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After watching football games, we come across a lot of football fans on social media, internet forums, during screenings and while playing the game. There are different varities of football fans that we get to meet. In this article, I have stereotyped some of the modern day football fans. In reality, most of us go through quite a few of these phases.
The closet football fans
We come across these fans as soon as tournaments like the World Cup start. They come out of their closet and are always ready to give an opinion. Just wait for one victory of Netherlands, and you will realise how tactically astute the Dutch were and how they will win the World Cup. Some of these fans will tell you stories of how brilliant Brazil and Argentina have been for the last decade or so. Ask them to name five current football players and their list goes like Ronaldo, Messi, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, hmmmm that Argentinan genius...Maradona !
Their information comes from newspaper articles and football memes. They always have an opinion about any topic when the World Cup is going on. They will discuss how tackling is a dangerous aspect in football and footballers get injured in the process. Some of them even wonder how Ronaldo switched nationalities and started playing for Portugal after playing for Brazil!
My manager knows Best!
These fans are among the most loyal devotees one can find on earth. In any football discussion, they will try to prove how their idol is/ was correct and how he is a genius. Managers across clubs and countries have such devotees. Some classic discussions can be on Casillas’ performance at the World Cup and you will hear that how Mourinho was a legend to bench Casillas last season Madrid days.
You will find these fans finding fault with other fans defending Suarez, but if you discuss about how Sir Alex defended his players, you will get a simple reply, he did the best for his team and the vice-versa exists for fans defending Dalglish and blaming Sir Alex Ferguson. Talk about Arsenal’s performances against top teams in the Premier League and the only thing you will hear is how Wenger revolutionised the game. Discuss any topic and what you get back is either a complete defence of their manager or raving comments about thier manager.
Football Manager and YouTube pros
It only takes a rumour in a newspaper and these fans display their expertise.They are the keyboard warriors of football. They are the modern day internet footballing scouts. Their scouting knowledge is immense and knows no physical boundaries. They will tell you everything about players from all parts of Europe to the ones playing in South America as well. Their modus operandi is to wait for a player to be linked to a club, check his attributes on Fifa or Football Manager, search for him on youtube and everything is set.
There is immediate outrage on the internet if you dare compare an Emre Can with an Ander Herrera. They will want their club to sign a particular player who looks good on YouTube, irrespective of his attitude or injury record. You will find them raving about Hummels, Sanchez, Reus, Varane, Pogba, Mangala, Jackson Martinez etc. Some of these fans are financial experts as well. They will evaluate a player in a few minutes and tell you how someone like Konoplyanka is a steal at 12 million after watching his compilation for a Europa League game.
They have judgements about the transfer fee being paid by every club. They feel that a football transfer is as simple as it is in FIFA(computer game), where you decide the fee and click on the button and it gets transferred.
The eternal pessimists
These fans are found to be in majority on twitter. Your club loses a game and the meltdown begins. ‘Chelsea is poor against lower half teams’, ‘Suarez is horrible against big teams’, ‘Sack Moyes!’, ‘This was bound to happen. We should have signed Suarez or Higuain. Giroud is mediocre’ are some of the common comments after you lose a game. These fans are out in full flow when their club gets linked with any player. ‘We are going to sign players from mid-table teams. We are doomed.’ ‘We always mess up with our strikers.
First it was Shevchenko, then Torres and now it will be Costa for sure.’ and similar comments follow even before the deal is announced ! These fans are waiting for a player to flop at their club so that at the end of it , they can proudly say ‘I told you so!’.
The conspiracy theorists
Take any incident related to their club or player and these fans feel victimised. There will be always be a theory floating around on how the authorities always conspire against their club or players. These fans find it best to suggest that the Premier League fixture list or the Champions League draw has been manipulated to not favour their club.
You find comments on the internet such as ‘United always get the best draw’, ‘We always get to play Barcelona in the knockouts’, ‘Our christmas fixtures are always so difficult’, ‘FIFA hate Liverpool which is why they suspended Suarez’, ‘Everyone hates Chelsea which is why they want Terry to be suspended’, ‘The FA must have manipulated them’, etc. Sometimes their manager also comes out and starts supporting such arguments which acts as a proof point for these fans. These fans will never find any decision fair.
The ones who like statistics
They are obsessed with numbers. Link a player with a club, they will immediately come with statistics showing his performances over the past few seasons. They immediately compare him to the current squad players and you have a table or an infographic ready doing a comparitive analysis. A lot of these fans assume that a player transferring will replicate his performances for the new club.
You have comments like ‘His transfer would mean an addition of 15 goals and 10 assists for the club.’ . Some of these fans can do immense research to defend players. You will find charts popping suggesting how Suarez has struggled against the big teams but so have the likes of Hazard and Rooney. You will find a clamour to sign the likes of Richardo Rodriguez and Firminho because they have great stats !
The ITKs
The internet has been a boon for these fans. They proudly call themselves ‘ITKs’ or ‘in the know guys’. They think they have all the inside information on the club. They will tell you what exactly happened between the manager and a player, manager and the club and all things we do not find any reports in the press. Some of their trademark tweets or posts include ‘We have an exclusive coming up in a few hours’, ‘You heard it first here that Rooney will sign a new contract’, ‘The papers are reporting what I broke a few weeks back,’ etc.
They have big fan followings on the social media. Some of them put up contradicting vesions of a transfer story within hours and later share the version which turns out to be correct. You also have ‘ordinary’ fans who start claiming ‘Vidal to United is happening’, ‘Chelsea will ask for 35 million for Lukaku’, ‘Liverpool will get Hummels and Reus with the money from Suarez’ ,etc. They are a constant source of entertainment for other fans.
Apart from these stereotypical fans, there are quite a few fans who enjoy the beautiful game and are involved in sensible discussions. We all love the banter with supporters of other clubs.
