How can you give up on your team, even if it is a wheezing corpse and a former shadow of itself? I don't know at what point a team etches itself into your DNA but the transformation is immense.
Defeat really hurts and victory brings a stupid swell of elation. You almost become bipolar. 90 mins can wreck the next thirty six hours.
That doesn't mean your attendance doesn't dwindle, the humiliation can be too much to bare, the combined emotional and financial cost too high to justify. But still you can't shake that, how have they done feeling, the secret longing for victory.
It is tough being a Sky Blues fan and understandably the level of faith waxes and wanes. It was always a club for mutual thumbs up respect. The shirt was always a welcome sight across some foreign bar at results time on the opening day of a season.
I don't get the current trend to slag half the fan base off for non attendance, moan about small gates and glorify a small loyal band. It is almost like certain people are frightened of success and big gates as that would spoil their 'special' relationship with the club. To me a fan is a fan and it is not for me to sound out their level of personal commitment.
What we need from the club is an identity, a plan, effort, entertainment, value for money hopefully culminating in some success. Fans need to feel valued, by the owners, by the players, but most importantly by each other. We can't expect player to come and be proud of our club if we are not proud of ourselves.