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Thread: General football discussion... |
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8th April 2004, 06:21 PM |
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aveslacker
Once and future kings
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: Athens, Greece
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajaxusa
In my opinion, MUFC are called the "scum" because they are successful on every level. It's not like other clubs don't try, or at least want, to achieve the same things.
There are two sides to this story, and they're both spot on.
From a quantitative, analytical point of view, you're absolutely right. From a qualitative, passionate point of view (i.e. that of the average fan), AFCA is right. I
If you are a long-suffering supporter of some small-to-middle sized team, who in all likelihood won't do much in the league, and can only hope for the occasional good cup run, you must cringe whenever you see United fans, many of who will cease to support the team if they don't win a double or treble.
I think the Yankees are similar - they have the most annoying fans in the American sports scene, outside of the goddamned Cowboys. And they have so many of them, the bastards. And they all think the world comes to an end if the lose in the frikkin' World Series!! And my team, the Houston Astros, has never even been to the WS! That is annoying.
But I have to admire their business model, which makes them the second richest sporting franchise in the world, behind you-know-who, and their commitment to winning. As a capitalist and sports fan I can appreciate that. And, unlike a team like Chelsea or PSV which seems to generate resentment because they have no "soul" and buy players, at least the Yankees (and also United) have some history - the Yankees are, love 'em or hate 'em, rich with tradition, and United has raked in silverware since the days of Busby.
I certainly respect the notion of sporting franchises making money, but what I appreciated the most about seeing Ajax in operation was that, while it was a profitable enterprise, a palpable spirit of family and community pervaded the operation. This is something that you can't fake, and only the classiest organizations possess -- and that's true regardless of how much money a club spends on players.
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