why I've never considered supporting England. The fact that Australia win more often than India could probably have something to do with it, whether pup11 wants to admit it - or whether he even knows it - or not.

90% of fans who support a country that is not their own support Australia. I wonder why? I suppose it's just a coincidence.

To me, you can support whoever you want. But be honest about your reasons. It's like the Sox. For eighty years, you had the hardcore fans in Boston, but as soon as they won, their fan base doubled throughout the country. It was so dire. Same thing with the Yankees, Patriots, Cowboys, etc. People like winners, and supporting your own team, if they aren't very good at all seems too much work. But those people can never feel the pure exultation of victory after decades of defeat.

They're missing out on a fundamental experience of sport: unimaginable frustration. There is nothing to be frustrated about if you're an Aussie cricket fan (there was a lot back in the eighties, so fans from that era, I've noticed, tend to be much more humble and even handed than the more recent gung-ho types that didn't suffer through that).

In any case - support who you want but don't pretend you're doing it for any other reason than you wanting to follow a winner.

 

[Pratters]

Uh-huh that's your opinion mate.

Erm, I do know what I say is my opinion. Thanks for informing me what I already knew.

Pup's perfectly entitled to choose whatever side he wants to support and I don't think anyone has the right to take exception to it. I really can't fathom Roseboy's posts on this topic - "unpatriotic", "treasonous act", *cringes*. It's sport, not a world war.

Not to mention the reasons why guys like Pup and Raghav not liking team India are more than acceptable (although in Raghav's case the trolling in the past is not) and the same reason why Jono and Dasa disliking parts of the Australian cricket team and style (afaik) are acceptable as well and have chosen to support another side because of their heritage or for whatever reason. Not that it should matter what their reasons are, they don't have to justify it one bit. Agree with Perm, Burr and others on this issue.

Yeah, agreed fully. As I said, I don't have a problem whichever country whoever supports. It is the trolling bits which become annoying after a while.

 

[silentstriker]

Agree..
i thought i made clear why i don't like indian team but for the record.. part of the reason i don't like the indian team is because of the members like tubinators, nautral, SS, Jeevin, and others double standard views ..

Hah - I'm probably the most negative Indian fan on here. I think I need to bring back the Wheel of Mediocrity tbh.

 

[Beleg]

Erm, I do know that is my opinion. Thanks for informing me what I already knew.

Eh, good that you realize this.

 

[Richard]

90% of fans who support a country that is not their own support Australia. I wonder why? I suppose it's just a coincidence.

To me, you can support whoever you want. But be honest about your reasons. It's like the Sox. For eighty years, you had the hardcore fans in Boston, but as soon as they won, their fan base doubled throughout the country. It was so dire. Same thing with the Yankees, Patriots, Cowboys, etc. People like winners, and supporting your own team, if they aren't very good at all seems too much work. But those people can never feel the pure exultation of victory after decades of defeat.

They're missing out on a fundamental experience of sport: unimaginable frustration. There is nothing to be frustrated about if you're an Aussie cricket fan (there was a lot back in the eighties, so fans from that era, I've noticed, tend to be much more humble and even handed than the more recent gung-ho types that didn't suffer through that).

In any case - support who you want but don't pretend you're doing it for any other reason than you wanting to follow a winner.

What's annoying is the number of people who simply assume that someone who supports a team which they have no geographical connection to is a glory-seeker if they support a successful team.

Me, I've supported Man U in football terms all my life. When did I start supporting them? 1991\92, actually - amazingly enough, just before they started dominating the Premiership. Number of people who give me the BOD when they look at where I'm from and where I've lived and who I support: approximately zero. The automatic assumption, every time, is that I'm a glory-seeker. And there's God-knows-how-many others in the same boat. I actually do have some amount of Mancunian connection, though there's nothing else outside football that I've ever given thought to it; my Dad's Dad was on the groundstaff at Old Trafford, so he supported them, so so did Dad, so so did I. Too little credit is given for bloodline-support - it's a very powerful thing.

Even if a team has been a successful one at the time someone started supporting them (having had no geographical connection) you still cannot, no way, fling the glory-seeker accusation as a matter of course.

It irritates me one hell of a lot, and far more people than not in my experience are guilty of it. Why not just take someone's word for why they support who they support? Why assume Sameer is a glory-seeker when Raghav, someone in exactly the same position, has chosen a completely different path? It's simply not fair.

 

[pasag]

Where do you get the 90% figure from SS? Even on this board, from memory you just have pup and aussie following Australia. Then you have guys like Goughy and TT Boy who from what I know are Englishmen who support SA and Raghav who supports NZ. And also, Pup is honest about why he supports Australia, it's because of the work ethic and success, not that he just randomly picked a side that happened to win every match, but he admires the reasons why they win, or whatever.

 

[Richard]

Then you have guys like Goughy and TT Boy who from what I know are Englishmen who support SA

Kev supports England. He gained an association with SA due to his 2(?) years there. But he's an England supporter before a South African supporter.

I'm pretty certain TT_Boy has South African connections too.

I'm also another Englishman who supports South Africa, of course. I'm exactly like Kev, 'cept I don't have the geographical connections.

 

[silentstriker]

And also, Pup is honest about why he supports Australia, it's because of the work ethic and success, not that he just randomly picked a side that happened to win every match, but he admires the reasons why they win, or whatever.

Yeah. It's the success as I said. 90% is obviously anecdotal evidence, though I bet if you did some sort of a scientific poll, I wouldn't be too far off.

 

[Evermind]

In any case - support who you want but don't pretend you're doing it for any other reason than you wanting to follow a winner.

Bingo.

 

[Majin]

Pup's perfectly entitled to choose whatever side he wants to support and I don't think anyone has the right to take exception to it. I really can't fathom Roseboy's posts on this topic - "unpatriotic", "treasonous act", *cringes*. It's sport, not a world war.

Agree totally, don't see why anybody should be obliged to support a team or something like that just because they were born in the area, strikes me as a ridiculous notion. We have our rights to free will so we can decide for ourselves who we like and who we want to support.

Born and lived in England all my life, but I still support India in the cricket first and foremost over everyone and always have, for various reasons. Do have Asian background but not Indian, but they were the international team who got me really into cricket and I have loved supporting them ever since. Thoroughly enjoyed our victory over England in the test series last summer too, one of my favourite series wins since I've been a cricket fan.

In any case - support who you want but don't pretend you're doing it for any other reason than you wanting to follow a winner.

Bit of a daft statement, man. Wasn't born anywhere near Manchester but I still support Man City in the football, and there's no way you can try and tell me I started supporting them because I wanted to follow a winner, especially not considering when I started following them Not disagreeing that there are glory hunters around, but you can support teams purely because you like them, don't need to have any other motives.

 

[burr]

It's actually not an uncommon thing. I have tonnes of friends who always support the opposition team that tours Aus.

 

[Dasa]

I find this so absurd it borders on funny. You can support whoever you want. What are you going to do – set a cricket citizenship test where only people who know the floral emblem of Australia and the first Prime Minster can support Australia – because that’s working so well for the migration policy. Nations themselves are arbitrary creations that only emerged with Westphalia. Hell, ‘India’ as we know it today has only existed since ’47. As others have pointed out, what is a worry is if someone starts to target one particular country for reasons other than they think they play crap cricket. And lol at the Anna Coren post.

Can't believe pup11 is being criticised here. This is akin to the crap the poster 'aussie' used to receive (which was pretty much blatant online bullying) for supporting Australia despite being English.

You can support whomever you like. I've never had a problem with Raghav supporting NZ over India, never. Nor do I care if he supports every team that plays India over India, but trolling the forums and intentionally trying to piss off Indian posters on this board is what ****s everyone.

I am a born and raised Australian with Anglo-Indian heritage. I've chosen to support the Indian cricket team for many reasons. At this current stage, I support most teams against Australia when it comes to the cricket. The main reason involves the better of the sport with the underdog winning, however also because currently there are many Australian players I simply don't like, Additionally, similar to Prince EWS, I hate that boganism is promoted and made to look like a positive throughout the team. Its an embarassment that players like Symonds are supposedly idols to kids.

I have recently not supported Australia also in the tennis (i.e. Davis Cup) because I hate Lleyton Hewitt and Philippousis with a passion. However go back a few years when Rafter was around and I'd proudly cheer him on.

I supported the Australian soccer team in the World Cup, and will support Australian athletes in the Olympics and so on (unless I don't like them).

So to even suggest that pup11 not supporting India is unpatriotic is so stupid its ridiculous. And even if it was, who cares? There is no legal or moral obligation to be patriotic at all.

Pup's perfectly entitled to choose whatever side he wants to support and I don't think anyone has the right to take exception to it. I really can't fathom Roseboy's posts on this topic - "unpatriotic", "treasonous act", *cringes*. It's sport, not a world war.

Not to mention the reasons why guys like Pup and Raghav not liking team India are more than acceptable (although in Raghav's case the trolling in the past is not) and the same reason why Jono and Dasa disliking parts of the Australian cricket team and style (afaik) are acceptable as well and have chosen to support another side because of their heritage or for whatever reason. Not that it should matter what their reasons are, they don't have to justify it one bit. Agree with Perm, Burr and others on this issue.

Yep.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Anyway, this is interesting, for mine. I follow Australia because I live here, owe my love of the game to its system and actually have ancestors who have played test cricket for Australia.

However, man for man, I don't really like a lot of the current team as cricketers. I don't like the ultra-aggressive batting, I don't like the bogan personalities some of them suggest amongst lots of other things. By the token that pup11 supports Australia, I should support England. I like a lot of their players, I like their attitude towards the game, I like the history the game has there and I'm fascinated by the MCC. I even like to upper class snobbery their cricket has about it, deep down. I love Boycott. I don't follow England though.

Can't imagine anyone supprting us who wasn't born and/or raised here, in all honesty! To be an English sportsfan is not something I would recommend actively choosing.

My mother and two of my grandparents were born in England. My great grandfather on my father's father's side was born in England and if you went far enough back, the Bannermans were probably from England as well.

Charles Bannerman was born in Kent, so think you're right.

You can be patriotic to your country without necessarily liking the team they put on the cricket pitch. One thing doesn't reflect another.

Yeah, that's the key point for mine. People have a tendency to confuse sporting loyalties with patriotism (famously crypto-fascist uber-turd Norman Tebbit with his “cricket test”). I think it's perfectly feasible to be a loyal citizen of one country (pay your taxes, obey the laws, recycle, whatever) and root for another country for any number of reasons, be they family ties, admiring the way another team plays or maybe even just preferring green & gold to blue!

Over here lots of Brits of south Asian origin root for India or Pakistan and fair play to them. It doesn’t somehow make them lesser British citizens; I mean I personally root for a country of which I’m not a citizen, as does every English supporter. I might’ve been born and raised in England, but I’m a British subject.

 

[sideshowtim]

I grew up worshipping the Australian cricket team and still do to this day...I don't mind that people support other nations, although I really don't see how they can do it if they've grown up watching all the matches of their home nation, getting used to the players, their styles, the thrilling victories...

 

[Matt79]

I even like to upper class snobbery their cricket has about it, deep down. I love Boycott.

That's un-Australian.

 

[GIMH]

Indeed - not that he needs to justify it to us of course.

If he'd mentioned it months ago though, he could have avoided our questioning posts.

I think he did mention it, didn't he?

I personally couldn't bring myself to support another country, but as people may have noticed in my years here, I get quite passionate about sport and could never switch loyalties.

I think I'm know for being quite patriotic, so it does surprise people when I tell them that I'd much rather Tranmere be successful than the England footy team...as Brumby said, being patriotic isn't necessarily tied into your sporting beliefs - and some people don't see patriotism as a good thing, so i can see why they would support another team. But it's not anything I could ever do.

 

[Corli]

We had a similar debate on our university network during the Rugby World Cup. It ended with the one side saying that there is no reason why you should support a group of people simply because they were born within the same political boundaries as you were. The other side mainly said "yes, but...you're South African, you have to support our team" and then they went off to get drunk.

Personally, I can't imagine supporting any team that's playing against South Africa. I get the same feeling when seeing our team win as I do when hearing that a South African has won the Nobel prize. On the other hand, when we lose, I feel the same as I did when I heard that our heath minister made a fool of herself at an international AIDS conference. For me, sporting pride (especially cricket and rugby) is very closely linked with national pride. That said, I can understand why it doesn't have to be and if an Australian wants to support India, I'm fine with it.

I enjoy seeing the Dutch cricket team and the French rugby team win when they're not playing South Africa, because of my ancestry, and I support the English cricket team even though I have no connections with England.

 

[Flem274*]

I support England when they're not playing us, especially in ODIs because they're usually the underdog. Always support them in the Ashes.

Quite like SA too, though not so much after our little hiding a few months ago.

 

[burr]

I could NEVER support England . My Dad's English so I of course grew up hating them. He loves telling me I'm half English. The only time I get all pro-Australian (it's embarassing) is during Ashes contests.