Why supporting Reading is better than supporting Arsenal

[bobby1413]

Having a debate with a friend who is an Arsenal Supporter and trying to explain the differences in supporting a club like them, compared to a local club like Reading.

Why do you think it is it better supporting Reading than Arsenal

I've so far argued:

1) That you feel a part of events
2) With larger clubs, none are from the local area and so have no association
3) Arsenal fans generally arrive late/leave early, with no real passion or interest
4) FA cup example - very little fuss made
5) absolutely nothing to link them to the club other than their choice

What do you think?

[Angry Shed Sex]

Because it's a shit team to support.

[bobby1413]

Because it's a shit team to support.

Reading or Arsenal?

[Royal Ginger]

Because it's a shit team to support.

Aye, if you were going to pick one of the "big teams" to support, Arsenal does seem the dullest with least personality.

[tidus_mi2]

I never get the obsession with supporting a big team if you don't live close. You end up never watching the team you support but hey it's cool cause they win most of the time? I personally never care about live matches unless Reading are involved because it just doesn't match actually going to a match, I say that as a guy who supported Man U as a kid, all that winning doesn't compare to regularly attending Reading matches.

[Franchise FC]

There may not be as many highs for a supporter of a lower ranked team, but the highs are considerably higher.

Why - because the highs are so much more of a surprise than supporting a 'big' club.
For them, it's a bit like the drugs they may take
The more they have, the bigger the fix to get the same reaction.

One episode like Saturday for RFC fans is worth at least as much as winning the cup might be for the Arsenal fans

The big moments for us have been rare enough that they rank extremely high in the memory - for the 'big' fans the moments somehow meld together and therefore hold less prominence for reminiscence

[Pepe the Horseman]

I'm bursting with aggression

Roids.

[Ouroboros]

One episode like Saturday for RFC fans is worth at least as much as winning the cup might be for the Arsenal fans

It's basically this.

I don't think it's possible for an Arsenal fan to feel as much pride in their team as most Reading fans will have felt on Saturday.

There's nothing in football quite like a team of mediocre plodders producing a heroic effort to match (or nearly match) opposition of massively higher status. Even if Arsenal fans were to see their team beat the best in Europe, it wouldn't be quite the same.

[Winchester Royal]

Arsenal's equivalent of Saturday would probably be the 2005 CL Final and the 2000 UEFA Cup final. (Both of which they lost)

[genome]

Arsenal's equivalent of Saturday would probably be the 2005 CL Final and the 2000 UEFA Cup final. (Both of which they lost)

Closest equivalent I'd say. They were already a title-winning club at those points, whereas we have never experienced anything of the sort.

Someone mentioned here that we had taken a team that in Sanchez and Ozil had two players worth more than we had ever spent on transfers in our entire history.

[Geekins]

I think you've wasted your time.

[From Despair To Where?]

....because we know that finishing 4th isn't something to moan about.

[Ravel]

Because a category A ticket at Aresnal can cost up to £97, and for that I can go to 3 home games, pay for my park and ride to the stadium, and get 3 programs (which I will never read) and still save a whole pound!

[Warfield North Stand]

Because Saturday was "Just another day at Wembley "for them, whereras I woke up at 6.30am like a 6 year old in Christmas Day!

[melonhead]

when people try and talk to me about football and go on about supporting one of the big teams, I usually ask how often they've been to see them this season, or ever
and the answer is usually incredibly low, or very often zero


at that point I just glaze over and wander off.

what they do isn't supporting a club at all.

[bobby1413]

when people try and talk to me about football and go on about supporting one of the big teams, I usually ask how often they've been to see them this season, or ever
and the answer is usually incredibly low, or very often zero


at that point I just glaze over and wander off.

what they do isn't supporting a club at all.

I know exactly what you mean. I once said similar to GF when I first started taking her to Reading.

I said "Next time someone in your office says they support Liverpool / Manchester United, etc... then ask them 'Oh great, do you get to many games?'".

I told her that undoubtedly they would look really confused and say "no", or "yea, I went a few seasons back.

My Mum once said "xxx loves football, never misses the games on TV"

As football is so ingrained in our culture, and for office bantz, people feel obliged to "like" a team, yet aren't necessarily football supporters

[Green]

Everybody likes an underdog basically.

Well maybe, but people like success too.

[Winchester Royal]

Having the opportunity to travel abroad to watch your club play the likes of Bayern, Barca, PSG, Real Madrid, AC Milan etc on a reasonably regular basis can't be bad. I have an Arsenal supporting uncle and he makes 2-3 european trips a year. Genuinely supporting them must be quite good, but I can't see the pleasure in only ever watching on the telly.

[From Despair To Where?]

when people try and talk to me about football and go on about supporting one of the big teams, I usually ask how often they've been to see them this season, or ever
and the answer is usually incredibly low, or very often zero


at that point I just glaze over and wander off.

what they do isn't supporting a club at all.

My nephew and his girlfriend are like that. He supports Chelsea, she supports Manchester City, he's been to 1 game, she's been to no games. Never, ever shown even the remotest interest in football until 2 years ago

They start talking to me about football and it's like listening to Robbie Savage, all vacuous soundbite and no substance. The other week, he was extolling the virtues of Diego Costa and how Chelsea bought him to win the Champions League to which I commented on how pleased he must be that his goals were firing them towards the final.

Mentioning anything pre 2003 usually shuts them both up..

[No Fixed Abode]

Mention anything pre 2005 to a lot of Reading fans and they're stumped....