Things you love about supporting the Albion...

[Dave the OAP]

I cant believe some fans would want to watch what we do over say Arsenal in a fantastic stadium, world class players, no money worries, the best sides in England playing you every week and champions league stuff, the best players in the world 30 feet from you....it would be just heaven.

Yes Ok, we support our local side and put up with the rough and the smooth( mostly rough) but come on!


...and Yes if on Wednesday some bloke with a towel on his head said to Dick....Right I am buying this club for my son...here is 5 million...go away, my contruction firm will build Falmer and oh by the way here is 50 million to buy players and get us to the championsip in the next year or so....evry man jack of us would be creaming his/her pants at the thought......( although not Liz Costa obviously)

 

[Frutos]

I cant believe some fans would want to watch what we do over say Arsenal in a fantastic stadium, world class players, no money worries, the best sides in England playing you every week and champions league stuff, the best players in the world 30 feet from you....it would be just heaven.

I'd pick the Albion over the Arsenal any day.

Couldn't care less if they have the best players in the world, what we have is our LOCAL team and a bond to our club that no amount of anyone's money can buy or replicate.

How many of those who go to the Emirates could honestly saiy they'd still want be there every other week if Arsenal slipped down the leagues and were playing somewhere akin to Withdean? Not many of them I bet, they'd be jumping onto the very next bandwagon that wandered past.

If we get to the Premiership one day, at least those who were there in the dying days of the Goldstone and those of us who watch some of the shite that gets served up sometimes at Withdean these days can say 'we were there', which is something that no pampered Prem fan can have any real understanding of.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

I'd pick the Albion over the Arsenal any day.

Couldn't care less if they have the best players in the world, what we have is our LOCAL team and a bond to our club that no amount of anyone's money can buy or replicate.

How many of those who go to the Emirates could honestly saiy they'd still want be there every other week if Arsenal slipped down the leagues and were playing somewhere akin to Withdean? Not many of them I bet, they'd be jumping onto the very next bandwagon that wandered past.

If we get to the Premiership one day, at least those who were there in the dying days of the Goldstone and those of us who watch some of the shite that gets served up sometimes at Withdean these days can say 'we were there', which is something that no pampered Prem fan can have any real understanding of.

It's the sense of being part of great unity of real football supporters, you respect all your fellow Brighton fans and there's an element of pride that comes with it. It's brilliant, this is where the reall football is.

Oh and away games are an absolute f***ing treat with the lads.

 

[Dave the OAP]

If we get to the Premiership one day, at least those who were there in the dying days of the Goldstone and those of us who watch some of the shite that gets served up sometimes at Withdean these days can say 'we were there', which is something that no pampered Prem fan can have any real understanding of.

I am sorry but that is sheer bollocks...I work with Chelsea fans who were there when they were shit...for many years.

Obviously you get bigger gates when you are sucessful...why do you think we are spending £60 million on a stadium for a core support of 5,000 at the moment?

I agree you can say " I was there", BUT just castigationg fans of teams in a higher division for just being there is pathetic mate.

I think people forget, we are a small seaside football club- not a particularily sucessful one at that and the Premiership clubs that are there tend to be there becuase they can fill ground of 30 to 70k every week. In our history we have never done that consistently.

I still love this club as I have done for 35 years, however that doesnt stop me appreciating the finer things in life.

 

[Frutos]

I am sorry but that is sheer bollocks...I work with Chelsea fans who were there when they were shit...for many years.

Did they watch their club have it's ground ripped out from under it's feet for an investment of £56.25? Did they have to then wait 11 years (and counting) for a new stadium, having to fight over god knows how many hurdles in the process? Have they ever been less than 45 minutes from dropping out of the Football League entirely?

They may have been shit by their standards, but they've known nothing of shit by our standards.

 

[blue and white army]

I'd pick the Albion over the Arsenal any day.

Couldn't care less if they have the best players in the world, what we have is our LOCAL team and a bond to our club that no amount of anyone's money can buy or replicate.

How many of those who go to the Emirates could honestly saiy they'd still want be there every other week if Arsenal slipped down the leagues and were playing somewhere akin to Withdean? Not many of them I bet, they'd be jumping onto the very next bandwagon that wandered past.

If we get to the Premiership one day, at least those who were there in the dying days of the Goldstone and those of us who watch some of the shite that gets served up sometimes at Withdean these days can say 'we were there', which is something that no pampered Prem fan can have any real understanding of.

Banter, the days when Marney and Wilkinson were playing upfront in the championship but it's like a drug your back for more... not like those man utd/arsenal/chelsea/liverpool fans who are glory-hunters and use the excuse like oh my mum's from manchester bollocks she's probably from stockport PLASTICS plus it's funny you get masses of Liverpool fans in Brighton with no scouse accent and don't go to the games because it's too far away support Tranmere or Accrington Stanley... i could go on with this rant

 

[blue and white army]

Oh yeah the sometimes outrageous MoM decisions

 

[Frutos]

I agree you can say " I was there", BUT just castigationg fans of teams in a higher division for just being there is pathetic mate.

Not a case of castigation, just a case of the overwhelming majority of them having no idea what it is to feel for your club they way we do.

To a lot of (admittedly younger) Prem fans these days, a failure is when their club just misses out on the latest £30 million quid signing, and the concept of their most expensive signing in the last few decades being £300,000 is just not something they'd be able to grasp.

It's a different world up there and with that comes a different type of fan, a type of fan I for one would never ever want to be. Give me the Albion any day of the week.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Did they watch their club have it's ground ripped out from under it's feet for an investment of £56.25? Did they have to then wait 11 years (and counting) for a new stadium, having to fight over god knows how many hurdles in the process? Have they ever been less than 45 minutes from dropping out of the Football League entirely?

They may have been shit by their standards, but they've known nothing of shit by our standards.

Thanks for the history lesson but its all relative. Leeds United one of the biggest clubs in the 1970's/1980's and Champions League Semi Finalists were within a vote of being expelled from the league because of a crooked chairman. Plenty of clubs have LOST on the last day of the season and being relegated to the conference...Halifax Town, Torquay......what about Boston...they were shafted by a crooked owner, relegated and because he was such a crook, they were relegated into the Northern Sunday League Junior....what about Wrexham....if ever there was a story to rival anything it was them......FFS even Wimbledon FC. We do not have the monopoly on feeling sorry for ourselves.

 

[Frutos]

Thanks for the history lesson but its all relative. Leeds United one of the biggest clubs in the 1970's/1980's and Champions League Semi Finalists were within a vote of being expelled from the league because of a crooked chairman. Plenty of clubs have LOST on the last day of the season and being relegated to the conference...Halifax Town, Torquay......what about Boston...they were shafted by a crooked owner, relegated and because he was such a crook, they were relegated into the Northern Sunday League Junior....what about Wrexham....if ever there was a story to rival anything it was them......FFS even Wimbledon FC. We do not have the monopoly on feeling sorry for ourselves.

One thing that all of those clubs have in common - not a single one of them is in the Premiership.

My comment was aimed at (in my own words) 'pampered Prem fans' who would have no concept of what we've put up with as Albion fans, and I stand by that comment. Name me one current Premiership club who have had anything close to the troubles we've had down the years?

 

[Twinkle Toes]

The glory!

 

[clarkey]

Recently I have been to the Emirates and the Valley to see and Arsenal and Charlton, and despite the nice stadia, the glory players, the higher standard of football - I have no desire to go back, except in the away end in the blue and white stripes.

I know people who have left the Albion to support teams like Charlton, but I could never do that - even at the Valley it didnt feel like real football.

Every week the highlight is watching/listening to the Albion win lose or draw no matter what league they are in, what competition they are in. I couldnt go on Saturday, I was gutted, I know what went on, I still wish I had been there. I cant wait for Wednesday, I cant wait for Saturday. No other club can do that to me, no other club will ever be able to draw me in like the Albion. And im sure its the same for many of you out there.

 

[house your seagull]

fandom is odd and i believe some of the answers on this thread are 'surface' factors to a deeper psychological pull, more akin to gambling or drug addiction.

geography is not a strong enough reason to support your local club. supporting a succesful club (often when there are no family or social ties to a typically less succesful side like us) who aren't close is perfectly acceptable - where else in life, in consumerism and in even in a general social context do you choose something bad over something good.

for example, if you love beer, you are unlikely to drink bad beer over good beer. if you are surrounded by people you are more likely to be drawn to those that are nice rather than those who are not nice.

why in football is this rational action of choice dismissed by so many?

i'm off to ponder.

 

[Tubby Mondays]

Peter. Canning.


That should be everyones answer as well.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

How about Johnny Dixon's hatrick goal tomorrow which puts us 6-0 against Man City?

 

[Mendoza]

The 05.49 out of Brighton station with an 8 pack of Strongbow and selection of cheese and cold meats, heading towards an away game somewhere up north of London Village

 

[Frutos]

Last night is exactly what I love about the Albion.

We can, at times, be frustrating, annoying, and downright crap, but then we have a night like that and it makes the whole thing feel worthwhile.

 

[Northstander]

Other tahn supporting since I was lickle...I dont know

I have to say, the lads have proven me wrong here...and I openly stand corrected, lets have more of that passion clearly displayed out on that pitch last night!

 

[Tooting Gull]

Last night is exactly what I love about the Albion.

We can, at times, be frustrating, annoying, and downright crap, but then we have a night like that and it makes the whole thing feel worthwhile.

Exactly. And you know you might have to remember that night for a long time until the next one, which makes it very special.

 

[Croydonbloke]

Following on from a number of "doom and gloom" threads about the Albion, I thought that I would try and lighten the mood a bit by trying to find out the great things about being a Brighton fan.

From my point of view it is so refreshing to feel like you support a football club rather a rich boy's play thing. We might not have the Robinho's of this world but I would much rather have the Forster's who are in it for the football and not the cash.

Being a fan of a Premiershite club must get so repetitive. You see your team on the tv all the time and eventually you lose the will to actually go and watch them play. The fact that we are hardly ever on tv means that when we are there is a buzz around. Whether you go to the game or watch it on the box, there is a feeling like the world is watching our little club and I find that appealing.

We have come to regard another season finished as not just a celebration of whatever we have achieved, but that we still exist to do so. I don't think Premiershite fans really realise what it is like to support a club that hangs on to existence by mere threads of fortune. The roller coaster ride of wondering whether we will ever play in the Premiership football at Falmer is something that keeps me going in the mornings.

What does everyone else feel?

No you don't, It just makes watching MOTD that little more exciting knowing your team will be on there. You need to to Manure, Chelski or the Arse to be on TV sky all the time.