do BFC supporters of today have less passion for their team compared to the supporters of yore? Not from choice I'm finding myself less passionate/committed than I was say 10 years ago. One reason is that I feel less 'connected' to the team - I rarely miss a game home/away - the football isn't too bad - excellent manager - good players etc and I enjoy the matchday experience Yet there is something missing.
I think the football has been awful for the most part this season, however I think there a few reasons for me losing passion over the years. High turnover of players of late, relegation, unlikeable managers in Johnno, Berk, Davey, club lowering everyone's expectations and I would probably say posting on here doesn't help at times.
Personally speaking, I certainly haven't lost any of my passion for the club. If I can maintain my passion when we're at the bottom of the entire football league and getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Marine, it's a piece of cake to maintain it now in the second tier.
I think it's all relative to the length of time we've all been watching. Some may find this surprising, but my passion is quite high today because we've got better players, we're playing at a higher level, and we're getting bigger crowds, than in most of the time I've been watching. However, I can understand that younger people may think differently, since they've never seen us lose at home to a team at the bottom of the 4th division in front of about 2000 people. Anyone who started watching when we were in the Premier League will probably think we're pants at the moment. I'm often accused of being over-positive, but I'm not daft. I'm aware of our league position and our record for 2017. It was poor, by Championship standards, and it needs to improve otherwise we'll get relegated. But spread out over more than 50 years of watching, it is actually a fairly high standard, in relative terms.
I find it sad that I don,t take my lad to as many away games as I did when I was his age and younger , Ive been a RED for the last 40 years remember getting carried into the grounds for free last one Dad and I did was Huddersfield away, I had my snorkel parker on zipped all the way up , lady copper at the gate, Dad just told me to look the other way, (think I was not far of as big as my Dad at the time ) as he carried me through . The cost of the games does it for me, my lads 18 on friday and had a season ticket since he was 3 and he loves the away games because of the better atmosphere, but we didn,t go to Sunderland the other day because of the cost, not just tickets but everything else that goes with the day, but also the time missed spent with the rest of the family was a factor, that didn,t seem to bother my old man though years ago. The teams performances don,t help either , its more difficult to justify the cost of a game than say a couple of seasons ago when from october onwards in promotion season we didn,t miss a game home or away , The passion is still there and I,ll never miss a home game but its not the same as it was 20 /30 years ago maybe things will change again over then next 18 months with the new owners . I can see good times coming again lets hope fans though don,t expect too much too soon
I've been going to oakwell since the 60's and pre-internet, my circle of fellow barnsley supporters were fairly upbeat and positive. But after the Internet came along it quickly dawned on me that there was a level of cynicism and questioning amongst the wider group of supporters that had never dawned on me before. So for me it was like a kid finding out the bloke who drives a sleigh isn't real. It's still fun, but the magic has gone for ever.
Thanks, I wrote it before I saw your post which says essentially the same thing. It does make me giggle when I read on here "worst team ever" or "worst player ever" and the like. It's all relative.
My passion for the reds is still pretty high , however my passion for football has diminished , I hate the excess money in the game , dislike excess coverage on TV which I believe kills a lot of appetite for people to attend games but what really gets up my nose is greed, which stems right through the game from the top table in the boardrooms , to the players & staff, right down to the terraces
I have a lot less passion than I did 20 years ago but then I was a young lad with not a care in the world and we were getting promoted to the Premier League. I have even less passion than I did 30 years ago it 40 years ago when I had fewer outside interests and of course for the main part we were on an upward curve. The atmosphere at Oakwell was killed by the introduction of all seateer stadiums. It is quiet and underwhelming virtually the whole time. A lot of physical passion has been lost as a result of this (in general). Football used to be an almost participation sport for the crowds now it is definitely a you entertain me event. I have virtually no interest in football above Championship level it feels vapid empty and ruined by money. Where once I could name every England player who they played for and all the contenders now I struggle to name half and when I do watch fall asleep most times I have less than I did 10 years ago. I blame Keith Hill the perpetual relegation struggles and money ruining football as a sport for that. I am still committed. I still feel sick when we lose and often when we win but I can see at some point me thinking **** it I will just go and watch non league. Hate football (still) Love Barnsley.
None of my family were into any kind of sport so I didn't have the usual dad taking his lad to the match so I had to take myself . I used to catch the number 22 bus from Carlton into Barnsley, walk to Oakwell pay my £2 entrance into the terrace . When I walked around the corner of the stand and saw the bright green grass underneath the imposing floodlights it was like walking into a different world . I didnt really care what division we were in , all i was interested in was watching big Macca and Ian Evans , Ian Banks , King Ronnie running rings around the opposition. Everything was possible in my youthful mind , then reality hit home when we kept flogging our best players . Dreams and enthusiasm turn to realism with age and experience but we have to have a dream because there's always hope .
Given the ****** & pontification on here I'd say no, but in reality the sport has changed, as has the world in general. Football is now to some extent "an event". An event the rich take their friends to. You didn't get that in the 70's & 80's. It wasn't till Gazza's tears changed hearts & minds. Money has spoilt the competitiveness of the game. Facilities are better now. Tickets more expensive though. It was nice to be one of the "hated" who went to football. A bit like being a clash fan, but you didn't need a specific haircut. I still love the club & I'm pretty excited about the new ownership, although I'm not expecting masses of money in on players. Love-hate relationship, but the club is steeped in my family history & my identity, so I'm stuck with it.
All football fans have Passion, we just cope differantley, The Suffering, The Agony, The pain, The Barely controllable emotion.
I’m not as passionate as I was for sure but In my case that’s more to do with age and distance. And probably because I am now a BFC fan in particular rather than the all round football fan I was. I still think back fondly to the days when I used to play and watch rather than just watch.I also miss the days when you could just roll up on match day and pay a fair price rather than having to commit in advance.Not only that if you but if you were late or it was a last minute dash you knew where to find your mates inside the ground and you easily joined them plus it didn’t seem as sterile as it does now.Another plus was if you fancied a different view or somebody nearby was annoying you, you could easily shift.
One of my lads getting in to BFC has added to my enjoyment, as others have said - from being all football barmy all my life watching and playing Sunday leagues it has reduced to not being able to get through match of the day or any tv match without nodding off but I still feel as passionate about barnsley as ever probably just don't show it as much, I still get PMT - pre match tension.
Good thread...seen it since the dark division 4 days but even then I used to tremble with excitement as the players came out in front of the 2,000 faithful. I loved it and never missed, the players weren't on much more money than the local population. For me it was the occasion, the feeling of belonging, the smell of pipe and cig smoke drifting along the terraces. The older gaffers telling us all about the better players in their era "Robledo'd put this lot t' shame" etc Good friendly humour and the explosion of energy when we actually scored. Disappointment when we lost but no outpouring of vitriol after the game unlike now, I was always looking forward to the next one. Great times, without the burden of expectation we now have round our necks like a millweight I think some folk have either forgotten or never experienced the real reason we're Reds "Social Media"? What a misnomer Worst thing to ever happen to football and the world in general