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The survey you mentioned - can't really give that any credit til I've seen a link.
The hatred thing I agree with but think this is going to come down to semantics.
As a chelsea fan I have what I'd like to think of a healthy dislike for some of our rivals. When I say 'I hate man utd' or 'I hate arsenal' etc I don't literally mean hate. I think the same is true for 95% of football fans and people in general who throw the word hate around far too easily.
Unfortunately I can't remember the details of the study, but I'll see if I can find anyone who has looked into it at lunch.
I agree that with a fair few fans they say 'hate' when they realistically mean 'dislike' - but there are a LOT of Man U haters who really do hate; and you can tell from the vitriolic language they use that they wouldn't be happy if you tried to suggest that they didn't HATE them.
I assume you're not really a football guy mr british cowboy sir?
It matters to most proper fans because usually fans understand what it is to be a supporter. You go to somewhere like newcastle where every single fan is wearing the team's shirt or pompey where the crowd don't stop singing even if they're 5-0 down.
Being a real fan is usually about following a fairly local team so that you can actually 'support' them.
That's why most proper mancs support man city.
What link to manchester united do most of their uk fans have? Nothing but the love for being a glory hunter or perhaps an open day visit to manchester university 18 years after first supporting them.
Look at the typical united fan on this forum - someone like bedi. Travels all over the uk to play donkaments but bet I've been to see more games at stamford bridge by the time I was 8 than george has been to man utd games home or away his whole life.
That's partly why true fans resent man united. Yes their manager is remarkable and yep they've had some amazing players and history but a lot their fans don't deserve to see such success. I'm not saying the club itself doesn't deserve it.
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Most of what you said can be summed up by - it just does
"Being a real fan is usually about following a fairly local team so that you can actually 'support' them."
Does this mean financially support them? Because the Asian market in particular are good at financially support premier league football teams but I'm guessing you wouldn't count them as 'real' fans.
So is it just about going to see them play? Is this your only real criteria for being a real fan? Why does that make a difference? You don't get as good a view as if you watch it on television - you get to see less of the actual football.
The only difference going to see a team live makes is the atmosphere and crowd - that's all well and good if you're interested in being part of the fan 'community' - but what if you're not in the slightest bit interested in the community and all you're supporting is the football itself?
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