How pleasing it was to finally see a set of supporters stay behind and applaud the opposition in the FA Cup Final at Wembley on Saturday. Last year the two “elite” teams (Man Utd and Chelsea) competed in one of the most uninspiring and depressing FA Cup Finals for years. Chelsea score a last gasp winner; cue the mass exit of the glory fans from Manchester.
Fast-forward a year and we see the refreshing final between Portsmouth and Welsh Championship side Cardiff. This time the large majority of fans have stayed behind to watch the presentation of the cup, and why not? Cardiff were not un-deserving of their place, and had to done well to reach the final. But the difference may be that the view of the fans, silverware is an expectation of the elite teams, as proven by the ridiculous claims that Avram Grant could be sacked after reaching the Champions League Final and finishing as runners up in the proclaimed “best league in the world”. Whereas reaching the cup final may have saved Cardiff’s fortunes, after being plunged into financial languish through previous ownership.
However it seems that the prawn sandwich eating, foul-faced fan is not only applicable to one of the elite teams, but supposedly anyone in the Premiership can fall foul of this type of fan. After Man Utd claimed the league title this year away to Wigan, many fans who had not gained tickets entered the stadium to watch their team lift the trophy. However Wigan fans took it upon themselves to confront these fans and throw verbal abuse in their direction. The Man Utd fans were not confrontational, nor had they broken any rules, yet they were still met with hostility from a club where you would expect respect. However anyone must recognise that this was from the small minority of fans, who continually ruin the reputations of many well run family clubs.
Therefore to reiterate the opening line, it really was pleasing to witness the scenes on Saturday, and I can say that the elite clubs were definitely not missed, nor were their fans.
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