Figuring out who is catholic on the NI soccer panel

[gawa316]

Out of interest except Tonto, does anyone else support the NI Soccer team on a regular basis, not the jump on the bandwagon type, have you went to any games etc?

Me

[dec]

@DUP leader

Just to be clear the DUP website nowhere refers to the north of Ireland #nosuchplace #proudodNI #Nolan

what does proudodNI mean?

Why are you following their twitter or website??

The thing about unionism is that it is an artificial construct.
You'd never see a Taoiseach tweeting something like that.
Many older people call NI the North of  Ireland.

You going to answer it or just post crap??

Is this your first time interacting with seafoid?

[Tony Baloney]

Out of interest except Tonto, does anyone else support the NI Soccer team on a regular basis, not the jump on the bandwagon type, have you went to any games etc?

Their attendances at Windsor are about 10000 yet they reckon there are 40000 fans away over. You do the math. That's a quare bandwagon. Hopefully it's in for some serious repairs soon 

[Milltown Row2]

Out of interest except Tonto, does anyone else support the NI Soccer team on a regular basis, not the jump on the bandwagon type, have you went to any games etc?

Their attendances at Windsor are about 10000 yet they reckon there are 40000 fans away over. You do the math. That's a quare bandwagon. Hopefully it's in for some serious repairs soon 

Think Windsor holds around 12000, possibly

[johnneycool]

Out of interest except Tonto, does anyone else support the NI Soccer team on a regular basis, not the jump on the bandwagon type, have you went to any games etc?

Their attendances at Windsor are about 10000 yet they reckon there are 40000 fans away over. You do the math. That's a quare bandwagon. Hopefully it's in for some serious repairs soon 

Think Windsor holds around 12000, possibly

IFA missed a trick not building a bigger stadium then!

[Tonto]

To be fair the reason attendances have been around 10,000 is because of redevelopment. Once it is completed by the next qualifying campaign I believe the capacity will be 18,000.

That said I accept there is def a bandwagon on the role and there are plenty of people who used to give me stick when there were only about 6,500 of us at Windsor ("what are you going to watch that crap for?" Etc etc) who are now posting about how great the whole thing is. I'm not bitter about that because their joy will never match what I'm getting out of it because ultimately things will take a dip and they'll be doing the same thing the next time the Belfast Giants are top of the super league or the Aghadowey Tiddlywinkers reach a cup final... And sure if there are new enthusiastic NI supporters, all the better.

PS Can we stop with this Billy Boys shit?

[Rossfan]

Hadn't they to demolish one stand?

[BennyCake]

Out of interest except Tonto, does anyone else support the NI Soccer team on a regular basis, not the jump on the bandwagon type, have you went to any games etc?

Their attendances at Windsor are about 10000 yet they reckon there are 40000 fans away over. You do the math. That's a quare bandwagon. Hopefully it's in for some serious repairs soon 

Sure wasn't there so many of them at one match, they broke the feckin' stand! 

[johnneycool]

Good cartoon doing the rounds with David and Goliath cranes at Belfast shipyard! "Ukraine 0 Two Cranes 2!" Quite funny!

Samson

Old testament is a load of old bollox, everyone knows that

[Tony Baloney]

PS Can we stop with this Billy Boys shit?

Hello, hello...We're not the ones singing it 

[Tonto]

Hadn't they to demolish one stand?

Yeah I was in that stand the day before the crack appeared for the Finland game. The crowd was absolutely bouncing, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a fan-induced crack.  They did knock it down and the replacement is nearly up. Because the rest of the ground was being built they were able to make the new stand integrate nicely into the south stand and close off the corner. All's well that ends well.

[Tonto]

PS Can we stop with this Billy Boys shit?

Hello, hello...We're not the ones singing it 

You know, I'll be totally honest. I went to my first NI game as a 10 year old in 1997. I'm pretty sure the atmosphere wasn't very welcoming to Catholics and, looking back, I have great admiration for all those players who played for us through the darkest years of Northern Ireland's history. But that's what it is, history. In the context of a deeply divided society not even yet emerging for civil conflict, I don't think we should be very surprised if songs were sung on the terrace that have no place today.

As a NI supporter, the worst days of the team probably coincided with the emergence of peace in NI and with that a sense that things had to change both on and off the pitch. In the early 2000s new campaigns were launched such as Football For All and Sea of Green to try to re-energise support for the team rather than just using the matches as a chance to express political affiliation.

That has been a success. Decent fans and decent people have made it so. If you want, be critical of Northern Ireland's players and be critical of Northern Ireland's support. But in continuing to through shit like Billy Boys/ "loyalist fanbase" etc around, it's the decent people who have made going to watch NI a pleasant, family experience who are probably most upset.

Just because you might want it to be true so that you can easily explain to people why you don't even have NI as a second preference, doesn't mean that it is.

[T Fearon]

I first attended a NI game in 1967,the famous Scotland game in which George Best was sublime.Attended many more over the years, but haven't been since 1995,when Michael O'Neill scored two goals against Austria.The sectarianism never really bothered me, as I was there to watch favourite players,like Jennings, including those in the away teams like England and Scotland.The match against Bulgaria in 1979 was the one I felt most uncomfortable at as I was in the company of a few non catholic friends and they were palpably embarrassed on my account due to the sectarian singing and I was longing to tell them not to be so,but it was the elephant in the room that none of us wanted to mention.

The fan dynamic seems of have changed, with a lot more of the prawn sandwich brigade latching onto the team,and a lot less of the Shankhill/Sandy Row residents,epitomising how the sport in general has changed from its working class roots.This has probably helped in the battle against sectarianism.

I suppose it's inevitable in a country with divided allegiances that the two soccer teams will by and large represent those different allegiances (like Rangers and Celtic do in Glasgow,and the majority of each club's supporters are decent non bigoted people). But I think particularly if the IFA could find a new flag and anthem it would go a long way to breaking down the final barriers.

[Tonto]

I first attended an NI game in 2008. I didn't and still don't support them.

I've never attended an ROI game. I have never and still don't support them.

What was the game?

[Tony Baloney]

But I think particularly if the IFA could find a new flag and anthem it would go a long way to breaking down the final barriers.

Scotland and Wales can belt out their own anthems but it seems the OWC fanbase can't tear themselves away from their beloved Queen. Whilst I'm sure there have been noble efforts in improving the atmosphere at Windsor (as Tonto has mentioned above) the flegs and anthem issue is the nut that really needs cracked for the IFA to prove they are serious about creating an environment suitable for all. As flegs and emblems are like heroin to unionists I'll not hold my breath.