When I first started going to watch City in the mid 90s they were usually in the division above us, so it feels like the natural order being restored to meOriginally Posted by City123
Like others have said, I'm not as arsed as I would have been 15 years ago, and I think there are a number of reasons for that.
The most obvious is that, if we do stay up, it'll continue to be exactly the same again next year. The same culture of mediocrity and apathy, the same hope that there's 3 worse teams than us, and probably another drop of 2k or 3k on the gate. The same idiots making the same bad decisions like clockwork. Some fans will cling to the hope that a corner is being turned, but most of us know something drastic needs to happen to break that cycle.
It's not just the club, though. As I get older and I have other responsibilities, other passions, other things in my life, the City just feel a lot less... important than they used to. They don't make or break my weekend any more. Wins don't feel that high, defeats don't feel so low. Don't get me wrong, I still watch all our matches - and I still will (regardless of what division we're in) - but more as a dutiful spouse than because there's any real spark there.
I also think that, in football in general, people are craving a different experience. Someone mentioned going to watch Trethomas; in other threads people have talked about going to watch Merthyr. After COVID, I got into groundhopping and I've had some great experiences going to smaller grounds at home and abroad. This is more of a general trend (if you look at the figures, non-league attendances across the UK have been steadily growing for a while), but when you couple it with what City have been offering up the last 4 years, it's no surprise that people are becoming disengaged and looking for something more authentic and less stressful.
Finally, for me at least, in the grand perspective of things, it's just not that big a deal. The club will still exist. We might be stuck there for 10 years, we might go straight back up. Frankly, there are more important things going on in the world. Even in purely football terms, it's not the pits. Almost everyone on this board has seen us finish 21st in the fourth tier, and get pumped by the likes of Enfield and Barry Town. It would be nowhere near our lowest point. Just as playing in the Premier League - our supposedly highest - wasn't all it was cracked up to be either.
So no, I'm not that bothered. Life will go on.
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