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Saw a bit from a distance but never got involved, or wanted to for that matter.
Some of the clothing choices were a bit dodgy aswell.
In all fairness there was some horrible barstards around that were just bullies, picking on scarfers.
I really felt for this one Youngish lad, Oxford fan had parked by Sloper Rd...probably had just passed his driving test by the looks of him.
Some knob punched the drivers window in because he had an Oxford Shirt on and then punched him in the side of his head.
Another time when a Boro Scarfer had the living Shit beaten out of him opposite the Grandstand at the FA Cup game.
Most people definitely had no time for that and in both cases myself and my mates aided the fans that were bashed up.
A famous old cardiff nutter gave a bristol rovers fan who was on his own walking back to the station a right hammering opposite the ninian park pub , by jeff white motors
He punched him from behind then kicked him several times in the head then ran off when the mounted police arrived
Cowardly bastard
I first started going to Ninian Park on more than an ad hoc basis in the 1999/2000 season. Started going down with a guy who I thought was a City nut. He used to talk passionately about being a City fan. Sometime during the season he stopped going. He said it wasn't fun any more.
Soon enough he told me that he used to go to games for the violence. Nothing else. He'd hardly seen a game in years, but went with me a few times. He knew nothing about the players on the pitch. Talking to him about the history of the club was a bit like "Man City, yeah, remember getting stuck into some of their fans". His knowledge of the club was pretty dire when probed but he could tell stories of glories and being seriously beaten up.
For about 6 months he used to pay me decent money to act as a taxi for him. He used to wander around the mountains after dark shooting animals. Also once told me he was delighted his 14 year old daughter could shag like a bunny. Very odd and deranged individual.
loved a pitch invasion...for a goal and for aggro...
I don't think Wash DC Blue was talking about this fella's night-time shooting activities..
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.
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.
"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'.
I had friends in school who were deeply intoxicated with that side of things and for a while at about age 13 or 14 I guess it seemed like it would be kind of exciting.
Then said friends started to come out with really horrible racism which completely put me off them and by extension anything the were insterested in (no idea if the "aggro" was really where the racist shit was coming from, but it seemed like it at the time. Not for a second implying that anyone on here who was into it was a racist btw).
Each to their own I suppose, but I've never been able to get my head around how this is something people enjoy.
Sure, you can say that about a lot of things, like horse racing and motor racing for starters, anything on itv....the list is endless.
When I started going in 1987 I thought that all our fans were nuts and hooligan casuals etc....then I went to an away game and I x it by 100. I literally can’t recall the last away game I went to....maybe 2002, Wembley aside.