For we’re the loyalest football supporters, the world has ever had!

Posted on September 22nd, 2009 | 41 Comments |

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Well maybe we are, and maybe we aren’t. But this isn’t actually about Newcastle fans, it’s partly about football fans in general and specifically, following their unenviable and ultimately fruitless journey to the North East, Plymouth Argyle fans.

After all, it’s the longest trip that can be made in the English fixture list and it’s a helluva roadtrip to make. So I think it’s only fair to doff my cap in their general direction, by way of acknowledging that it was a pretty good effort to get 2000+ of them safely ensconsced in the gods of the Leazes stand.

While they weren’t the noisiest supporters I’ve heard up here, they were in good spirits despite the 400+ mile trip, played their part and should be saluted for their efforts. This sort of stuff is part and parcel of being a supporter I guess, but I think all clubs veer too much to that way of thinking and the loyalty becomes taken for granted. Football fans will always follow their clubs, during the peaks and troughs of performances on the pitch and in some cases, are very rarely rewarded for it.

Considering we’re still in the grip of a recession, Plymouth have yet to taste top-flight football, and they’re at the foot of the table, they have a core set of passionate and loyal fans who are worthy of gracing the elite of English football. We may mock the ‘Green Army’ ad, but ultimately the real thing is something to be admired and respected. I got chance to speak to a few of the Plymouth lads, both on the way to the match and on the way back and I genuinely wish them all the best for the season.

NUFCBlog Author: bowburnmag bowburnmag has written 234 articles on this blog.

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41 Responses

  1. “I think all clubs veer too much to that way of thinking and the loyalty becomes taken for granted.”

    Nail, head, firmly hit.
    For all of the bluster that was coming out of various message boards we are still getting big gates at SJP and we are selling out away games.
    Look at Leeds for another example of a club where the supporters were roundly bummed by their owners/chairmen. They still get big crowds week in/week out.

    This is unfortunately something the unscrupulous people in football rely on. People were saying that an empty SJP was the only way to send a message to Mike Ashley. I agree, but it was never going to happen. For me, following NUFC is something I just can’t stop doing. If I still lived up there I’d be at every home game with my prized season ticket. I will be attending every Midlands game I can and I was gutted to have just missed out on a baggies ticket.
    It doesn’t matter if we are crap, I’ll still support us, it won’t be easy, but if I wanted easy I’d be a plastic Manc or a Chelsea glory hunter.
    I don’t know about you lot, but this season I’m beginning to enjoy following NUFC again.

  2. Nice article, giving respect where due. Good one.
    & to quote micky toon, nail, head, firmly hit.
    & that goes for you too micky, well said brother.
    Keep your plastic glory hunters.

  3. Nicely put BBM.

    The “Green Army” ad is mockery, but very gentle mockery, of the passionate nature of fans. I think it’s also, weirdly, celebratory due to Paul Whitehouse’s performance.

  4. Enjoyed that BBM, yes every credit to Plymouth’s fans.

    I know what you mean Mickey Toon about enjoying the Fizzy pop. I have said to my mate there is an honesty in the clubs and their fans that has long since gone from the premiership.

  5. “Plymouth have yet to taste top-flight football”

    I wonder if this makes Plymouth the largest town never to have had a team in the top flight? It used to be Hull until they got promoted to the Premiership last year.

    Time for some research!

  6. I was hoping that Aviva had done some follow up adds depending on whether they won or lost and filmed it as the journey home, ie waste of time travelling all that distance to lose or worth travelling all that way for the win. Obviously we all know the result and perhaps they have done a follow up, but I haven’t seen it.

  8. “batty says:
    September 22, 2009 at 3:19 pm

    bowburn i think you will find our trip to plymouth just as long m8 lol”

    I reckon it’s longer, so that would make us the loyalist supporters. ;-)

  9. Sorry for the spamming, but do you reckon all this talk of loyalist’s will bring 52 Times out of the wood work. :-)

  10. Yep it’s great to be the big fish in a little pool….and to have finally found some teams we can beat in spite of the paper-thin squad resulting from the FCB’s disinterest and crazy decisions.

    Lets hope it lasts – but only for 1 season ;)

  11. thanks for the recognition but to answer battys point that they have to make the same trip you have a lot more local games our nearest fixture is bristol city followed by cardiff reading then of course we also have a fair few trips up north as well middlesboro sheffield twice scunthorpe ect thats a lot of long old pokes just hope we get to see a win or two

  12. workyticket says:
    September 22, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    “I wonder if this makes Plymouth the largest town never to have had a team in the top flight? It used to be Hull until they got promoted to the Premiership last year.

    Time for some research!”

    I hope that you let us know the result worky ticket!

  13. Unless you concider us to be Glasgow Rangers fans and/or members of the UVF etc, I think you will find it is LOYALEST

  14. batty says:
    September 22, 2009 at 3:19 pm (Edit)
    bowburn i think you will find our trip to plymouth just as long m8 lol

    Technically, they’re going uphill so they’re knackered for the game. Which makes their journey longer.

  16. im a plymouth fan and the answer to your question is yes we are the biggest place in england not to have a prem team

  17. nufcbb says:
    September 22, 2009 at 3:51 pm

    “I hope that you let us know the result worky ticket!”

    nufcbb,

    A few people do say Plymouth, but my researches seem to indicate Wakefield. They don’t appear to have troubled the football league very much at all, just the rugby one.

  18. Paul – The word ‘loyalist’ isn’t exclusively used for Glasgor Rangers fans and UVF followers would be spelled ‘Loyalists’ with a sneaky capital L. I’m not sure ‘loyalest’ is actually a recognised word in any dictionary but is definitely used in everyday English.

    I’ll even admit that my spellchecker changed it without me noticing and that I’d intended to spell it as you have.

    Subsequently, I though about changinG it, however, I’ve decided not to give a stuff.

  19. bowburnmag says:
    September 22, 2009 at 4:11 pm

    “I’m not sure ‘loyalest’ is actually a recognised word in any dictionary but is definitely used in everyday English.”

    Bowburn, “Loyalest” is correct.

  20. Does anybody remember in the old days of the leazes end, if the match got boring we used to have a Celtic v Rangers chant for a bit just to liven things up?

    LOL

  21. I think my keyboard is fecked. What’s with “Glasgor” and “changinG”???

    OK, I stand corrected.

    $^^%$^ $^%$^%$^ $%^$%…..

  22. Howay UTD111, I’m not that bloody old.

    I remember the Celtic/Rangers things being a bigger thing than it is now though. I was alreet, I supported St Mirren.

  23. Nice article BBM.

    I had a mate at university in Plymouth back in the 80’s so I’ve been to the city a few times but never to the football ground.

  25. To be honest I think it should be ‘most loyal’ rather than ‘loyalest’ or ‘loyalist’.

  30. I assume he was working his ticket.

    ‘Most loyal’ is definitely most gramatically correct but it doesn’t fit in very well to our popular ditty.

  31. Hugh, I couldn’t beleive it was was happening at the time, it was such a cliche with them being sailors! I had to extricate myself from the situation with the help of a bottle the end but it was a close thing. It was when I was studying Art in Falmouth many years ago. I’ve never run so hard in my life. I would have halved Bowburn’s time in the GNR on that evening!

  32. Ah here…..I can’t even spell ‘grammatically’ properly. There’s some gentle irony. :oops:

  35. workyticket says:
    September 22, 2009 at 4:58 pm (Edit)

    Hugh, I couldn’t beleive it was was happening at the time, it was such a cliche with them being sailors! I had to extricate myself from the situation with the help of a bottle the end but it was a close thing. It was when I was studying Art in Falmouth many years ago. I’ve never run so hard in my life. I would have halved Bowburn’s time in the GNR on that evening!

    ===

    Lol, I know the sort of situation you mean. I mixed with a few dodgy characters in my 20’s and occasionally found myself in sticky situations and, yes, being chased by a bunch of nutters hell-bent on doing me serious damage is great for breaking running records. The adrenalin just seemed to override everything but as soon as I was safe and relaxed I started shaking so much I could barely stand!

  36. I first seen that tv ad on the friday before and was very impressed. Northern Ireland is full of plastic mancs and quite alot of Chelsea fans in the last 4 or 5 years. Would sicken you.
    As for near misses and scary experiences i’ll keep them to meself. Even startin to type in geordie now.LOL

    Were is the pic of BBMs blisters?

  37. batty says:
    September 22, 2009 at 4:52 pm

    “a got 18 month at plymouth crown court for afray lol”

    batty, how the hell did you end up causing an affray in Plymouth?

    bowburnmag says:
    September 22, 2009 at 4:06 pm

    “worky was right about Plymouth and Hull. I nearly put it in the article originally.”

    I’m still working on that, Bowburn. There seems to be some disagreement about the population of Wakefield. According to the census figures I looked at, it is over 300,000, which is slightly larger than Plymouth.

  39. worky when i was 20 there was aboot 30 of us working doon there on a shut down on a cement works 6 of us went on the p:ss all day and ended up in a strip club called diamond lilles and we were a bit loud so the owner fetched for his heavys aboot half a dozen steroid freaks walked in and they got hamerd like .afray was quite serious at the time we were expecting 3 to 4 year like but that was the 2nd time i went jail and the last m8 and that drink has a lot to answer for ile tell you and on a brighter note i won 320 quid tonite liverpool asenal sunderland sorry and histon £50 pound four fold lol

  40. I was hoping that Aviva had done some follow up adds depending on whether they won or lost and filmed it as the journey home, ie waste of time travelling all that distance to lose or worth travelling all that way for the win. Obviously we all know the result and perhaps they have done a follow up, but I haven’t seen it.

    im sure some one said they had but they could maybe do newcastle fans this time ? maybe get ant and dec in ??

  41. Congratulations batty!

    Sorry, I couldn’t help laughing at the other thing, thought the sentence part wasn’t funny, obviously. These chiselled gym gadgies aren’t as tough as they seem sometimes. :-)