The prevalence of the human condition in football supporters

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If you were to conduct a study of the human condition you could simply observe the way in which an avid football supporter lives. Patience is not something typical of the modern human being and especially not to the modern football fan. The only real concept of time a follower of the beautiful game is truly conscious of is the present.

Modern day football has been revolutionised by the amount of revenue that has been generated over the last fifteen or twenty years. This exponential increase in money in the game has lead to both pros and cons as happens with. While there have been hundreds of terrific stadium expansions and facility upgrades there has also been an almost direct parallel with the lack of affordability for football’s greatest component: the supporters.

There is a certain irony in that while many fans are outraged at the recent increase in tickets to matches they still have lofty expectations of marquee signings each transfer windows. Their outrage at not buying the cream of the crop almost matches their emotions at not being able to attend games due to extreme prices. An example of this is the almost bi – polar range of emotions that Liverpool fans display. One week outrage at being priced out of signing Alex Teixeira from Shakira Donetsk and then the next fuming at the prospect of paying £77 for a ticket.

In order to be clear it must be said that I do not believe that paying £77 for a ticket to attend a football match is justifiable regardless of the scaling of prices. I am merely trying to show how football fans, though claiming to be reasonable and sensible, are very convoluted in their thinking to the point that their actions rarely make sense.

One need only to take a glance into the rich, but tarnished history of The Old Firm rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. While the conflict, stretching across decades, isn’t only as a result of the Catholics versus Protestants but also due to the fact that Celtic are historically Irish-Scots whereas Rangers fans are Ulster Scots. The intensity and violence of their rivalry despite the religious background of both fans is symbolic of the human condition and how it has progressed.

I don’t think are very many people who are unacquainted with the corruption scandals surrounding FIFA and the fraudulent Sepp Blatter. The clichéd notion that power corrupts seems to be true in all walks of life whether it’s in government organisation, the governing body of world football or even the power a prefect is afforded in school. The capacity for evil is innate to human beings nature.
This ‘capacity for evil’ was yet again apparent in the way fans of Chelsea Football Club refused a black Parisian access to the Metro in Paris. The incident has received a lot of publicity and the four men involved were banned from attending football matched for five years.

Many people like to assume the worst about every single situation and this is the innate pessimism and cynicism that exists within humans. While there may be cause to think in such a manner it has to be said there’s also an inherent good and the will to do good where humans are concerned. This is shown in many simple ways throughout the football calendar with many clubs recognising and paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster and support the ‘Justice for the 96’ campaign. Two other examples are the wearing of poppies to commemorate those military personnel who died in service and also the Munich Air Disaster.

It happens very often that during a game there is more booing, jeering and whistling than there is applause and recognition for positives. In Italy’s Serie B there was an initiative in 2015 to introduce a ‘green card.’ This card would recognise and award fair play. This award is meant to be a symbolic award for when a player does something that shows class and should be highlighted for others to see.

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If football is to rid itself of the negative name that it has obtained over the last decade it needs to make use of more initiatives like this one. Most football associations have some sort of fair play list of rules and regulations. In England there is an award at the ends of the season for the team who have accumulated the least disciplinary points which are racked up by receiving yellow and red cards.

Ultimately there is very little you can do about preventing a man from embezzling, racially abusing or fighting over differences which split cities in half. If a person really needs to study the human condition and how it works they need to look no further than the intricate workings of the beautiful game.

Featured image: All rights reserved by Keithjones84