[Albion] I Just Don’t Care Anymore

[Lever]

I have supported the Albion since the 1966/67 season. Over that long period my enthusiasm has fluctuated according to a range of factors including my personal and economic circumstances etc but generally not according to how well the team have been doing.

It seems to me inevitable that match day excitement waxes and wanes occasionally, especially when we can now catch nearly all the matches on TV and save ourselves the discomfort of spending travel and waiting time actually attending.

I am never indifferent to Albion's results, but I am totally switched off by most of the hype surrounding the game: TV pundits acting like Estate agents for the bigger clubs when speaking about our most talented players; daft evidence free speculation on what the table will look like at the end of the season; indifference to the huge financial gulf between the 6/7 mega rich clubs and the rest etc.

Taking a break from all of that is totally understandable but I think when you are a 'lifer', you know you are.....

 

[rebel51]

Only ever enjoyed the football experience when i was pissed. Having not had a drink for 12 years, the whole amex and big seated stadia is not my cup of tea, whether or not we are winning or not is not the issue.Still got a strong passion for the albion but the actual going has waned since stopping drinking which really says a lot. Just to end I hate being squashed in with a stranger and having to say excuse me to a row of people.The goldstone north, chicken run and south stand all things standing, fully tanked up for me.Also have a family to think of now to add to the mix.

 

[Acker79]

When I was younger/we weren't in the premier league where signing back up to a season ticket can be a bit of a faff, I used to take seasons off now and again. I'd find going to football starting to feel like an obligation. So I'd cancel the season ticket and take a year off (I'd still listen to games on the radio when I was free, but just removing that 'it's a home game, that's my Saturday/evening gone' feeling to replace with a 'I miss the games' one was a benefit to me.

 

[Guinness Boy]

i know it is an evening KO but see there are 100s of tickets available for City game to see one of worlds best teams. Maybe it is waring off although also see tickets are £60 in EU

I thought we'd left?

 

[Guy Fawkes]

The 23/24 season represents my 30th season of supporting the Albion and as we all know this has been a truly historic year for the club. Starting my Albion supporting journey back in 93/94, never did I envisage we’d be beating the likes of Man U and Liverpool (amongst many others) in the top flight of English Football.

Which makes my recent indifference to football all the more difficult to understand. Not too long ago, my whole working week would be solely focused on the game at the weekend. The pre and post match drinks, visiting new town/cities, the smell of the pitch, the atmosphere and 90 mins of escapism.

None of that invokes any kind of excitement in me anymore, yet given the recent success of the Albion I know it should. As recently as Fulham away I shamefully walked out after 15 mins for, no other reason than sheer boredom - back to the pub I went. Ajax away, whilst fantastic to go there and win, didn’t quite fill with me the euphoria it previously might have done.

So I then ask myself is this just part of getting older where one starts finding enjoyment elsewhere? Possibly, but I’m only 39.

Is it the Premier League? So focused and hell bent on getting there, that the destination is never as good as the journey? Possibly, but given this seasons Europa exploits you could argue against that.

Or through our success, are we now just too far removed from the ‘grass roots’ of the game? Has the monetisation of football evaporated my enjoyment from the game I once loved? I’ve certainly not ruled out taking in some non league football to reignite some passion.

I don’t know what the answer is, but it started creeping in pre COVID and whilst for a short while it abated following numerous national lockdowns, the ambivalence has very much returned. I’ve renewed my Season Ticket for a 14th year and will in all likelihood attend a handful of away games once again, but my hopes for renewed invigoration are decreasing with every passing season.

The truth is I just don’t care like I once used to and whilst I know I should probably pack it all in and cancel my ST (or adopt a local non league team), I can’t bring myself to do it.

The law of diminishing returns in full effect

 

[BluesRockDJ]

The 23/24 season represents my 30th season of supporting the Albion and as we all know this has been a truly historic year for the club. Starting my Albion supporting journey back in 93/94, never did I envisage we’d be beating the likes of Man U and Liverpool (amongst many others) in the top flight of English Football.

Which makes my recent indifference to football all the more difficult to understand. Not too long ago, my whole working week would be solely focused on the game at the weekend. The pre and post match drinks, visiting new town/cities, the smell of the pitch, the atmosphere and 90 mins of escapism.

None of that invokes any kind of excitement in me anymore, yet given the recent success of the Albion I know it should. As recently as Fulham away I shamefully walked out after 15 mins for, no other reason than sheer boredom - back to the pub I went. Ajax away, whilst fantastic to go there and win, didn’t quite fill with me the euphoria it previously might have done.

So I then ask myself is this just part of getting older where one starts finding enjoyment elsewhere? Possibly, but I’m only 39.

Is it the Premier League? So focused and hell bent on getting there, that the destination is never as good as the journey? Possibly, but given this seasons Europa exploits you could argue against that.

Or through our success, are we now just too far removed from the ‘grass roots’ of the game? Has the monetisation of football evaporated my enjoyment from the game I once loved? I’ve certainly not ruled out taking in some non league football to reignite some passion.

I don’t know what the answer is, but it started creeping in pre COVID and whilst for a short while it abated following numerous national lockdowns, the ambivalence has very much returned. I’ve renewed my Season Ticket for a 14th year and will in all likelihood attend a handful of away games once again, but my hopes for renewed invigoration are decreasing with every passing season.

The truth is I just don’t care like I once used to and whilst I know I should probably pack it all in and cancel my ST (or adopt a local non league team), I can’t bring myself to do it.

Try doubling your support in years and realise how far we have come?

 

[trueblue]

i know it is an evening KO but see there are 100s of tickets available for City game to see one of worlds best teams. Maybe it is waring off although also see tickets are £60 in EU

That's because we're not going along to see one of the world's best teams. We're going along to watch the Albion. Money's tight, the match is on telly, most expect City to win at a canter. I don't think that's a problem with our club - it's a problem with football. The penny may drop when the Champions League eventually tanks once they've rigged it so the same 'big' clubs play each other time and again.