In Search of the Truefan: from Antiquity to the End Of
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IN SEARCH OF THE TRUEFAN: POPULISM, FOOTBALL AND FANDOM IN ENGLAND FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE END OF THE TWENTlETH CENTURY Aleksendr Lim B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1997 THESIS SUBMITTED iN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of History O Aleksendr Lim 2000 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY January 2000 Al1 rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. National Library Biblioth&que nationale 1*1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. nie Weilington Ottawa ON KlAON4 WwaON K1A ON4 Canada CaMda Yaurhh Vam &lima Our W Wro&lk.nc. The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive Licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in rnicrofom, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic fonnats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT The average soccer enthusiast has a lot to feel good about with regard to the sbte of the English game as it enters the twenty-first century. On the one hand, the explosion of 'fan literature' in the 1990s indicates that English soccer supporters, once feared as 'hooligans', could now talk 'football' and about themselves as fans with a renewed sense of confidence and pride. This is paralleled by a rapidly changing English soccer landscape, particularly in tems of administrative 'sawy'. At the time of writing, the English Premiership lays claim to king the most financially lucrative wccer league in the world, yet despite greater exposure of the game by the broadcast media in the 1990s, there has also been a rnodest rise in attendance. Even Second Division Wigan Athletic could boast of a new 25,000 all-seater stadium. From afàr, it seems that English soccer has indeed pulled itself out of the Victorian era and into the new millemium. Yet in the midst of this unbridled optimism is an ovenvhelming sense of gloom. This is conveyed by a very vocal section of the -fan population' who believe that 'football as we know it' is actually under threat. But what is exactly threatening the game? More importantly, what is it about the game that is king threatened? This work aims at providing a socio-cultural analysis of the values, beliefs and attitudes of soccer fandom in England and of the people who claim to uphold these values - the so-called truefuns. In answering these questions, it is also hoped that this thesis will break new ground in understanding soccer culture in England. Specifically, it aims at introducing a -populist' discourse - one that involves larger and greater considerations of the concept of the 'people' - into the overall socio-historical study of English soccer fandom. It is the firm belief of the author that these considerations are evident within the context of the 'community' of soccer supporters. In terms of methodology, this thesis will attempt to demonstrate this in two major respects. First, the question of how the game of 'football' was understood in a more distant past will be dealt with by re-evaluating the existing literature on soccer culture in England. This thesis also hopes to establish some idea as to how contemporary soccer supporters define themselves and their 'community' by way of an analysis of prirnary evidence from two key fan 'voices': the oral tradition of soccer songs and chants, and the written records as documented in club 'fanzines' and the football 'specials'. CHAPTER TWO - LOCATNG THE OLDFAN: CLASS, POPULISM AND FOOTBALL SUPPORTERSHIP ZN ENGLAND, 1 863- 1950 ------------------ ORIGlNS - THE ELITE AND THE PUBLIC-SCHOOL GAME O-------- CLASS 'CONFLICT' AND THE 'WORKING-CLASS' GAME --------- WHERE CLASS =C'NFL[CTS' ------------------------------------ REVISMG THE STORYLINE: SOCCER'S 'TWO SOLITUDES' ------O- SOCIAL IDENTITIES: THE 'LOCAL' AND THE 'NATION' ---------- SUPPORTMG ROLES: THE LO WER ORDERS ------------------- SUPPORTMG ROLES: THE ELITE --------------------------------------- SOCIAL ROLES: EDWARDIAN SOCCER FICTIONAL LITERATURE - CONCLUSION ------ ----------- In the twenty-first century, it would not be unreasonable to assume that the average soccer enthusiast has a lot to feel gdabout with regard to the state of the English game. From a cornpetitive standpoint. Manchester United's 1999 Champions' League victory seems to promise a brighter future for English clubs in European cornpetition, as they hope to regain the same level of success that they had enjoyed just prior to the Heysel disaster and the subsequent 'hooligan' ban from 1985 to 1990. Even the English fan has much to be optimistic about as fat as his image is concemed. Once the scourge of Europe as the 'carriers' of the 'English disease', the soccer supporter has now become the 'in-thing' to be, with even prime ministers revealing their allegiances. Perhaps the most fitting testimony to the campaign to peel off the hooligan 'label' from the backs of supporters has been the tremendous explosion in the 1990s in tems of the production of soccer Iiterature in England. What rnakes this trend particularly remarkable is the apparent enthusiasm by the fans themselves in talking about their experiences and opinions in relation to the game, whether in the form of the slightly anarchic 'do-it-yourself fanzines or the more polished autobiographies of the 'soccerati'. No longer the shedpariahs of British society, they eagerly and passionately talk about soccer and about themselves as supporters with a renewed sense of confidence and pride. On the administrative side of things, the soccer elite dso have good reason to congratulate themselves. As the police point to the effectiveness of closeîircuit television (CCTV) and the efforts of the National Cnminal Intelligence Unit (NCIU) as the main reason behind the successful war against hooliganism, the relent!ess implementation of the 'dl-seater' solution throughout England nears its completion. Given the human tragedies at Bradford and Hillsborough. among others. one would be hard pressed to question the cornmitment of both the 2 Football Association (FA) and the Nationwide Football League in trying to, as Adrian Thriils puts it, pull "Britain's football grounds out of the Victorian era and into the ~ineties".' The early dividends have also been very encouraging. Despite greater exposure of the gme by the broadcast media in the 1990s, attendances are modestly on the rise - a promising development considering that crowds had been in a steady decline since the 1950s. Moreover, the feel-good factor was considerabiy boosted by the successfùl staging of the 1996 European Charnpionships. At the time of writing, the FA is putting together a strong bid to host the World Cup competition in 2006. As the 1990s draw to a close, there is certainly ample reason to believe that al1 is well with the English game. To coin the slogan fiom Euro '96, it seems that football has truly indeed 'come home', afier years in the wilderness. Yet in the midst of this unbridled optimism is an ovewhelming mood of gloom and wony. This is clearly conveyed in the following letter from a Rochdale fan, written in the wake of Manchester United's unprecendented decision to pull out of the 1999-2000 FA Cup competition: . ..Please, please for the benefit of thousands of kids playing on a windswept Saturday/Sunday and their mums and dads, for the thousands of part time and amateur players, for al1 the fans of Rochdale, Droylsden and Yeovil who dream of being drawn against the Reds, Arsenal; or Chelsea at home, support the decent Man Utd fans fighting the Cup withdrawal, it couid be our 1st chance to Save football as we know it.. ..! Two things are immediately apparent from this heartfelt plea. The first is the evoking of images such as 'family' and 'community'. In tandem with this is the stinging final line that seems to suggest that, far from being *saved','football' in England is actually king threatened. But what is exactly threatening the game? More importantly, what is it about the game that is king threatened? For one Manchester United fan at least, the answer could be summed up in the following passage: 3 It's no secret that United have experienced the best and worst of the Premier League's "whole new bal1 game". Trophies have been abundant but then so have the "newfan", the dreaded middle class, day-tripper element and any other type who has habitually embarrassed Our great club.. .. Everywhere in United's support idiocy has flourished .... ...the only time you can go to a match without having to associate with imbeciles are mid-winter fiendlies in the Arctic (anyone who has travelled on a recent pre-season tour will testie to the banality of many foreign Reds). .. 3 The sentiments above, taken fiom United fanzine Red Issue, is atypical of soccer-fan literature in England as the 1990s draw to a close. Essentially, the excerpt above is a larnent of the loss of identity in the face of the recent phenomenai changes taking place in the upper echelons of the English game, as the despised newfan is held up against some rapidly fading socio-cultural ideal about how one should support a soccer club.