Do we get better as fans as we get poorer as a team?

[dimiSpur]

Think back to the dark old days. Shocking teams (with the exception of the odd superstar to get us out of the shit) yet the atmosphere was always something to be proud of. We got a bit better and I think the greatest atmospheres of recent times came under Martin Jol. We were on the rise, but the dark days weren't too far behind.

Tonight, despite another thrashing at the weekend, I felt the fans were behind the team (almost) the whole way. Certainly up until 2-0. Outside the ground and on the trains home I heard lots of fans singing various songs. This could just be the fact that being a Europa match some irregular younger fans came down, not letting the result getting between them and having a good sing-song. But I can't remember another time I've seen that, only after big wins against Arsenal really. Add to that the fact that the chants seemed to have an air of defiance about them, and I genuinely think that it just shows the loyalty of the Spurs fan.

We go on about how bad the atmosphere has been of late, how x or y has happened, but we neglect to recognise our good points at times. We have a very loyal fanbase and no matter how bad things get, we always stick up for our team. We might slate them on here, but that's different. What you say between your "own" is different to what you say outside the "brotherhood".

So I guess my point is one of recognition for the loyal Spurs fanbase. A fanbase that's endured much over the last 20 years and just when things seemed to be looking up, we seem to be sliding back down the pecking order of the PL. However that won't deter us and certainly won't stop the ever-fantastic support in numbers Spurs get, both home and away.

 

[Bobbins]

I think the last couple of home games (I went to the Dnipro one) there has been a better atmosphere, even when we weren't playing well or the scoreline was against us.

It seems to be a little bit of defiance - whether that's against the chairman, manager, or just generally against how this season has gone, but at least a little bit of the moaning and entitlement seems to have transformed into motivational anger to support the team 'even if we're shit'.

It actually feels like a little step back to the days of the 90's and early 2000's when we were awful, and as you say the fans were great anyway, because everyone knew we were shit. I think the 1882 lot and the Park Lane in general has helped with this as they've kept singing and supporting the team and individual players (Soldado for example) throughout this shitty time, and it seems to be very slowly rubbing off on some of the rest of the crowd - if you've got nothing to cheer, and no expectation to be able to, you can at least use your energy to relentlessly support the team.

I wonder also if more season ticket holders are staying away - now they know they can make money on StubHub as well. The season tickets holders, especially the older ones, in my experience are by far the worst for shouting abuse or sitting there quietly seething and grumbling in the background. Maybe we're getting more fans buying resale tickets who are more supportive because they rarely get to go - I know I'm one of them.

Who knows, perhaps this awful season will knock a little of the sense of entitlement out of a few of the grumbling pricks who infest the Lane on matchdays.