All those irrational things I do are because I am a fan, specifically of Arsenal Football Club, inching their way painfully, painstakingly towards their first league title in 22 years. Arsenal as a club and a fanbase have been at the sharp end of criticism from some media outlets who tell us we want it too much, subs shouldn't be running onto the pitch after a League Cup semi final victory! Why is Arteta so animated on the sidelines?
I'm very glad I'm not an elite athlete. I dream about Pep Guardiola sometimes, and not in a good way. I missed a penalty for my college team in the cup quarter final. I'm superstitious. I dodge every single ladder or scaffolding in London. I make sure I speak to my dog before every game (he never replies), because if I don't then we might lose. Certain people I can't go for a drink with on match days anymore, because they're tainted by defeat, the list goes on.
But that's not the point. I'm not an elite athlete because of many more deficiencies than simply my fragile mind. But that's OK! Because I don't have to face the glare of tens of thousands of fans every week in stadiums, abuse, sharp intakes of breath when I fly too close to the sun against high presses, boos, phone torches etc. Not to mention online platforms which house some pretty unsavoury and negative football chat (naming no names). All those irrational things I do are because I am a fan, specifically of Arsenal Football Club, inching their way painfully, painstakingly towards their first league title in 22 years. I did all those things before our recent resurgence, because I care.
Arsenal as a club and a fanbase have been at the sharp end of criticism from some media outlets who tell us we want it too much, subs shouldn't be running onto the pitch after a League Cup semi final victory! Why is Arteta so animated on the sidelines? He must be a fraud. Why is Odegaard taking a photo of the team photographer? Etc etc.
To those who might describe Arsenal fans as "insufferable", I would say 1) Maybe you're right and 2) So what?
There's several kinds of police already in hot pursuit of the Gunners: Now the celebration police are joined by the decorum police, because Arsenal fans are annoying. To which I would say, whoever thought it was going to be pretty to watch a fanbase who have just missed out on the title three years in a row, after a period of ridicule that has stretched 20 odd years, is absolutely deluded. This is going to be a nightmare! I lose my mind every week. Though I bang the drum constantly about how fans can influence mood, something Mikel Arteta knows only too well, I'm not sure it's our responsibility to keep our heads. After all, we're not professional athletes! Perhaps it was ill-judged of Mikel to suggest we brought our boots and our shinpads, because we're not good at football, and we certainly aren't mentality monsters. But ultimately, that's what football fans are: fickle, reactionary, insecure.
Let us be!
You can hear more from Scarlet at the Goal Difference podcast
Category: General Sports
