I did, I loved it.
The overall buzz was usually better than the actual match for me.
Frowned upon now of course...but I’m not ashamed of it.
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I did, I loved it.
The overall buzz was usually better than the actual match for me.
Frowned upon now of course...but I’m not ashamed of it.
I was an apprentice hooligan until the age of twelve, then realised how idiotic it all was.
After being arrested, charged twice, had a few kickings made great mates not ashamed,but at 64 what was all that about.
Would i do it again if i was young probably.
It was ridiculous. I remember seeing a bloke, stood outside in the car park opposite Ninian Park. Burberry cap, burberry scarf, Stone Island coat. Looked a real prat. He was with his very young son, probably 6 years old. The game had just finished, we had won. It was a bitterly cold December/January game.
"Why are we waiting here dad?"
"We got to wait for their lot to come out"
"But why?"
"We, err, umm, just have"
We carried on to our car, then their fans came out, and he gave it the old wanker sign and fingers. His son, stood next to him, freezing cold. Then, their fans got on the coaches (about 50 of them, it was a small team like Colchester or something) and the man and his child-like father jumped into their car about 20 yards away.
I wondered if there was some aggro that day, exactly what the dad would have done. Would he have got involved and risked his son, would he have left his son to wait somewhere while he threw a few air punches? Either way, had he been arrested, he would have cried foul - they always do. "Not my fault officer, I was just walking home with my son". Pathetic.
And who can forget those God-awful books that came out at the turn of the century? Comedy gold they were.
It's tribal isn't it?
Like gang culture.
It's in our DNA.
But yes....
I did my best to stay clear of it.
But I got jumped on and got a kicking.
"aggro". Sums it up - screaming, shouting, running towards, running away from, looking for a fight but rarely getting into one. If there was any actual fighting it usually came about by accident when one poor sod got isolated and ended up having his head kick in as he lay on the floor. The other 95% of fans looked on in the same way you would if you saw two groups of baboons trying to mark out their territory - curious, but detached.
The childish mentality extended to the attempts to make it all sound so cool - naming this group, this 'firm', the boys from such and such place, respect for that firm but not another. Unfortunately it meant we all had to watch football through ugly large chainlink fencing for over 20 years, though it probably didn't bother those involved in the 'aggro'.
Was a casual more for the culture than the aggro. Used to travel with the train mob or on away coaches from the Kings in the 90s and got into one or two scrapes but it was more about the clothes and the music for me.
First rule of Fight Club..........
Sorry but you should be ashamed. It made me ashamed to be a City fan at times and dragged our club through the mire and into the gutter. The people who were involved in it had no thought for the well being of the club or the remainder of the fans, who just wanted to watch a game of football. I saw innocent women, children and old people trampled upon and beaten up, just because a group of morons wanted to massage their own egos and make themselves look big in front of their ‘mates’. Most of them weren't even interested in the football or Cardiff City. Good riddance to those days.
Loved a scrap it the day , there was s much pier pressure about within my environment , think it was a Llanrumney survival gene .
Thankful I've matured since thank god , still got a flair up temper when pushed though , mostly under control now though .
On a personal level this type of behavior was born from complex issues as a youngster , lost an alcoholic dad at 13 which was hard and didn't help . In my view it depended on where you lived , and schooled , parental control , who you hang and ran with .
I will admit to having some fun though
The first part of your post has hit a chord with me. For some areas of Cardiff and South Wales it was very much the ‘done thing’. For decades violence/aggro/people acting like dicks is ingrained as part of going to the matches. Different sub cultures come and go but it’s always been present.
On a personal basis, yes I got involved but as you get older you do realise how ridiculous the whole thing is. I’ll admit to cringing when I see some I know very well still acting it all out although it’s hardly in the numbers it was in the past.