What do you like most about football?

I don’t mean simply supporting Southampton,I mean something more than that, love of the game? Played the game? Love the banter? The away days on the ale? The talking points? The cameraderie of fellow lovers of the game?

For the debate no question, how we all see the same thing and yet think about it differently.

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When I speak to people who don’t support a football team, or are not into the sport at all, I tell them they’re lucky because they don’t have to ride the rollercoaster of emotion, not having their weekends ruined by a bit of news from St Marys or elsewhere. Nonetheless, what a ride.

I’ve written before about my respect for difficult things. Professional footballers make those difficult things look easy. Not much else needs to be said on that front.

One thing I really like about the sport is that it makes no promises. You can go to a basketball or cricket game with the entirely reasonable expectation that someone will hit a basket or score some runs. You go to a football match knowing full well that you might see a 0-0 draw in which one team parks the bus. Goals are not guaranteed, which I think is one of the reasons they’re one of the most glorious things you can experience as a spectator in sport.

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I’ll tell you some things I don’t like about football…

Having to smell another mans farts

Listening to someone nearby dissing their own players, then joke about it sheepishly when said player scores

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Continuity… MY team that I’ve followed through good times and bad for as long as I can remember.

Pride…Insult my team you insult me…I will fight MY corner for MY team.

Civic pride…a sense of identity…a Sotonian.

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Originally posted by @lifeintheslowlane

Continuity… MY team that I’ve followed through good times and bad for as long as I can remember.

Pride…Insult my team you insult me…I will fight MY corner for MY team.

Civic pride…a sense of identity…a Sotonian.

I’m onboard with all of that. Even in my most virulent pro-Scouse days, I clung fiercely to the football team. I’ve spent a lot of years outside of the city, so most of my conversations about Saints back then were with fans of other teams. I was always proud of the way we defied the odds every year in Fortress Dell, and loved getting a big scalp. The big wins over Man Utd were spoken of fondly in the 'Pool.

The last couple of years, a solid commitment to going to every home game, have been a revelation. I love seeing old school buds, uncles, cousins and whatnot with Itchen North. Love going to the ground with my brother. I love bothering random Saints fans with their opinions on the game. I also just like being in my own city, and hearing my own accent.

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Originally posted by @lifeintheslowlane

Continuity… MY team that I’ve followed through good times and bad for as long as I can remember.

Yes, John, continuity is an important factor for me as well.

Football - especially Saints - has been one of the constants throughout my life. Jobs, people, places of residence, other interests etc come and go; football remains. The day I lose interest in football will be the day I lose interest in life.

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For me concerning Saints its pride of where I am from, its who I am, football is so much more simply than a saturday, a constant, the beating heart of life itself.

The way it is going doesn’t appeal to me at all, the whole infairness of it all but alas thats the World we live much to its detriment.

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Originally posted by @Barry-Sanchez

For me concerning Saints its pride of where I am from, its who I am, football is so much more simply than a saturday, a constant, the beating heart of life itself.

You can get more people to decide that footy is a good thing than getting them to decide a specific religion is for them. The penny is even starting to drop with our colonial cousins. I love that it’s that universal.

The way it is going doesn’t appeal to me at all, the whole infairness of it all but alas thats the World we live much to its detriment.

It has been going this way for years, and I agree, the vulgarity of the sums involved does put people off.

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When I was 14/15. I used to live on Archers Road. Me and a mate used to go to The Dell after Southampton FC gym training, or indoor 5 a side, which joined onto The Dell, so we could catch the players coming out of the changing rooms on their way home.

One of those days, the Ladiex from the club shop said 'do you want to go into the changing rooms to get those autographs. So we did. I still have the autograph book to this day! Some of the names in it are just amazing. Alan Shearer, Danny Wallace, Rod Wallace, Matt Le Tissier, Jimmy Case and Tim Flowers, just to name a few.

The above would not happen these day. This was around 1988/89 time, when I started going to every home game and a few away games. The distance between the players and the supporters is bigger than it has ever been. But the feel back then was that you were part of the club. Come on, if any kid hung around outside SMS for to long, they would be moved on, not invited in, but not just in, but into the changing rooms. If they were invited in, it there would be a charge and the players out of the building.

Dont get me wrong there are some players that do care about the fans, but I have also heard that most of the players do not have the time for the fans and see themselves as far to above them to even care.

Sad, but true!

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Good point, you can’t really do that now.

In 1999, my uncle took me down to the club shop to get the new home kit and a little Saints notebook. He then drove us over to Staplewood to catch the first team training - as far as I recall it was normal for there to be mostly open sessions then. I remember the journey was particularly hairy as he’d not been driving long and was essentially following a ‘map’ that a nice lady at Saints’ reception had scribbled for us!

I managed to nab quite a few autographs as the players arrived. Probably should’ve written the names for some as a couple are unidentifiable now! As a kid of 12, being able to watch your heroes do something as mundane as training was a top experience.

For some reason the most enduring memory of the session was Egil Ostenstad punting numerous shots not only over the goal but over the high netting behind… Also Hassan Kachloul was a git; the only player that didn’t come over at the end and walked straight into the changing rooms over the other side.

Having missed Jason Dodd too, we managed to catch him just as he was walking to his car. Rather than hurriedly scrawling his name and making an exit, he took the time to write a personal and we had a brief chat. Again, as a young fan that couldn’t make more of a difference to how you see a player.

Anyway, my point being that it would be nice for the club to hold open sessions now and again. I understand the need for privacy/secrecy but why not get a bus load of local kids down there in the Summer holidays? Can’t be any harm in making the players seem a little more human - and you’re potenially locking in a future load of customers, if they really must look at it in a business sense.

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More on topic, the biggest aspects for me:

  • The link to my uncle. There’s not a massive age gap between us and he was like an older brother to me at times. He was obsessed with football so I wanted to be just as mad about it. Looking back, perhaps it was an effort to impress him or to make him proud?

  • The atmosphere. I don’t go to football to sit on my hands or be quiet. There’s not a feeling in the world that matches chanting for your team.

  • The feeling when the ball hits the back of the net (just for Saints, obviously). I remember being asked whether success in the lower leagues made me take goals and winning for granted. Not for a single moment - and never would it.

  • The cult of fanaticism. I’m borderline-autistic over my passions (‘obsessed’ is a word I’ve heard a lot in my life). Football breeds and nurtures such an all-in philosphy, with a capability to worm its way into virtually any moment of your existence.

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Jason Dodd, a little later on in the early 90’s stopped and turned around his Land Rover as he stopped at the exit of the black gates at the dell. Me and a couple of mates who we were hoping to get his autograph, had gone up near the gym, where we had a ready made goal (yes we played football on the grounds), he had come out in the meantime and we missed him, but saw the Land Rover leaving, so we’re waving as we had been waiting for him and a couple of others. He no only stopped, he whizzed back around into the entrance gate and drove down to us. We thought he was going to tell us off for playing in the grounds of the Dell. He got out chatted with us about the game and other games coming up. Signed a few things and also took a couple of crosses before shaking our hands and heading off.

Pretty amazing…

I used to to go in the Dell Social club between 1998 and 2001 before and after games and they used to give out the man of match award after home games. The players would often come down and mingle with the fans and even sit and have drink before heading off home. This happened win, lose or draw every home game. I spent the evening with around 10 others in the company of An injured Matt Le Tissier, at durning the 2000/2001 season, just chatting like it was a night out with his mates. He was so down in the dumps about the injuries he was getting. Such a sad time, for a talented player to be near retirement at a young age!

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Originally posted by @pap

When I speak to people who don’t support a football team, or are not into the sport at all, I tell them they’re lucky because they don’t have to ride the rollercoaster of emotion, not having their weekends ruined by a bit of news from St Marys or elsewhere. Nonetheless, what a ride.

I’ve written before about my respect for difficult things. Professional footballers make those difficult things look easy. Not much else needs to be said on that front.

One thing I really like about the sport is that it makes no promises. You can go to a basketball or cricket game with the entirely reasonable expectation that someone will hit a basket or score some runs. You go to a football match knowing full well that you might see a 0-0 draw in which one team parks the bus. Goals are not guaranteed, which I think is one of the reasons they’re one of the most glorious things you can experience as a spectator in sport.

Many years ago while on holiday in Majorca with a mate, we pitched up in a bar for a couple of beers only to find that Real Madrid v Athletico Madrid was on the TV. We stayed and watched the match with the locals and although it ended 0-0 it was one the best games of football I have seen. It was virtually end to end (like a basketball game) all through with amazing saves and clearances followed by a counter-attack and great defensive work at the other end. I know that the Americans say that a 0-0 draw is like kissing your sister, but in this 0-0 draw your sister would be Angelina Jolie.

Spot on. The good times and bad says it all and I really dont get people who change their teams or have more than one team. An ex boss of mine used to have season tickets for Arsenal and Fulham? One or the other mate. A football club is for life, not just for Christmas.