Support your local team? Why bother?

Derry City v Bohemians

When I was younger I was a massive fan of Tottenham Hotspur. I'm not from North London, let alone England, but I was a supporter: I followed the fortunes of the team, watched their games when possible and bought (or rather received) replica shirts, which I wore with pride as I attempted to emulate my heroes Stephen Carr, Jürgen Klinsmann and Darren Anderton. I endured the obligatory teasing from what I always thought were gloryhunting Liverpool and Manchester United fans for my choice of team and even found a degree of solidarity with other suffering Spurs fans.


But was it my choice? That is, was it really my choice to support Spurs? 

Klinsmann playing for Spurs

The short answer is no; I was, to use a rather crude term, indoctrinated. My father (also not from North London) supported Spurs and, at the time, it seemed only natural for me to do likewise. In fact it was somewhat expected that I do so. When I look back on it, is was actually a great opportunity to bond (I think every father should endeavour to find an activity that he can include his son in). However as I grew older I gradually lost interest in Spurs, whose fortunes, in a cruel twist, conversely improved. It suddenly felt strange for me to be supporting a team that I had no personal or even perceived connection with, a team that didn't, in reality, represent me. So instead, I chose to focus my energy on my local team, Derry City. 

I had been a regular at the Brandywell in the late "nineties" and early "two-thousands", going to games with my father and a cousin who held a season ticket. I actually won the Derry Journal's "Face in the Crowd" competition which, to my joy, gifted me the latest Derry City home and away shirts at the time. It was almost a type of consolation for the embarrassment of having an open-gobbed image of myself broadcast to the City (something which my friends and teachers wasted no time in slagging me for). Around the time that I was born, Derry City was one of the strongest teams in Ireland, but their fortunes had declined somewhat approaching the early "two-thousands". However, that did not stop me from relishing our regular trips to the Brandywell. One of the greatest spectacles I ever witnessed was a relegation playoff in 2003, when City legend Liam Coyle, in his last ever game, condemned local rivals Finn Harps to another season in the First Division in front of a crowd of over 7,000. Magic stuff.

The Brandywell

Nearly a decade on from that day, I am still supporting Derry City and there have been quite a few "ups" and, unfortunately, some "downs". What Derry City fan could forget that marvellous European adventure in 2006 or the (various) cup wins? By the same token, fans experienced the pain of an acrimonious fall from grace as the club was shrouded in controversy and relegated, for the first time in its history, to the League of Ireland First Division. One thing is certain, following Derry City will not leave you pining for drama. 

Cup celebrations

The real attraction, however, for me, is the sense of belonging that supporting the club brings. When I watch Derry City on television or travel to watch their games, I am watching a team of modestly paid players, most of whom hail from Derry and the surrounding area. I have even gone to school with some City players, played with and against others - the connection truly is palpable. When I appeal to people to support their local team rather than some foreign entity like Manchester United or Glasgow Celtic, it is not, as it might be misconstrued, out of a petty hatred of all things British; it comes from a genuine desire to help local pursuits prosper.

But as my good (he might argue great) friend sardonically put it: "Sure what's the point in supporting your local team? Why would you bother taking the short journey into the Brandywell to spend a small amount to watch a team of local men play when you could spend preposterous amounts on supporting a team from a different country filled with overpaid individuals?". Indeed. Why would you bother?

Support your local team!

Who said this was about football?

Getting riled up to the point of spleen fulmination over the fortunes of one's favourite football team, or worse those of a rival's, is something that I will never fully understand. Despite the musing of former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, football is not more important than a matter of life and death, let alone a matter of life and death in itself. Nevertheless, I enjoy it - it is my favourite sport to watch and play - and it pleases me to see a team or player that I support doing well. Likewise, I am prone to a momentary feeling of disappointment when the opposite transpires.

So when Derry City overturned a one-goal deficit last night at the Brandywell to defeat Irish League champions Linfield by three goals to one in the Setanta Sports Cup (they won by four goals to two over two legs), a smile developed across my face and I can imagine the natural feeling of deflation felt by Linfield fans.

However it is not the events of the game or the implications of Derry's victory which dominated headlines today, since the spotlight was hijacked by groups of violent supporters intent on destruction and possibly worse. Sinn Féin councillor Patricia Logue said that Linfield fans went on a 'sectarian rampage', while Derry City director Martin Mullan is said to have been chased by a mob of Linfield supporters after he tried to help diffuse the situation: 'I've never been as scared in my life.', said a shaken Mullan after the game, 'I'd like to thank [Derry City F.C.] stewards for saving me.', he concluded.

On the basis of those accounts alone it would appear that a skirmish erupted as blood-thirsty Linfield fans spilled out of the stands and into the streets, but when one examines the accounts of Linfield fans it is clear that there is an idiotic 'hardcore' within both sets of fans and they are complicit in the violence (and that's not to mention the fact that City fans were guilty of destroying seats at Windsor Park).

During a discussion of the events of the evening on Mark Patterson's Radio Foyle show, a Linfield fan described a situation where his fellow supporters were pelted by stones and subjected to abuse as they left the stadium, and "only a handful" retaliated. According to Progressive Unionist politician Billy Hutchinson, buses transporting Linfield fans from Derry were also damaged by the unnecessary stone-throwing of mindless individuals. The Linfield fan went on to criticise what he termed "part-time" Linfield supporters and, interestingly, raised the issue of lax policing, as drunken supporters were allowed to board buses to the game.

It has been suggested by some that friction only seems to occur when Derry City play Linfield, but this is misleading. Only recently there was tension between Sligo Rovers and Glentoran fans which resulted in a bus being broken into, while there were also issues when Glentoran and Linfield fans travelled to Dublin to play Bohemians and Shelbourne. This is not confined to Derry.

Nevertheless, it is possible that the friction between Derry and Linfield might be greater, in part, as a result of Derry, a northern club, playing in a different league to Linfield. Derry City is a League of Ireland club, by virtue of being removed from the Irish League due to problems arising from sectarianism and security concerns four decades ago, and as such encounters with Linfield do not happen frequently. Therefore, the rarity of such encounters inevitably adds to the spectacle. This coupled with the fact that some fools erroneously equate the fixture to an Irish "Old Firm", attracts the dregs of society, or what the aforementioned Linfield fan diplomatically termed "part-time fans", to the Brandywell.

It can be avoided, despite the deeply entrenched socio-political reality that exists, and with luck another all-Ireland sporting competition will be allowed to prosper to the benefit of both fans and clubs. What needs to happen is mature self-moderation within the fan base. Those who seek to sully the reputation of the football team they purport to support by instigating or encouraging sectarian hatred should be censured by the club and indeed the fanbase. Statements from supporters' clubs issuing a savage criticism of such behaviour would be a welcome start. Wishful thinking?