Supporting Two Teams Really Pays Off

Supporting two football teams increases the pain involved most of the time.  This is sometimes because I feel that I've let down one team by attending a game when the other team are playing at the same time - even though I know its impossible to attend both games.  Sometimes I can assuage this guilt by keeping up with the score via the television or social media.

Occasionally, there are commitments outside of football that can't be avoided and then you've let both teams down.  Admittedly these are rare, mainly due to a very understanding family.  If there's the possibility of missing a game I will try to get family members involved at any opportunity: "your family would love it as they're all from round here", "you could just zone-out while the game is on", "let's go along and help clean-up the ground before the game, it'll be great exercise", "it will be a chance to see somewhere new".

Aside from the away shirts, supporting two teams paid off in the form of what might be considered a lottery-style win in May 2011.  MCFC managed to reach a first FA Cup final in 30 years to face Stoke City.  Cue a desperate scramble for tickets by contacting everybody I'd ever known, many of whom I hadn't spoken to for years.

Then an e-mail was posted on the DHFC website stating that the club would receive six tickets for the final due to their membership of the FA and inviting applications from supporters. I had always subscribed to the view that a larger percentage of tickets should be given to the supporters of participating clubs rather than the FA 'family'.   Now I found myself as a very distant member of the FA family, I was immediately on to the club to press my two-club supporting credentials.  "Well the Chairman's taking a couple, but you might get two tickets if you can get up here now with the cash".  The reality was that it was only due to both clubs being unfashionable.  "If it had been Tottenham v Liverpool, you wouldn't have got near them".  So, for once supporting the two teams had really paid off.      





      

The Away Shirts Dilemma

What happened with the away shirts demonstrated that I wasn't the only one with dilemmas in supporting two football teams.  Non-league clubs are always looking for volunteers - fundraising, cleaning the stadium, fetching balls when the centre-half kicks them out of the ground, etc.  I volunteered to take on a position with the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters Trust.  

Aside from retrieving footballs, the Trust was asked by the football club if they were able to buy new away shirts for the first team.  The old ones were rags.  It was agreed that the Trust had sufficient funds and it was a good idea.  A short-list of three different kits was agreed with the football club.  The idea being that the supporters would choose the kit in a ballot organised by the members of the Trust.  

Ballot papers were printed and votes were gathered at the next home game.  There was quite a lot of enthusiasm amongst the supporters with a lot of talk about why particular shirts might or might not be appropriate.  Some supporters didn't like green because it was worn by other teams in the league, others just didn't like yellow and red, while some preferred anything but light blue. If you've read the previous blog you'll know where my vote went.

Anyway after the Chairman of the Trust had counted up all of the votes, the light blue kit had won by a slim majority.  A result; both my teams would regularly now be playing in similar colours with no red in sight.  

Alas, this was precisely not the result wanted by some of Dulwich's supporters.  Perhaps like many football clubs, Dulwich has a number of supporters who followed another team with Manchester in its name.  A number of these supporters, knowing my other team affiliation, even suggested that there might have been some sort of vote rigging involved.  Some people find democratic decisions a little hard to accept, especially .

"Come on you blues".    

The Dilemmas of Supporting Two Football Teams

For many football supporters it's only ever possible follow one team, despite perhaps having a 'pet' team in another league.  I've supported Manchester City since 1969.  I was a successful young glory hunter, having bet my mum 6d that they would win the FA Cup.  Over the years I have followed them to varying degrees as my personal circumstances allowed.  This has included being a Junior Blue many years ago, having a season ticket for a number of years and playing in the APFSCIL league for the club.  However, over the last ten years it has largely involved watching them whenever possible at away games with a group of London based supporters.

Over the last five years I've also discovered the increased pain and pleasure to be gained from supporting my local non-league team. Watching Dulwich Hamlet team has allowed me to always be able to get a ticket for the game, take my daughter along to watch more easily, give advice to opposing players from the touchline to which they regularly respond and get home in time for dinner.  This support has also allowed me to visit many places and associated pubs around London of which I was only vaguely aware - and again still be home in time for dinner.  As another supporter said to me "I go and visit these places because I'm nosey".  

It has also provoked a number of emotional dilemmas.  As an example, while attending Dulwich Hamlet's  play-off final game at Bognor Regis last year, I heard in the crowd that YaYa Toure had just scored for MCFC at Newcastle. Fortunately, I was watching the game just outside the bar area and nipped inside to see a replay of the goal.  Resuming my spot on the terrace, I was just in time to see Bognor score (ultimately the winning goal) from a corner at the other end of the ground.  Having been briefly elated by a goal scored over 300 miles away, I was instantly deflated by what happened in front of me.  Further emotional confusion occurred as MCFC completed their win during half-time at Bognor while Dulwich Hamlet managed to miss a second-half penalty.  I felt very disappointed with Dulwich's performance in the game I attended, but later  managed to find consolation from the other result.

From knowledge of other supporters who follow non-league teams, I can only assume there are more people out there that have found their own ways of dealing with this increased pain, pleasure and confusion.