Changing your allegiance?

[Saxondale]

I would suggest these people who choose a team arbitrarily and/or switch teams don’t have the same bond with “their” team as we do.

 

They probably think they do, and they probably performatively celebrate or mope when “their” team wins or loses, and they probably invest a lot of time in football ‘banter’ with fans with other clubs…

 

…but these people will never actually know what it means to have a genuine bond with your club that comes from supporting your local and/or family team. 
 

It’s their loss.

[Mark_w]

Imagine being from Leicester, glory supporting another team, and missing out on the last 10-15 years of following Leicester City. I don’t feel  any special connection to the city really but I’m glad I was encouraged to support Leicester, there’s no way anybody who picked another team because of their historic success, has had more fun following their team than us. 
 

The only way I could see myself changing allegiance would be in a HSV/St. Pauli type situation, if we developed a really strong far-right movement in the fan base I’d have to find another team, but that’s the only situation I can think of where I’d even consider it.

Edited 12 January 2023 by Mark_w

[Super Shinji]

Ready to get shot down here but during my school years (through the 90’s) I supported Man Utd. Most of my mates supported them, Liverpool or Arsenal with a few who supported Leicester. I didn’t get into football until late (probably when I was 9 or 10), mainly due to my parents not having any interest in football at all. It was easy therefore for me to follow Man Utd as they were the ones you could most easily watch and follow on tv/in the papers/radio. I also didn’t move to Leicestershire until I was 10 so didn’t have a close bond with the county from a young age. By my early 20’s I had friends who supported Leicester and started going down to the odd game with them. Then I met my now wife in 2008 (during the League 1 season) and she had a ST so bought myself a half ST for the 2nd half of the season and never looked back. Now a ST holder for 14 years. I like to think I have a reasonable excuse for changing allegiance! 🙃

[Guest Manini]

Since moving to the area I’ve developed a fondness for Bradford City and do prefer going to watch them home and away as opposed to going to Leicester these days, unfortunately. Never feel the same buzz as I do with Leicester though, and I’m no where near as emotionally invested in their successes and (more) failures as I am with city. I’m in too deep now, and you can’t help where you come from either. I don’t think I’d ever be able to turn my passion for Leicester “off”, I think I’ll always be invested. 

[ian__marshall]

There would have to be exceptional circumstances for me to even consider it as its the only club I've ever supported since I was a boy and it's been passed down through generations of my family who have been supporting the club for around 80 years.

 

Having said that I'd never say never as there are instances where I'd consider it, I.e. acquisition by an owner/group/state who's values go strongly against my own, the club becoming one of the elite and deciding to use that status to join a European Super League, acquisition by an owner who wants the clubs status/history to form a club in another locality [e.g. Wimbledon/MK Dons], etc. 

 

If I was to ever switch allegiance, in the first instance it would always be to a Leicester phoenix club (no not a Peter Kay rip off) assuming one was created, however failing that I'd go and support a lower league club to reconnect with proper football away from all the razzmatazz and commercialism of the PL (most likely Notts County - Still a local side for me and would allow me to continue my hatred for Forest). 

[Guest worth_the_wait]

A year before our title win, I worked with a few lads who "supported" the usual Liverpool or Man Utd.   This was in a small town well away from civilisation, so wasn't a crime in itself.

 

Anyway, the Man Utd "fan" was a really half-hearted one.   I remember having a long conversation with him, explaining how he should switch to a less successful team such as ours, as he would then really be able to bask in glory if it ever won anything ... rather than just latching on to one of the usual boring "big" teams.

 

Suffice to say, he just looked at me as if I was bonkers.   Which I was, of course.   But then the following year, something bonkers happened ... and I remember thinking of that lad  "you had your chance mate. And you blew it!"

 

[davieG]

I've told this before but it seems appropriate.

I was born about half a mile from Stamford Bridge and lived within walking distance to it until I was 6, due to a family break down i was moved to Leicester with my brother where no one showed any interest in sport. I went to Lancaster Boys School which was totally into rugby having a deputy head of Van Hopkins the Radio Leicester Tiger's match commentator. 

 

We started taking and interest in football in our mid teens and eventually got to go to see Leicester but at the same time we used to visit family in London and had a Brother in law and nephew who watched Chelsea so we went along.

 

Both teams had some really great players at this time and I used to enjoy watching and taking an interest in both teams. That is until the 64/65 League Cup Final when we had to choose who to support. We both chose Leicester before the game, we lost and I've never really had any further interest in Chelsea and been a regular attendee and ST holder  at LCFC all my life since. My daughter and 2 sons are big LCFC fans although my daughter is under extreme pressure living in a house with a Liverpool born husband and 2 kids who are  all Liverpool fans.

 

LCFC lived it all.

Edited 12 January 2023 by davieG
Some factual errors re the Chelsea LC final corrected thanks to @worth_the_wait

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

I don’t get this at all, but then again I think it might be down to personality type?

 

I find it as odd as some youngsters these days who prefer to play football on fifa than actually watch a real life game, even if it’s the team they ‘support’.

[st albans fox]

My dad grew up in n London (Holloway road)  - used to climb over the wall to see the arse 

 

but after the family moved to Leicester in the early forties, they had to support the local team. There was no tv back then. How could you support a club a 100 miles away ??

 

The biggest challenge left in my life will be to make sure that any grandkids that appear will be ‘foxes’ ….. my two daughters present the biggest problem - the sons will ensure no issues. 

 

[coolhandfox]

No, my dad is 76 and has been a City fan all his life. I'm 46 and have been a City since Italy 90 sparked my passion for footy.  

 

My son is 19, I ensure he was a City fan from a young age. 

 

Sometimes feel guilty for introducing him to the pain.....

[LanguedocFox]

9 hours ago, MattFox said:

Supported Chelsea as a kid, moved on to Man City after the takeover, started following Leicester in 2015 and will happily support Forest next season following the re emergence of the famous team under the handsome Steve Cooper

What? You never supported the mighty Man United? Call yourself a footie fan - huh!

[KrefelderFox666]

I was about to post a reply and then figured out how complex this topic is. There are so many different angles you can come from on this, some might seem fairly acceptable, some big no no's and some might be in between and up for debate.

 

Some factors would be location, home town, family, heritage, situation at current club and whether that makes it hard to continue to support them etc.

[lee7]

I remember in primary school my mate supported Man united for a few years and you'd always see him wearing the full replica kits and the Man united tracksuits but then all of a sudden changed teams to Newcastle for a season 

 

This lad was a year older than me so i didn't see him for a year when he moved up to secondary school but by the time i moved up he was then a cobblers fanatic and literally followed them home and away. 

 

Anyway fast forward a few more years and after leaving school he is now a massive Spurs fan! 

 

Sometimes i hear him say to people how he has always followed Spurs and i like to point out that's not actually true 

[lee7]

Personally i could never support another team the way i do Leicester. 

 

I go to watch the cobblers now with my son every now and again but it doesn't really bother me if they win or lose. 

 

The one big difference i have really noticed about watching lower league teams compared to us is that they tailor their matchday experiences to please the 3-4k fans that turn up as they rely on them coming back on a regular basis. With Leicester it feels as though they don't really care if you enjoy your day as they know that they have a list of people waiting to take your tickets if you decide not to return. 

[Guest worth_the_wait]

I'm stuck with the City for the rest of my life, but I'm a right tart when it comes to non-league teams.

 

I've lived in different parts of the country due to work, and have always followed one of the local non-league teams.   I'd pitch up when I had a free Saturday, and get quite involved.   But as many have said, it never really bothers me.   Win, lose or draw ... I just enjoy it for what it is.

[FoxesFan#1]

55 minutes ago, lee7 said:

Personally i could never support another team the way i do Leicester. 

 

I go to watch the cobblers now with my son every now and again but it doesn't really bother me if they win or lose. 

 

The one big difference i have really noticed about watching lower league teams compared to us is that they tailor their matchday experiences to please the 3-4k fans that turn up as they rely on them coming back on a regular basis. With Leicester it feels as though they don't really care if you enjoy your day as they know that they have a list of people waiting to take your tickets if you decide not to return. 

How funny I was thinking exactly the same about my recent experiences of watching a smaller club play.

 

We become irrelevant as the club expands but you watch them cater for us if we drop a league or two!

 

I’m half way between Cobblers ground and Brackley so go left on the A43 to the non-league instead!

 

I never thought I’d ever care about going to watch a different club play regularly as it was Leicester Leicester Leicester all the way for me (born in Leicester, lived in the county until 25, went to Uni in Leicester too) but going to a club a few minutes away rather than allocating a whole afternoon for 20+ days a year being stuck in traffic as they close motorways changed my mind on the subject!

Edited 12 January 2023 by FoxesFan#1

[Rusko187]

I get slaughtered for this all the time by my mates. Growing up I was a City fan, but around age of 11 I lost my Grandad and he was someone I really connected with football on, when he passed I just fell out of love with the game.. Didn't go to matches, didn't watch MOTD, didn't follow anyone at all. Until about high school, one of my friends was an Arsenal fan.. if I'm honest, still didn't love the game or even watch it, but I do profess that I did buy an Arsenal shirt.

 

Fast forward to my early 20s, Jose Mourinho was manager of Chelsea and I would say he got me back in love with the game, and with that I did follow Chelsea because of him. Didn't go to matches, was very much an armchair supporter but I had the shirt and they were in effect my team. It was that way until about mid 20s when I'd come out of a big relationship and my friends dragged me down to City and that was it... back hooked on Leicester, got my first ever season ticket and I was back loving the game. And it's been that way for coming on 15 years now!

 

I do also admit to owning a Bayern shirt, we have family in Munich and they were kind enough to get us tickets.. I would say they are my second team but I don't follow them massively.

[bmt]

10 hours ago, Aus Fox said:

I’ve always been Leicester through and through, but when I moved out to Aus I needed a team to follow as I really missed the going to games.

I initially started following Melbourne Victory, but after a season or two I really didn’t like aspects of the supporter groups associated with Melbourne Victory, so when Melbourne Heart joined I switched allegiances to them, but they soon were bought out by Man City which I didn’t agree with, so again switched, now I’m more Adelaide United as I enjoy the way they play football and the way they seem to run as a club.

The difference I suppose, is although I’ve enjoyed watching some live football at times, I’ve never felt a connection to these clubs in the way I do to Leicester. If I go to the game, win draw or lose, I head back to the pub have a beer and get on the train home. 
With Leicester, I’m pissed off when we lose, and it makes my week a better week when we win. I could never change this or feel this connected to any other teams results.

Just out of interest what was the problem with the Melbourne Victory supporters groups. Loved following them when I was out there.

[FoxTimmy2]

No way I love this club!

[Daggers]

I don’t have a bond to this club anymore, just history, I’ve never felt more distant from it. 
 

Football felt different when we won the title, took me a season to get over that - but the antics of the last two years on top of the other bountiful issues I have with the club have really killed any attachment I felt - and that’s from a home and away ST holder during our prior darkest days. 
 

I love the Cobblers because I used to be the mascot. Love the Poppies because they’re my non-league side. And I have a soft spot for Sunderland, Southend, Cali and Deportivo Caracas because I lived there and watched games with the friends I made. 
 

No one tells me how to follow football or how fans should “be”.

[David Hankey]

Taken (dragged kicking and screaming) to Filbert Street in 1955 by my father I have never looked back.

 

Leicester City is my hometown Club, why on earth would I want to change?

 

I have other Clubs I follow with interest because of one connection or another but my allegiance to this Club will never falter.

[lee7]

17 minutes ago, FoxesFan#1 said:

How funny I was thinking exactly the same about my recent experiences of watching a smaller club play.

 

We become irrelevant as the club expands but you watch them cater for us if we drop a league or two!

 

I’m half way between Cobblers ground and Brackley so go left on the A43 to the non-league instead!

 

I never thought I’d ever care about going to watch a different club play regularly as it was Leicester Leicester Leicester all the way for me (born in Leicester, lived in the county until 25, went to Uni in Leicester too) but going to a club a few minutes away rather than allocating a whole afternoon for 20+ days a year being stuck in traffic as they close motorways changed my mind on the subject!

 

 

Crazy really that clubs act this way. As you rightly said i am sure if we dropped a league or two then their attitude towards us as fans would soon change.

 

The only downside to watching lower league sides is that the football is shocking 9 times out of 10. 

 

I have never watched Brackley but have played at their place several times. They used to have a great little ground!

 

 

[gw_leics772]

13 hours ago, weller54 said:

When at secondary school in the late 60's one of my friends was a WBA fan, another a Portsmouth supporter.... Later in life the Albion supporter changed allegiance to Arsenal and the Pompey fan to Tottenham!!!..

Today I still have them as friends but continue to mock their lack of loyalty to the clubs they supported fervently at school 😁..

I cannot understand this changing of support for a team that means so much to you in those teenage years!

To me, they'll always be Albion and Pompey fans but they get very upset when I pull them up on the subject 😂

 

I know someone from school who was a proper man u fan. Season ticket holder I believe(he definitely went to more matches than most people at school who "supported" a big club.)

 

His best mate was an Ipswich fan and last time I saw him he was wearing an Ipswich shirt. Beggars belief imo. No choice in the matter as far as I am concerned. It cannot be done.

Edited 12 January 2023 by gw_leics772

[Alf Bentley]

3 hours ago, Super Shinji said:

Ready to get shot down here but during my school years (through the 90’s) I supported Man Utd. Most of my mates supported them, Liverpool or Arsenal with a few who supported Leicester. I didn’t get into football until late (probably when I was 9 or 10), mainly due to my parents not having any interest in football at all. It was easy therefore for me to follow Man Utd as they were the ones you could most easily watch and follow on tv/in the papers/radio. I also didn’t move to Leicestershire until I was 10 so didn’t have a close bond with the county from a young age. By my early 20’s I had friends who supported Leicester and started going down to the odd game with them. Then I met my now wife in 2008 (during the League 1 season) and she had a ST so bought myself a half ST for the 2nd half of the season and never looked back. Now a ST holder for 14 years. I like to think I have a reasonable excuse for changing allegiance! 🙃

 

We have quite similar trajectories.....

 

Early years, I nominally supported Chelsea, then hit my teens and realised what a shite club they are - and that the future lay with my local club, Folkestone Town....I attended there regularly through to twenties, by when I'd moved away.

In my twenties, I went to a few Norwich, Charlton and Plymouth matches, when I lived in those places....but still saw myself as a Folkestone Town fan, until they went bust when I was 30.

Moved to Cov, but couldn't relate to the city or the club so travelled to watch Northampton Town. Enjoyed my 2 years watching The Cobblers, but never related to the town (awful dump).....

 

Through marriage (now kaput), I moved to Leicester area in my late 30s and started attending matches occasionally (2004-2008).....usually ending up wondering why I'd wasted £20 (price then) to watch such dire shite.

 

By 2008, I was settled in Leicester and wanted to support my local team. May 2008, I was sat in The Clarendon watching LCFC play out that 0-0 at Stoke and get relegated to L1. That was the moment I resolved to get a ST.....had one ever since.

 

But 2022-23 will probably be my last ST as I plan to move away and won't be back often enough to justify keeping it. Cannot now imagine supporting any other "big club", though I could imagine going to watch a small local club and following the mighty LCFC from afar via TV, FT and the occasional match on trips back (ironically, as a non-ST holder, I'll probably get to more matches if we get relegated as I assume demand for tickets will plummet ).

[Jakemoore]

I’m Leicester ‘till I die. Born and bred in the shadows of The Valley in South East London when we were shit and Charlton were Premier League. I will never ever change my club. Leicester through and through.

 

Although, supporting the club may actually kill me one day….