First published on The Suffolk Sports Forum, August 7th 2010

Is Supporting Your Local Football Club Outdated?

Is supporting your local football club now considered an outdated idea? It certainly feels like that at times. There was a time when most fans naturally supported the nearest team to home. Loyalty was tribal, passed down from generation to generation. Then came the age of glory hunting—fans started following clubs they had no personal or geographical link to. And let’s be honest, these were never mid-table teams or underdogs. No one jumps on the Rotherham bandwagon. It’s always Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, or Arsenal. Soon, you’ll see Man City shirts on every high street too.

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A Lifetime of Loyalty to Ipswich Town

Take me, for example. I’ve (almost) always supported Ipswich Town. Not glamorous. Not trendy. But mine. My first game was in 1974 against Wolves. After a few games with my dad, I began paying my own way with wages from Cordys and my paper round. Trips to Portman Road with Ninky, Pommy, and Browny were a staple of my teenage years. Good times—at least, that’s how I remember them. But in all honesty, what have I got in return besides frustration and a wallet-draining obsession?

Thousands of pounds spent, decades of disappointment, and maybe three genuinely good years in twenty. But Ipswich is my club. It always will be. These days, I don’t attend every match, but I still follow them with the same loyalty I always have. I can admire other teams, but I don’t support them. There’s a big difference. It’s Ipswich Town till I die.

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Inherited Loyalty vs. TV Temptation

My allegiance wasn’t exactly a choice. Ipswich is just 13 miles away—a single bus ride. Back then, there were no wall-to-wall televised games or Premier League marketing to tempt me into supporting someone else. I supported Town because my dad took me. It was inherited. If my parents had lived in Dereham, maybe things would have turned out very differently (and not for the better).

Walk around any local town today and count the football shirts. You’ll see Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea—soon Man City. Growing up, I knew maybe half a dozen Chelsea fans. Now there are hundreds. Where were they when the club was bobbing around mid-table in the 80s? As for Man United, I’ve been to Old Trafford more times than some of these so-called fans.

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Support Is Earned, Not Bought

Supporting a football team used to mean something. Your team was for life. You can change your car, your job, even your partner. But never your team. So choose carefully. Supporting a club because they’re winning is like following the weather—predictable, fickle, and mostly meaningless.

Recently, Ipswich hosted West Ham and Spurs in pre-season friendlies. The away support either matched or outnumbered ours—at our own ground. On social media, plenty of self-proclaimed Hammers and Spurs fans (from Felixstowe, not London) were quick to mock Town fans. Some claim family ties to East London as the reason for supporting West Ham. But why West Ham and not Ipswich? Historically, there’s not been much more silverware down that road than up ours. And let’s be honest—no club goes on about 1966 more than West Ham.

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Pick Your Club. Then Stick.

Reading this back, I know it’s full of contradictions. I’m not saying people can’t support who they want. But once you choose, you stick. No hopping from team to team. And if you’re a dad passing down your footballing allegiance to your kids? That’s the only acceptable form of indoctrination I’ll endorse.

That said, one last thing. And I mean this sincerely: why would anyone outside of Norfolk voluntarily choose to support Norwich City? I can (begrudgingly) understand the Uniteds, Chelseas, and Liverpools. But Norwich?

Really?