Editor
24 February 2009 - 16:38
by Nigel Brown
'Sit down and shut up or I will throw you over the side.' Charming. Is this the sort off reception you would expect from one of your own fans at your home ground? No, it's the sort of reception you would expect when captured in enemy waters, or invited for dinner at the PM's gaff.
Well, it's the treatment you receive at the Emirates if you are a Gooner, and it is simply shocking.
Which den of eniquity did the modern football fan creep out from under, because according to his mantra we are now expected to sit down through out every game, never chant, let alone whisper a word of support. Oh yeah, and then you have to re-mortage at half-time to afford a pack of maltesers and pint of watered down Australian lager. What has happened to our beautiful game?
Going to the football used to be a right of passage, passed down from father to son, generation to generation. The first time as a young lad is not easy, it isn't meant to be. You are up, down, chanting, angered, and for a young man, given a proper education in the Queen's English. It is not a comfortable experience in any stretch of the imagination, but you went week in week out despite this.
Has football lost all sense of tradition and been replaced with fat cat padded seats, over priced bone marrow burgers, and the idiotic new age fan. Oh, and Arsenal are now preparing to fit Sony PSP's in some sections of the Emirates. Well done, that will help the atmosphere.
Is sit down shut up the modern way
It was mid way through Eduardo's comeback at the Emirates in the FA Cup replay against Cardiff City. Down went the majestic Croatian and a penalty was given. Who would have thought just over a year after a leg break that shocked the world of football, Eduardo Da Silva would be stepping up to take a penalty against a back drop of red and white in the FA Cup at the Emirates?
Would I be out of line by saying this was a definite edge of your seat, dare I say, even a stand up moment in my life as an Arsenal fan? As I stand arms aloft, arm in arm with a fellow gooner, I am screamed at (and threatened) by one Arsenal fan to sit down, shut up, or be thrown over the side.
Having supported the club since before I could eat solid food I could not believe what I was being told to do. But before I knew it I was in an argument with the gentlemen in his fifties and I missed the penalty, along with him. Great moments at the Emirates are a rarity at the moment, and the idiot missed it and cost me a fleeting second of joy at Arsenal's home.
What is going on?
Only this week Middlesbrough fans were told to sit down and shut up. Safety officer Sue Watson told a group of Boro fans in Block 53A to sit down when the action is not at that end of the ground and to stop the constant noise because it is “driving some fans mad.' Well I hope I can speak for all real football fans when I say that this new age of football fans is driving me mad. Obviously traditionalists like myself do not want trouble, or condone offensive chanting, but we do have the right to support our club and stand when an important moment takes place. Am I asking too much?
Until next time...