Its not worth it today,camera's everywhere and stiffer sentancing, you'll lose you job,family and everything else you valued just for a punch up in Yeovil.
Most of it is handbags at twenty paces anyway, i treasure my family too much to even think about getting involved in fighting. I know my missus would slam the door in my face and tell me to come back once I've grown up ,if i got into one more fight. Thankfully my fighting days ended about twenty years ago, and as my body is totally fucked up i have no yearning to turn the clock back.
If someone hurts my children, then thats a different matter, like us all with kids ,any fucker even threatens them will have a few days when they don't feel at there best.
The Rev
Are the bans rediculous though? If two people get together and have a fight it is nothing to do with football. If one person hits another because he supports another team it is not because of football. Football is an excuse. Now if someone gets attacked and then defends themselves then that person does not deserve a ban. The others do.
To me one of the reasons of the decline in football violence is cage fighting. I know of a few that gave up football violence when they could get the rush in a legal way. There will aleays be some though that can't handle their beer. They deserve a ban. The last couple I hit at a game were both supposedly "Cov fans" It was in Leicester. We came out of a pub to see three of them attacking a bloke who was with his missis and two youngish lads. They were in Fester colours. Big boys attacking someone in front of his kids. Bad enough doing it in front of a woman. I shouted at them to stop in an unpolite way. They must have thought I was a Fester fan or they had me outnumbered. They came at me then. It was over in a few seconds when the third one ran away. To me they deserved a long ban. Luckily the bloke wasn't too bad, just a few graizes. We had the family join us on the walk to the game. I just hope it never put them off going for too long.
I am not proud to say I was involved in it in the 80's. Things are much better now. I still much prefer an away day, but for different reasons. If anyone starts on me or anyone I am with then I will do what I need in self defence. Anything else is for idiots. I want a good day out and mix with the rival fans. Sometimes even go in our opponents end. Ask anyone how much better thecday is with banter when you can mix with them. Anyone at Southampton will tell you. We will be able to do it more next season. I am looking forward to this.
Yeah of course attacking innocent families and people with no interest is bang out of order. I don't want those people at football games. But 2 like-minded people who both want to have a fight, not an issue as far as i'm concerned (as long as they don't involve others).
Can anyone remember a few years ago now last game of the season against leeds... their fans were on the pitch HR.
Our lot were all rushing down on to the pitch about 500 of ours. As our lot started giving it the 'come on' . . The leeds fans all turned and ran at our lot. Ill never forget the raw their fans made. And the scared Shitless city fans running off the pitch to the back of our stands. Hillarious.
I dunno I can remember being on the pitch against Leeds and this big bear of a Leeds fan throwing haymakers only to be put on his arse by a Cov fan and then his head volleyed like a football. There was a fair bit of toing and froing and plenty of lads going at it. Cov certainly didn't flap it as you make out.
I'm already shitting my pants because of the Leyton Orient lynchmob...
Rev that's a great post we've all been thru similiar situations with dads or brothers,were all a bit jekyll and Hyde a football I personally developed torrets at football but rarely swear at home its a place to support your team argue fighting swearing singing or sitting quiet were all there to watch our team win,there's no rules in how to support your team and sometimes you have to question yourself as to why you behave like that,its a weird fact of life our behaviour at football but its a passion of which there's no cureHow i feel about fighting at football comes from when i was a young lad and my Dad used to take me to every game Cov played .
I have written on this before, but breifly my late Dad who is someone who i will always look up to and admire, was a completely different man on matchdays, very much Jeckyl and Hyde ,two completely different personalities. His anger on matchdays i never understood where it came from, but in the end it became too much for me as i knew it had got out of control.
As soon as we had took our seats my Dad would be looking out for opposition fans close by us.
For the next 90 minutes all he would do is purposly agitate and abuse them, hardly concentrating on the match and 9 times out of ten my Dad would be in there faces trying to upset them enough so they would react violently. This was every game home or away ,and for a young lad who sometimes brought his mates with him ,deeply hurting and embarrassing. He would go on and on and many a time stewards had to drag him off the fans he had chosen to wind up. In the end i used to dread going to Cov ,all because of his actions and i would make any excuse not to go with him, but as much as i told him to calm down, the worse he got.
I will always remember thinking how I would never be like my Dad on matchday, any other day he was a very placid man ,and a fantastic father, who i will always admire and love, but i took the decision there and then that my son and daughter would never remember me like i remember my Dad ,and the football and the matchday experience was for watching and enjoying ,and not for an excuse for a fight and get violent.
I've had many fights like the rest of us, but for me to fight there has to be a good reason, like someone hurting my family or being attacked by someone, or someone spouting personal insults on myself or members of my family, and it would only ever be man to man outside, not in a public place where many hide behind the fact it will inevatably get stopped early by other people around them.I presently could'nt physically fight myself out of a paper bag, but for the right reason, given above, i would never hold back, but football voilence seems totally without reason and sense, to risk getting involved
I just think nowadays you can lose so much if convicted of violence either around football or elsewhere, and the attached label would hold you back for ever,both personally and work wise, and the risk is too high for me to ever consider it.
The Rev
SISU cockroach, is a drop of Rioja or Pino Grigio your favourite pre-match tipple?
Do you drink your glass of wine with your little finger on your drinking hand raised in the air?
Do you read the Guardian at half time?
Ah...the modern day football fan....got to love 'em....:facepalm:
Just wondered.....
Botty boy, football hooliganism is so last year.
Don't get me wrong, i get wankered at most games but after the game i am more interested in shagging birds than worrying about what boozer the Lincoln massive are in.
That's because your single and don't have a good lady at home,you may say its so last year however its gna be so next season so you go and get drunk at the school disco the lads don't or want passengers next season,we enjoy a beer represent our city then go home to our families and very good jobs,
I am 30, i have my own business and a missus. I am a cheating bastard though.
I hope all you up for a fight catch horiffic Cov Legionnaries disease.
(punny)
Grow up knobcheese
The fact you go about shagging when you've been out on the piss also shows your age ie young,I'm not knocking what you do after football its your choice like its the lads choice if he wants to meet football firms from around the country
How am I showing my younger yearsIt is yourself that is showing their younger years.
I have two rules in life. If you enjoy doing something then do it as long as it doesn't hurt others. If you shouldn't be doing it then don't get caught.
When I was half the age I am now I only had the first half of the first rule. I put it down to experience and getting older.