Why support the big teams? All they do is win.

Why is being a football supporter all about supporting the best team? Surely, logically, that defeats the object of really supporting the club.

I stated in an article the other day, that there is a certain beauty to being a football fan when you’re young. 

Before the pressures of adult life take over, your football team dropping points on a Saturday afternoon is as serious as it gets. It’s like your own little magical world. It doesn’t matter if Narnia FC are lounging in the relegation zone and on the brink of administration, those eleven men are your heroes. 

They’ll win every game 10-0, and that’s all there is to it as far as you’re concerned.

Supporting the underdog

For my sins, I was raised as a Spurs fan. This was never overly concerning to my adolescent self, even though they mostly spent their time in mid-table when I began to properly follow football in the mid-noughties. 

I’d wear my Spurs top underneath my school uniform every day. Non-uniform days were even better, I’d be able to proudly show off the lilywhite colours no matter the weather, nor the temperature.

My friendship group at school consisted of lads who supported Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool – the main teams in those days. 

I recall walking out of class one day and jogging to catch up with them, before one of the Liverpool fans told me, with a smirk on his face: “only teams in the top four can walk with us”. 

By now I was accustomed to the banter. It’s just something you had to deal with when you supported a team that never won anything. 

I once did a presentation for my English class on why Spurs were the best team in the world. My argument primarily consisted of referring to the glory days in the 60’s, and dearly hoping nobody picked up on the fact that I barely mentioned the modern day mediocrity. 

Ultimately, to sincerely believe such a statement would be delusional. 

There’s an element of truth to the phrase: “we can beat anyone on our day”, which often refers to a club’s annual defeat of a financially superior team, after pulling off a training ground set-piece to take all three points. 

But unfortunately, for most realists, it would take more than just a Christian Eriksen free-kick against the Catalan giants for Spurs to ever get anything from a side like Barcelona, let alone do it consistently.

It's not about winning

But that’s surely the point of supporting a football team? It’s not about winning, it’s not about trophies, it’s about turning up to every game and making as much noise as possible. Being the twelfth man – to use a classic cliché. 

Granted, it must be nice to support a team like City or Chelsea, who are guaranteed a trophy or two every season. But does that not get a bit dull? There’s nothing to look forward to. It’s the same thing every year. A trip to Wembley, or a Champions League semi-final, is a ‘when’ rather than an ‘if’. 

When you support a club like Spurs, especially in a time like the nineties or noughties, winning is a novelty, and that’s what’s so immensely rewarding about it.

For all the times the defence collapses in the dying minutes and a one goal lead disappears into thin air, there’s a game like Chelsea at home on New Year’s Day. Ultimately, a one-off performance, but there’s nothing quite like watching the team who’ve struggled against lesser sides for the past few months, suddenly tearing apart the best in the league. 

It may be a long wait for the bragging rights against your neighbour, discussing the day’s action over the garden fence, but it’s worth the wait.

The modern day influence of big clubs

I was listening to a podcast a few weeks ago, where they were discussing the influence of the big clubs on the modern world. 

If you walk into any sports shop, regardless of geographical location, you’ll see the same, familiar football shirts on sale. And this method will lead the next generation of football fans to only one conclusion.

It’s almost like we’re being told what team to support.

It’s the same concept with Sky and BT prioritising the big clubs on Saturday lunch times or Sunday afternoon. As recently as three days ago, ‘Super Sunday’ involved a bore draw between Manchester United and Manchester City, and ignored the six goals shared on the south coast – which kicked off at the same time. 

This is the case more often than not.

Enjoying the game

In 2010, Spurs qualified for the Champions League after a Peter Crouch headed winner away at Manchester City. The following season provided the most breath-taking, visually orgasmic football that most Spurs fans had seen in their lifetime. 

That season seemed to breed a higher level of expectation amongst the fan base. 

Despite the inevitable-but-gradual fall from grace following the departures of the silky Luka Modric, the fiery Rafa Van der Vaart and the blistering pace of Welshman Gareth Bale – the final hero to bid farewell to N17, we’ve still been hoping for a return to the big time. 

This hasn’t happened.

Pochettino was essentially brought in to start again. Rebuild the team from scratch with a focus on youth, and implement a new way of playing in order to please the fans and create a new footballing identity for the club. 

So far, so good.

Expectations appear to have lowered somewhat in the last year or so, and many have accepted that Spurs will remain as Spurs, regardless of whether the famous Champions League theme tune is blasting out of the White Hart Lane speakers. 

And quite honestly, I prefer it this way.

I’ve missed being able to simply enjoy the game, rather than worrying about the prospect of only being able to see fourth place via a telescope if points are dropped on Saturday. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love another season in the big time. 

But for now, fuck the trophies, let’s all just grab a beer and enjoy the game – it’s what football is all about.