While Premier League club allegiances are important, the love of the sport we watch should be the highest priority. It’s realizing this that makes us proper fans.
There comes a time in every fan’s career, where they must take stock, and really consider what they truly love about the sport in which they follow. For me, one of the aspects that truly makes it worth being a fan, is Jose Mourinho.
While Mourinho is no longer a servant of the club which holds my allegiance, he still remains one of the most influential people within football. I still wish him the best and hope that he goes onto achieve great things, perhaps even at Chelsea’s expense.
This is where my logic runs into trouble with most people. Rooting for anything other than your team is a cardinal sin in any sport, punishable by banishment, refusal to be taken seriously, and a complete strip of your credentials as a fan. You’re not supposed to want anything more than for your team to win every match. Everything else is icing. Perhaps it’s this logic however, that spoils the batter entirely.
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Why do we root for one team over another? What aligns within us with the clubs we so proudly sing for? I would argue that a football club, or a team in general is an organization of people. People are what make up the club, what draws us in, and what provides us with that affinity to support them. It’s not Chelsea, but Drogba, Lampard, and Terry. Not United, but Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, and Ferguson.
We don’t love the team as much as we love the players the team has come to represent. It’s the jersey, but ultimately the players that pull on the jersey that we have affection toward.
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So with this concept in mind, we must take a look at the hierarchy in which our fanhood is molded upon. It’s not the club first. It’s the sport first. Then the club, then the players that play for the team. I am a football fan, before I am a Chelsea fan, before I am an Eden Hazard fan. That’s the way fans should operate.
That’s the logic that lends us to getting behind such things as cleverly orchestrated fan “walk out” at the Kop during Liverpool’s match this weekend. That is why we have all become quasi-Leicester City fans this campaign.
While we all want our respective clubs to win, we are all daring to dream that the Foxes could achieve something so wonderful. Why? Cause it’s good for the sport.
A title to the Leicester would completely break up “big clubs” in the Premier League. Atletico Madrid has been pushing this movement in Spain, though it could be argued that the Rojiblancos have always had more money and more fame within their ranks.
The concept still remains. Atletico winning La Liga gave a whole new edge to the league. No longer is it a two team race. Similarly, Leicester winning the Premier League would have an even larger effect on England. It’s anyone’s league, the team that has the most wins can finish top. Spending becomes just a bit less important. That’s a story that any football fan shouldl get behind, despite their club.
The concept of loving football first should spill over into other aspects. We should sing the names of those who have departed from our club. While there are obviously exceptions to this rule, the logic remains. Jose Mourinho is a top tier manager, who I have the utmost respect for. I want him to manage again, in England.
This doesn’t make me a poor Chelsea fan, it makes me a football fan. Furthermore, I would be happy if he was successful in England, even if it trumps Chelsea now and again.
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We as fans need to stop being so petty when it comes to our allegiances. This doesn’t mean to hate your rivals. Of course we should continue on battering each other. But it’s not simply a case of hatred, it’s also one of respect. Respect for your club, but an overall love of the game should trump all other agendas. The rest is just icing.