Fan or Supporter

[Mike D]

not sure how to express this properly

 

but for me, I dont like the term fan

 

not sure when it became popular for the media to refer to people as fans but its just something that grates, seems its become more popular in recent years.

 

wondering if its an american term thats crept in?

 

ive always thought we were supporters.

 

are you only a supporter if you actually go the match?

 

but your a fan if you dont go but ring into things like talksport?

[chris71]

not sure how to express this properly

 

but for me, I dont like the term fan

 

not sure when it became popular for the media to refer to people as fans but its just something that grates, seems its become more popular in recent years.

 

wondering if its an american term thats crept in?

 

ive always thought we were supporters.

 

are you only a supporter if you actually go the match?

 

but your a fan if you dont go but ring into things like talksport?

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head. For me a supporter is someone who

actually supports the club,by going to games and getting behind the team through thick and thin.

A fan sits on a barstool bitching and moaning non stop then rings talkshite to bitch some more if we haven't won 5 nil. The fan will then have no interest

in the team and follow rugby or something till we start winning again.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I think you've hit the nail on the head. For me a supporter is someone who

actually supports the club,by going to games and getting behind the team through thick and thin.

A fan sits on a barstool bitching and moaning non stop then rings talkshite to bitch some more if we haven't won 5 nil. The fan will then have no interest

in the team and follow rugby or something till we start winning again.

 

What if you don't go to the game, but get behind the team and support the club no matter what?

 

Personally I always refer to it as fan, not sure why really, i've never given it much thought. Now you mention it, I do think supporter sounds better than fan.

[mcflynn]

Yeh I agree, hanger-on is a much better term.

[Mike D]

I sort of think of it in the same way as calling football soccer.

 

it shouldnt wind people up, its not really important, but it just does

 

soccer fans

football supporters

 

 

my biggest fan..

 

 

 

or you could even be a football enthusiast :P

 

I think its one and the same really, I just like the older more traditional words

[viking]

Must say I prefer the term supporter than fan....the late great Phil Lynott used to call people who followed Thin Lizzy.....Thin Lizzy supporters. The term soccer is dreadful all you have to think of is all the "fans" on soccer am!!! We are football supporters!

[Soup]

We are Liverpool.

[RedMyst]

Is it not just semantics?

 

For example,..

 

 

fan noun ( PERSON )

 

someone who admires and supports a person, sport, sports team, etc

More than 15, 000 Liverpool fans attended Saturday's game.

He's a big fan of country music.

I'm pleased to meet you - I'm a great fan of your work.

supporter noun

 

* someone who supports a particular idea, group or person

He is one of the Prime Minister's strongest supporters within industry.

 

* UK (US fan) someone who wants a particular team to win and might show it by going to watch them play

Thousands of supporters have travelled to London for the cup final.

 

Source

[tea]

The term 'fan' is not new, nor is it an americanism. When I was growing up, it was only posh people, woolybacks and teachers that generally used the term 'supporters'. As you can see from the following quote, Shankly himself used the term 'fans', and if it was good enough for him, its good enough for me:-

 

'The fans here are the greatest in the land. They know the game and they know what they want to see. The people on the Kop make you feel great - yet humble.'

[mypost]

Is it not just semantics?

 

For example,..

 

 

fan noun ( PERSON )

 

someone who admires and supports a person, sport, sports team, etc

More than 15, 000 Liverpool fans attended Saturday's game.

He's a big fan of country music.

I'm pleased to meet you - I'm a great fan of your work.

supporter noun

 

* someone who supports a particular idea, group or person

He is one of the Prime Minister's strongest supporters within industry.

 

* UK (US fan) someone who wants a particular team to win and might show it by going to watch them play

Thousands of supporters have travelled to London for the cup final.

 

Source

 

Only a matter of time before someone got the dictionary out.

 

Much prefer the term "fan". "Football fan" just sounds better than "soccer supporters".

[TheResonator]

I think it's part of the larger cultural shift which has made football more business-like.

 

Supporting a team has gone from unconditional backing based predominantly on geography and/or heritage to a decision taken on all manner of bases.

 

More than that, though, with the amount of money that is in football nowadays, going to the match or even watching the game on Sky is much more like paying for a service than paying to 'support' your club. There is a greater sense of entitlement, I believe. Add to that the fact that every football 'fan' nowadays is encouraged to think of themselves as an undiscovered tactical genius, and a far greater amount of people now expect to see what they want to see for their moneys worth.

 

A fan nowadays is more of an observer than a supporter, and has no issue hanging their own players, club, team and manager out to dry if it's not in line with their own opinion about how things should be done.

[MOGLET]

Fan or supporter ?

 

If asked who I support, I reply with Liverpool.

 

I personally think we should just use the term, "I'm a Red" that way the fan or supporter term is negated.

[Flying Pig]

Going to the game has no bearing on what we should be called. If somebody like me cannot go to match due to work/family/finances and who has 'supported' LFC since conception is described differently to (for e.g.) a young lad with no commitments and money to burn to go the match, well its a load of bollocks.

 

Not really interested in adjectives to explain loyalty.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Going to the game has no bearing on what we should be called. If somebody like me cannot go to match due to work/family/finances and who has 'supported' LFC since conception is described differently to (for e.g.) a young lad with no commitments and money to burn to go the match, well its a load of bollocks.

 

Not really interested in adjectives to explain loyalty.

 

Exactly.

[ChicagoRed]

Supporter - someone who carries weight, steadfast, sturdy, stays around for the duration, trustworthy, won't let you down,

 

Fan - someone that blows wind, sometimes in more than one direction

[zigackly]

As you can see from the following quote, Shankly himself used the term 'fans', and if it was good enough for him, its good enough for me:-

 

'The fans here are the greatest in the land. They know the game and they know what they want to see. The people on the Kop make you feel great - yet humble.'

 

Is right.

[George Costanza]

Does it really fucking matter?

 

I've sat near or next to people at the game and all they fucking do is moan. They are probably there every home game and spout the same old neagtive shit.

 

I've been in bars watching us on the tele with the most red eyed, blinkered fans. Supporting the club & praising/backing the players no matter what.

 

I've been abroad and witnessed Liverpool fans act like scum, in the same day see Liverpool fans acc like fantastic Ambassadors mingling & interacting with the locals