I think it’s a bit unfair…

[maze]

...That some of you guys seems to just go on and on criticizing foreign fans all the time. I’m not going to deny the some of the posts are a bit outlandish, but to say things like:  “fuck off”, “you’re clueless”, “Cockney” … and so on is not making anything better.

 

I think some of you need to take a look at yourself and think twice before replying in the terms above.  Again, I’m not denying OR defending outlandish posts, but everybody are entitled to have their own opinions and express themselves (in here; express according to the guidelines and rules of this forum).

 

There’s always some pros and cons being a foreign supporter, and I’m sure you all know what those are. It all comes down to culture and location, we are not English or British by origin (Or even Geordies) and we don’t live in England or the UK. Whatever the differences are, we all share the same passion and love for Newcastle United. (We can’t attend the games, but most of us use the internet actively; this forum, live-update football pages (to keep track of the action and score), read news and so on. Some of us subscribe to expensive TV channel to watch the games, and those who can’t afford that, or for some reason are unable to do so, stream the games illegally online). So at least we’re trying to keep up and minimize the “gap”.

 

I, for one, have decided to take some time off NUFC and EPL. But after reading Kinnear’s comment that we might be sold before the end of next month, I understood that I had to pay more attention again. I’m not going to bring up what's clearly been expressed and discussed to total boredom in numerous threads.

 

But let me just remind you that we did a pretty decent job down in Manchester grabbing a point and we went on to record a win. After that we all know the story. The press, at least here in Norway, thought before that start of the season that we would finish in top 7… and despite the fact that we are currently in a disastrous situation, I think we will finish in a better position than last season.

 

Once this whole situation has been resolved, and we get people in charge that's willing to spend a bit more than Ashley, a permanent manager, and (wishful thinking (?) some stability) I’m sure we will catch up and get back on track. The sooner the situation is solved, the sooner we can look to January and add more players to our squad.

 

“Everything is going to be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright then it’s not the end“

 

[sparta]

...That some of you guys seems to just go on and on criticizing foreign fans all the time. I’m not going to deny the some of the posts are a bit outlandish, but to say things like:  “f*** off”, “you’re clueless”, “Cockney” … and so on is not making anything better.

 

I think some of you need to take a look at yourself and think twice before replying in the terms above.  Again, I’m not denying OR defending outlandish posts, but everybody are entitled to have their own opinions and express themselves (in here; express according to the guidelines and rules of this forum).

 

There’s always some pros and cons being a foreign supporter, and I’m sure you all know what those are. It all comes down to culture and location, we are not English or British by origin (Or even Geordies) and we don’t live in England or the UK. Whatever the differences are, we all share the same passion and love for Newcastle United. (We can’t attend the games, but most of us use the internet actively; this forum, live-update football pages (to keep track of the action and score), read news and so on. Some of us subscribe to expensive TV channel to watch the games, and those who can’t afford that, or for some reason are unable to do so, stream the games illegally online). So at least we’re trying to keep up and minimize the “gap”.

 

I, for one, have decided to take some time off NUFC and EPL. But after reading Kinnear’s comment that we might be sold before the end of next month, I understood that I had to pay more attention again. I’m not going to bring up what's clearly been expressed and discussed to total boredom in numerous threads.

 

But let me just remind you that we did a pretty decent job down in Manchester grabbing a point and we went on to record a win. After that we all know the story. The press, at least here in Norway, thought before that start of the season that we would finish in top 7… and despite the fact that we are currently in a disastrous situation, I think we will finish in a better position than last season.

 

Once this whole situation has been resolved, and we get people in charge that's willing to spend a bit more than Ashley, a permanent manager, and (wishful thinking (?) some stability) I’m sure we will catch up and get back on track. The sooner the situation is solved, the sooner we can look to January and add more players to our squad.

 

“Everything is going to be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright then it’s not the end“

 

 

[Kaizero]

...That some of you guys seems to just go on and on criticizing foreign fans all the time. I’m not going to deny the some of the posts are a bit outlandish, but to say things like:  “fuck off”, “you’re clueless”, “Cockney” … and so on is not making anything better.

 

I think some of you need to take a look at yourself and think twice before replying in the terms above.  Again, I’m not denying OR defending outlandish posts, but everybody are entitled to have their own opinions and express themselves (in here; express according to the guidelines and rules of this forum).

 

There’s always some pros and cons being a foreign supporter, and I’m sure you all know what those are. It all comes down to culture and location, we are not English or British by origin (Or even Geordies) and we don’t live in England or the UK. Whatever the differences are, we all share the same passion and love for Newcastle United. (We can’t attend the games, but most of us use the internet actively; this forum, live-update football pages (to keep track of the action and score), read news and so on. Some of us subscribe to expensive TV channel to watch the games, and those who can’t afford that, or for some reason are unable to do so, stream the games illegally online). So at least we’re trying to keep up and minimize the “gap”.

 

I, for one, have decided to take some time off NUFC and EPL. But after reading Kinnear’s comment that we might be sold before the end of next month, I understood that I had to pay more attention again. I’m not going to bring up what's clearly been expressed and discussed to total boredom in numerous threads.

 

But let me just remind you that we did a pretty decent job down in Manchester grabbing a point and we went on to record a win. After that we all know the story. The press, at least here in Norway, thought before that start of the season that we would finish in top 7… and despite the fact that we are currently in a disastrous situation, I think we will finish in a better position than last season.

 

Once this whole situation has been resolved, and we get people in charge that's willing to spend a bit more than Ashley, a permanent manager, and (wishful thinking (?) some stability) I’m sure we will catch up and get back on track. The sooner the situation is solved, the sooner we can look to January and add more players to our squad.

 

“Everything is going to be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright then it’s not the end“

 

 

It's not really where a person comes from that determines if he/she acts retarded online or not. I think it's been more coincidence that some members lately that have been seeming to be special need people have not been from England. Though I think it's unquestionable this forum has seen quite a bit of British members with some rather "strange" opinions as well.

 

But still, decent post. Bar the part where you say you're gonna take a "break". A supporter never takes a "break" when things get rough, because that's when you as a supporter is needed the most. Personally I'd rather have my balls chopped off than ever taking a "break" from Newcastle United, no matter how bad things might get.

 

It's United we stand, United we fall. Not United we Stand, until things go rough, then I'll take a break.

[Kaizero]

...That some of you guys seems to just go on and on criticizing foreign fans all the time. I’m not going to deny the some of the posts are a bit outlandish, but to say things like:  “fuck off”, “you’re clueless”, “Cockney” … and so on is not making anything better.

 

 

:lol:

[oldtype]

I've resigned myself to the fact that some of the posters here are just going to act retarded, and no amount of well-reasoned pleas will change them.

 

I'll just accept that and try to enjoy the intelligent discourse I can have with the vast majority of posters on the board.

[Guest musika]

Well said. I appreciate why there may be animosity towards foreign fans, because we do have a far bigger demographic of "glory hunters" then fans in England do. I also find it very refreshing to see fans in England support their clubs home and away, even when things aren't going well (I didn't see the attendance for the game yesterday but the stadium looked full and the atmosphere after we pulled one back reminded me of why I love this club).

 

Perhaps in defence of us Johnny Foreigners, maybe I could shed some light on why the small contingent of Newcastle fans around the world who really do love the club have it tough.

 

I'd decided to support Newcastle for reasons that would seem blasphemous to the English football supporter. That's one of the problems that foreign fans have. Unlike English fans, who are generally born in a city or district that has one or two clubs to choose from, and hence they are gifted a "divine right" to be a supporter of those clubs when things are going well, foreign fans have to engineer support by making a conscious decision of who and why. I loved the amount of people who supported the club, I liked the strip, I warmed to the concept of a "Geordie nation", and there was one interview with a regular Newcastle fan that tipped me over the edge. Basically I was at a low point in my life (I won't bore you with that story), and when the fan was asked if he could describe Newcastle as a club in a few sentences, what he said reflected my own personality completely. I fell in love with the club there and then.

 

You might say - "If he was a real fan he'd support a club in Australia", but there were a few reasons why I didn't take that approach, and I'll explain why.

 

I was born in Poland, but my parents migrated to Australia when I was only 2 so I grew up loving football but having no outlet to express that love. Australia's domestic football league was abandoned for a long period of time after crowd violence and segregation. The new A-league was introduced in 2005, so by the time I was 16 and I had already fallen in love with English football.

 

It took me a long time to really grasp what it meant to be a "real fan", because here in Australia sport culture is far more similar to the American model than the European one, and (to fuel the fire for the 'foreign fan' stereo-type) 8/10 football fans of English clubs here follow the 'big four'.

 

I remember when listening to 606 the morning after a game on the way to work, there'd be plenty of people calling up from the lower leagues, talking about their club's misfortune with shoddy refereeing decisions or the like, and how they're going to make the play offs or be "there or there abouts". I was fascinated by that - How people could spends their whole Saturday traveling across the country to see (in some cases) semi-professional footballers get thrashed on a cold winter afternoon.

 

Then one day I read a book called Fever Pitch about a life-long Arsenal fan, his own battle with football fanaticism and how it affected his life. Reading that book subsequently opened my eyes to my own personal torment, of which I could never have foreseen when I first started my support of the club.

 

From that day on, I became very insecure about my status as a fan and I started doubting my authenticity as a Newcastle supporter. Often I'd feel like a plastic fan as my interest in Newcastle dwindled  - with the likes of Sounness and Roeder successfully draining all my enthusiasm for the club - and I became more excited about top four fixtures than I did about my own club's games.

 

That began to change about 3 years ago when I'd decided that I wanted to earn the right to be a true supporter of the club I'd been advertising as "my team".

I'd often go to a bar at 3am on a Saturday night to watch my team in a bar full of ex-pat Geordies, and when they saw I was a Newcastle fan, they'd ask me if I was originally from Newcastle. I'd explain to them how I was born in Poland but have lived in Australia all my life, and the look they would give me would tear me a part. Only foreign fans will truely understand what I mean.

 

That said, when all the judgement and self-doubt was put aside, that well-documented split second, that moment just before a goal when everyone supporting the team, in the stadium, in bars, at home infront of tv's and radios, all around the world.. knows.  That moment when everyone holds their breath in anticipation for the inevitable euphoria that will soon follow and the excitement sweeps across our hearts and minds, we're all the same.

 

I've bought the kits and scarves, I've woken up at 4am to watch us play third-tier opposition midweek, and I've given my friends and family a tough time for the succeeding 24 hours after a poor performance. But I've always had doubts. Doubts about my reasons for choosing the club in the first place, doubts about my origins and my accent and how that fits into the image of a Magpies fan. When I see thousands of fans turn up to see Sydney FC play in the dosmetic league and walk around the streets with their club shirts, I have doubts.

 

But all I need to do is read about the history of the club (of which I had no part in) and the urge to be a part of that history re-ignites my desire to overcome my own fears and insecurity.

 

I have no doubts that there are many foreign fans who go through the same moronic turmoil that I do.

 

I guess my point is that the minority of foreign fans who understand what it means to be a true fan (and I presume most of the ones on this forum would fall under that category) battle on a regular basis to prove to ourselves and to you English that our identity as fans is authentic. No, we weren't there to go to matches, home and away, every week, rain, hail, or shine. No, we weren't there to participate in mass protests outside St James' park when we were furious with club management and how our emotions have been toyed with by men with fat wallets. No we weren't around when Keegan started the revolution that would capture the hearts and minds of a city. No, but we wish we were.

 

 

[bobbydazzla]

I don't have a problem with foreign fans but I know I could never just pick a side and then follow them. Personally I'll never understand how people in Surrey, Hertfordshire, Beijing, Manilla, Sydney etc can just make that decision. And I'll definitely never understand why people would choose the shitheap that is NUFC ! But credit to them for not just going down the Man U route.

 

when I lived in Australia I followed the Roosters and Sydney Swans cos they were my local sides. Same happened in Argentina with Boca Juniors too. And I support NUFC cos I'm a born and bred geordie.

 

[Kaizero]

I think this thread will soon go down a bad road when the "Newcastle is for Geordies only, gtfo" bunch gets online, I seem to remember a situation somewhat similar to this thread just a short while back

[Guest musika]

when I lived in Australia I followed the Roosters and Sydney Swans cos they were my local sides. Same happened in Argentina with Boca Juniors too. And I support NUFC cos I'm a born and bred geordie.

 

 

Fair point. I can't stand AFL and Rugby league though. Probably just raised that way. I made the decision to fall in love with a team in England when I was quite young, so I was particularly exposed to the marketing of the "EPL" as the greatest league in the world. I guess I take some comfort from the idea that it was fate that directed me to St James' Park (in mind, not body). If I had no affiliation at 16 when the A-league came about I'd be a Sydney FC supporter now I'd suggest.

[Kaizero]

Well said. I appreciate why there may be animosity towards foreign fans, because we do have a far bigger demographic of "glory hunters" then fans in England do. I also find it very refreshing to see fans in England support their clubs home and away, even when things aren't going well (I didn't see the attendance for the game yesterday but the stadium looked full and the atmosphere after we pulled one back reminded me of why I love this club).

 

Perhaps in defence of us Johnny Foreigners, maybe I could shed some light on why the small contingent of Newcastle fans around the world who really do love the club have it tough.

 

I'd decided to support Newcastle for reasons that would seem blasphemous to the English football supporter. That's one of the problems that foreign fans have. Unlike English fans, who are generally born in a city or district that has one or two clubs to choose from, and hence they are gifted a "divine right" to be a supporter of those clubs when things are going well, foreign fans have to engineer support by making a conscious decision of who and why. I loved the amount of people who supported the club, I liked the strip, I warmed to the concept of a "Geordie nation", and there was one interview with a regular Newcastle fan that tipped me over the edge. Basically I was at a low point in my life (I won't bore you with that story), and when the fan was asked if he could describe Newcastle as a club in a few sentences, what he said reflected my own personality completely. I fell in love with the club there and then.

 

You might say - "If he was a real fan he'd support a club in Australia", but there were a few reasons why I didn't take that approach, and I'll explain why.

 

I was born in Poland, but my parents migrated to Australia when I was only 2 so I grew up loving football but having no outlet to express that love. Australia's domestic football league was abandoned for a long period of time after crowd violence and segregation. The new A-league was introduced in 2005, so by the time I was 16 and I had already fallen in love with English football.

 

It took me a long time to really grasp what it meant to be a "real fan", because here in Australia sport culture is far more similar to the American model than the European one, and (to fuel the fire for the 'foreign fan' stereo-type) 8/10 football fans of English clubs here follow the 'big four'.

 

I remember when listening to 606 the morning after a game on the way to work, there'd be plenty of people calling up from the lower leagues, talking about their club's misfortune with shoddy refereeing decisions or the like, and how they're going to make the play offs or be "there or there abouts". I was fascinated by that - How people could spends their whole Saturday traveling across the country to see (in some cases) semi-professional footballers get thrashed on a cold winter afternoon.

 

Then one day I read a book called Fever Pitch about a life-long Arsenal fan, his own battle with football fanaticism and how it affected his life. Reading that book subsequently opened my eyes to my own personal torment, of which I could never have foreseen when I first started my support of the club.

 

From that day on, I became very insecure about my status as a fan and I started doubting my authenticity as a Newcastle supporter. Often I'd feel like a plastic fan as my interest in Newcastle dwindled  - with the likes of Sounness and Roeder successfully draining all my enthusiasm for the club - and I became more excited about top four fixtures than I did about my own club's games.

 

That began to change about 3 years ago when I'd decided that I wanted to earn the right to be a true supporter of the club I'd been advertising as "my team".

I'd often go to a bar at 3am on a Saturday night to watch my team in a bar full of ex-pat Geordies, and when they saw I was a Newcastle fan, they'd ask me if I was originally from Newcastle. I'd explain to them how I was born in Poland but have lived in Australia all my life, and the look they would give me would tear me a part. Only foreign fans will truely understand what I mean.

 

That said, when all the judgement and self-doubt was put aside, that well-documented split second, that moment just before a goal when everyone supporting the team, in the stadium, in bars, at home infront of tv's and radios, all around the world.. knows.  That moment when everyone holds their breath in anticipation for the inevitable euphoria that will soon follow and the excitement sweeps across our hearts and minds, we're all the same.

 

I've bought the kits and scarves, I've woken up at 4am to watch us play third-tier opposition midweek, and I've given my friends and family a tough time for the succeeding 24 hours after a poor performance. But I've always had doubts. Doubts about my reasons for choosing the club in the first place, doubts about my origins and my accent and how that fits into the image of a Magpies fan. When I see thousands of fans turn up to see Sydney FC play in the dosmetic league and walk around the streets with their club shirts, I have doubts.

 

But all I need to do is read about the history of the club (of which I had no part in) and the urge to be a part of that history re-ignites my desire to overcome my own fears and insecurity.

 

I have no doubts that there are many foreign fans who go through the same moronic turmoil that I do.

 

I guess my point is that the minority of foreign fans who understand what it means to be a true fan (and I presume most of the ones on this forum would fall under that category) battle on a regular basis to prove to ourselves and to you English that our identity as fans is authentic. No, we weren't there to go to matches, home and away, every week, rain, hail, or shine. No, we weren't there to participate in mass protests outside St James' park when we were furious with club management and how our emotions have been toyed with by men with fat wallets. No we weren't around when Keegan started the revolution that would capture the hearts and minds of a city. No, but we wish we were.

 

 

 

Brilliant piece of work that post. One of the most interesting ones I've read in a while.

[Guest diddimz]

Agree with everything Musika has said, as I'm sure most foreign fans can.

[Guest Gemmill]

The only time I have a problem with foreign fans is when they start telling the match-going fans where they're going wrong in supporting the team - there was a lad from Pakistan who came on after one home match to tell us the fans were to blame for the team losing that day, the silly arsehole.  Keep your nose clean on that front and I'll leave you alone.

[Guest thefishman]

I, for one, have decided to take some time off NUFC and EPL.

 

Stopped reading right there, nowt against foreign fans, but those who live in and around newcastle eat breath and shit nufc we cant take time out!

[Guest Gemmill]

I, for one, have decided to take some time off NUFC and EPL.

 

Stopped reading right there, nowt against foreign fans, but those who live in and around newcastle eat breath and shit nufc we cant take time out!

 

I had a shit this morning that looked exactly like SJP.  I shit you not.

[Tooj]

I don't have problems with foreign fans at all. Apart from Mike, as he's quite frankly a cunt.

[OzzieMandias]

Well said. I appreciate why there may be animosity towards foreign fans, because we do have a far bigger demographic of "glory hunters" then fans in England do. I also find it very refreshing to see fans in England support their clubs home and away, even when things aren't going well (I didn't see the attendance for the game yesterday but the stadium looked full and the atmosphere after we pulled one back reminded me of why I love this club).

 

Perhaps in defence of us Johnny Foreigners, maybe I could shed some light on why the small contingent of Newcastle fans around the world who really do love the club have it tough.

 

I'd decided to support Newcastle for reasons that would seem blasphemous to the English football supporter. That's one of the problems that foreign fans have. Unlike English fans, who are generally born in a city or district that has one or two clubs to choose from, and hence they are gifted a "divine right" to be a supporter of those clubs when things are going well, foreign fans have to engineer support by making a conscious decision of who and why. I loved the amount of people who supported the club, I liked the strip, I warmed to the concept of a "Geordie nation", and there was one interview with a regular Newcastle fan that tipped me over the edge. Basically I was at a low point in my life (I won't bore you with that story), and when the fan was asked if he could describe Newcastle as a club in a few sentences, what he said reflected my own personality completely. I fell in love with the club there and then.

 

You might say - "If he was a real fan he'd support a club in Australia", but there were a few reasons why I didn't take that approach, and I'll explain why.

 

I was born in Poland, but my parents migrated to Australia when I was only 2 so I grew up loving football but having no outlet to express that love. Australia's domestic football league was abandoned for a long period of time after crowd violence and segregation. The new A-league was introduced in 2005, so by the time I was 16 and I had already fallen in love with English football.

 

It took me a long time to really grasp what it meant to be a "real fan", because here in Australia sport culture is far more similar to the American model than the European one, and (to fuel the fire for the 'foreign fan' stereo-type) 8/10 football fans of English clubs here follow the 'big four'.

 

I remember when listening to 606 the morning after a game on the way to work, there'd be plenty of people calling up from the lower leagues, talking about their club's misfortune with shoddy refereeing decisions or the like, and how they're going to make the play offs or be "there or there abouts". I was fascinated by that - How people could spends their whole Saturday traveling across the country to see (in some cases) semi-professional footballers get thrashed on a cold winter afternoon.

 

Then one day I read a book called Fever Pitch about a life-long Arsenal fan, his own battle with football fanaticism and how it affected his life. Reading that book subsequently opened my eyes to my own personal torment, of which I could never have foreseen when I first started my support of the club.

 

From that day on, I became very insecure about my status as a fan and I started doubting my authenticity as a Newcastle supporter. Often I'd feel like a plastic fan as my interest in Newcastle dwindled  - with the likes of Sounness and Roeder successfully draining all my enthusiasm for the club - and I became more excited about top four fixtures than I did about my own club's games.

 

That began to change about 3 years ago when I'd decided that I wanted to earn the right to be a true supporter of the club I'd been advertising as "my team".

I'd often go to a bar at 3am on a Saturday night to watch my team in a bar full of ex-pat Geordies, and when they saw I was a Newcastle fan, they'd ask me if I was originally from Newcastle. I'd explain to them how I was born in Poland but have lived in Australia all my life, and the look they would give me would tear me a part. Only foreign fans will truely understand what I mean.

 

That said, when all the judgement and self-doubt was put aside, that well-documented split second, that moment just before a goal when everyone supporting the team, in the stadium, in bars, at home infront of tv's and radios, all around the world.. knows.  That moment when everyone holds their breath in anticipation for the inevitable euphoria that will soon follow and the excitement sweeps across our hearts and minds, we're all the same.

 

I've bought the kits and scarves, I've woken up at 4am to watch us play third-tier opposition midweek, and I've given my friends and family a tough time for the succeeding 24 hours after a poor performance. But I've always had doubts. Doubts about my reasons for choosing the club in the first place, doubts about my origins and my accent and how that fits into the image of a Magpies fan. When I see thousands of fans turn up to see Sydney FC play in the dosmetic league and walk around the streets with their club shirts, I have doubts.

 

But all I need to do is read about the history of the club (of which I had no part in) and the urge to be a part of that history re-ignites my desire to overcome my own fears and insecurity.

 

I have no doubts that there are many foreign fans who go through the same moronic turmoil that I do.

 

I guess my point is that the minority of foreign fans who understand what it means to be a true fan (and I presume most of the ones on this forum would fall under that category) battle on a regular basis to prove to ourselves and to you English that our identity as fans is authentic. No, we weren't there to go to matches, home and away, every week, rain, hail, or shine. No, we weren't there to participate in mass protests outside St James' park when we were furious with club management and how our emotions have been toyed with by men with fat wallets. No we weren't around when Keegan started the revolution that would capture the hearts and minds of a city. No, but we wish we were.

 

 

 

Good post.

[McCormick]

I've nothing against foreign fans (i could be considered foreign seeing as i work in the gulf, half the year despite being born in and around newcastle)  except the fact that some of them i've met are either: keegan-glory-day followers or just shitty 'im wearing the shirt aren't i?' fans who don't know the first thing about the club.

 

It annoys me though that they choose to support the club, local fans have it written in our genetic make-up... Doesn't make us better fans by any means, just makes us feel more of a connection to the club than most of you will ever feel. It's our home, our soldiers fighting for the pride of our nation.

 

You don't get to see the buzz after a win, the depression after a loss you make yourself unhappy to give it a more substantial meaning in your life.. to fill a void maybe. When for us a loss is a blemish to the city we live in and love so one can't help but be affected.

[NJS]

Don't care where anyone is from - to quote from Total Recall a man is defined by his actions, not his history - but I find it hard to see how "pin stickers" can have a true attachment. I've actually known a couple of people with no affiliation who've gone for years but that's obviously possible if you do live in the UK.

 

 

There also tend to be a trend for foreigners/non-attenders to be too much football fans rather than Newcastle fans - I despaired at that thread a while ago where so many posters favourite ever footballing moment didn't involve NUFC - that to me is completely alien never mind foreign.

 

I don't doubt some of those posters were "proper" fans who have no excuse in my mind but the point stands.

 

 

[Thespence]

Sometimes I feel the need to mention the 'local' end of things because I am here & this is knowledge I have. Like wise I was finding info off Newcastle Fan about people in the middle east because he has that 'local' knowledge. That is the benefit of global network online.

 

 

[La Parka]

It shouldn't matter where you are from, if you support the club you should be treated with the same respect as a local.

[OzzieMandias]

It annoys me though that they choose to support the club, local fans have it written in our genetic make-up...

 

Bizarre attitude.

 

I was born and bred in Newcastle, but though my mother was a Geordie, my father had spent his school years in Liverpool and he was a Liverpool fan. So there was an element of choice in our family right from the start, given that dad relentlessly propagandised for the scousers, who pretty much always had a better team than us. My mam didn't care about football at all. Still, it was my dad who first took me and my brother to SJP, and Newcastle is the team we both ended up supporting. I remember refusing to watch the 1974 cup final with my dad, and stayed away from the house as long as I could after the game. Still got a lot of stick when I finally crawled home on Sunday evening, however.

 

Meanwhile, I don't see how anyone can criticise someone who comes from a place without a team for choosing to support Newcastle. We should welcome their interest. If we don't, they'll just be spending their cash on one of our rivals. Personally I find the current situation more depressing, where hardly anyone outside of the UK seems to have heard of us anymore.

 

As a Geordie who's spent his adult life either in London or abroad, I'm always glad to see foreign supporters. Trying to follow our fortunes in Sky pubs is, in my experience, a thankless and lonely task. If we're on telly, we're either playing one of the "big four", in which case the pub will be full of glory-hunters in red or blue, or else we're playing some smaller team, in which case most people will be cheering on the "underdog" -- and we're never the underdog.

 

I was in Lisbon when Gullit took over. I remember travelling all the way to Cascais, 40-minute train journey, just to watch the match at an "English" pub. The place was full of scousers on holiday, and I had a right miserable time as Owen banged in goal after goal. Remember his rubbing his hands? I was the only one who wasn't cheering. And then a 40-minute ride back into town.

 

Earlier that year, though, I was in Budapest, where I watched the cup final in an "Irish" pub. The place was packed with Arsenal supporters, neutrals -- and me. Some woman behind me kept shouting "Cheat! Cheat!" in a Felicity Kendall accent whenever Shearer appeared on screen. I wanted to turn around and slap her. And then there was some kind of mangled chorus of "Geordie Boot Boys" from the back -- a bunch of Hungarians from (I learned later) a town about 40 miles away, who travelled all this way in full Toon regalia. I could never figure out why they were supporting us -- they couldn't even speak any English -- but I was glad to see them. Their presence was the only thing that cheered me up that day.

 

 

[magpie418]

^ Good post Ozzie.

 

 

 

[La Parka]

It annoys me though that they choose to support the club, local fans have it written in our genetic make-up...

 

Bizarre attitude.

 

I was born and bred in Newcastle, but though my mother was a Geordie, my father had spent his school years in Liverpool and he was a Liverpool fan. So there was an element of choice in our family right from the start, given that dad relentlessly propagandised for the scousers, who pretty much always had a better team than us. My mam didn't care about football at all. Still, it was my dad who first took me and my brother to SJP, and Newcastle is the team we both ended up supporting. I remember refusing to watch the 1974 cup final with my dad, and stayed away from the house as long as I could after the game. Still got a lot of stick when I finally crawled home on Sunday evening, however.

 

Meanwhile, I don't see how anyone can criticise someone who comes from a place without a team for choosing to support Newcastle. We should welcome their interest. If we don't, they just be spending their cash on one of our rivals. Personally I find the current situation more depressing, where hardly anyone outside of the UK seems to have heard of us anymore.

 

As a Geordie who's spent his adult life either in London or abroad, I'm always glad to see foreign supporters. Trying to follow our fortunes in Sky pubs is, in my experience, a thankless and lonely task. If we're on telly, we're either playing one of the "big four", in which case the pub will be full of glory-hunters in red or blue, or else we're playing some smaller team, in which case most people will be cheering on the "underdog" -- and we're never the underdog.

 

I was in Lisbon when Gullit took over. I remember travelling all the way to Cascais, 40-minute train journey, just to watch the match at an "English" pub. The place was full of scousers on holiday, and I had a right miserable time as Owen banged in goal after goal. Remember his rubbing his hands? I was the only one who wasn't cheering. And then a 40-minute ride back into town.

 

Earlier that year, though, I was in Budapest, where I watched the cup final in an "Irish" pub. The place was packed with Arsenal supporters, neutrals -- and me. Some woman behind me kept shouting "Cheat! Cheat!" in a Felicity Kendall accent whenever Shearer appeared on screen. I wanted to turn around and slap her. And then there was some kind of mangled chorus of "Geordie Boot Boys" from the back -- a bunch of Hungarians from (I learned later) a town about 40 miles away, who travelled all this way in full Toon regalia. I could never figure out why they were supporting us -- they couldn't even speak any English -- but I was glad to see them. Their presence was the only thing that cheered me up that day.

 

 

 

[Guest LucaAltieri]

My family is originally from the area. I still have relatives in Newcastle and now only live about 45 minutes away - I did spend a good few years living in London and abroad which is why I signed up here in the first place.

 

Quite frankly all the sly comments about people who aren't from Newcastle or don't/can't get to the games every week are idiotic on a number of levels;

 

1) It's a piece of piss to follow the club if you're in Newcastle - far more difficult if you're overseas. The fans that do follow from outside of the UK are putting far more time and energy into supporting the club than a local.

 

2) Going to the games every week does not give you any better insight into anything. As we've seen on the TV a lot recently; those that attend are hardly intellectual powerhouses with a deep understand of what's good for the club.

 

3) It's a destructive image that you're creating. It strengthens the idea that Newcastle is a backwards, parochial, little city. The dippy Geordie who doesn't like southerners/foreigners and has little culture or class.

 

None of this is helpful. Being local doesn't make you more of a fan. Going to the games everyweek doesn't make you any more knowledgeable. Foreign fans and expats still contribute an awful lot to the club on many levels. We won't be making a return to Champions League football if its solely down to local fans to bankroll the club, will we.

 

Embrace the foreigner. They're part of what makes us a big club.

[OzzieMandias]

On the other hand, maybe it's good that we have a few people around who aren't absolutely wallowing in it -- "Oh, the terrible suffering of being a Toon fan! Woe is me!"