On another thread

[JoePass]

Taking that logic to it's ultimate conclusion, why would anyone choose to support any team other than Man City / Man U / Chelsea / Liverpool? If bigness and success are the criteria for selecting a team to support, I don't think the scum over the river would enter anyone's calculations. Thankfully, some people see beyond that, and support the team that they love for whatever reason. One thing I've realised over the years is that one diehard supporter of a struggling lower league club is usually worth 10 'big club' supporters.

Spot on.

[ancientpie]

It was me that said that! I can only speak for myself, but I started supporting Notts because my old man did, and he did because his old man did. But there's more to it than that. I've always loved supporting the underdog, so if Notts went out of business and I moved to a new city with two clubs, I'd naturally be drawn to the smaller one.

When I was at school in the early 90s, there were a handful of kids that supported Notts and the rest supported Forest fans. I remember getting laughed at for wearing my Notts kit on 'own-clothes day' (granted, it was the 'bar code' one). This cemented my resolve to stick with Notts no matter what. And also, one thing I always noticed was that every single Notts fan I knew went to watch them week in, week out; whereas only a fraction of the Forest fans ever went to the games. It was just the default position taken by armchair football fans at the time - I guess these types of kids would now support Man City or Barcelona.

I can also say that, on average, County and Forest fans have different attitudes to football and their respective clubs, and I feel much more comfortable with the County one. To me, Forest fans seem interminably arrogant about their place in the football hierarchy, despite years of relative underachievement - a bit like Coventry really. There's a sort of half aggro half arrogance - the sort of fans that won't hesitate to point out that they're bigger and better than you. County fans, on the other hand, seem to have a bit more of a sense of humour; we know our place in the world, and we generally expect the worst while hoping for the best. I think the Wheelbarrow Song perfectly reflects our club's ethos. A song like that would never happen at a club like Forest.

Apart from all that stuff, it's just a feeling that I can't describe. I love supporting Notts. Simple as that. The amount of times I've had Forest fans basically saying to me "we're a bigger club than you, with better players, more money, a more impressive history and a bigger stadium." I am absolutely aware of all that. It doesn't change a thing. If anything, it's that stuff that makes me love County more.

Great post slack & must ring a bell with most Notts fans while being completely incomprehensible to the average red,Notts fans by their nature will always be attracted to the smaller club in any City ( if I lived in Merseyside I would follow Tranmere) we do not take the easy option.Being fair on the Reds the fans who turn up every week tend to talk sense, it is the many who wear the shirt but don't & haven't actually bothered since the Clough days who are very arrogant & stuck in the past.

[Bohinen]

Being fair on the Reds the fans who turn up every week tend to talk sense

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvk3fwmrZIs

[ancientpie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvk3fwmrZIs

Yeah I should have said "relative sense" !!!

[Trickytreesreds]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvk3fwmrZIs

(cough)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Cjspz_Q_8

[seriouspie]

As arguably one of Notts' oldest supporters (now more of a follower) I could blame me dad but then again only being 6 in 1944 (war time friendlies) I was obviously too young to go alone. The leagues were re-formed after the war and we were in the Third division (South) with average gates of perhaps a 3-5000 average. We then signed the best centre forward I have ever seen and I had the experience of 30-40,000 gates which was phenomenal at the time. So great memories and at the time enough to stamp me a 'Pie for life.

[ancientpie]

(cough)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Cjspz_Q_8

Meant to prove what???

[Redrag]

As arguably one of Notts' oldest supporters (now more of a follower) I could blame me dad but then again only being 6 in 1944 (war time friendlies) I was obviously too young to go alone. The leagues were re-formed after the war and we were in the Third division (South) with average gates of perhaps a 3-5000 average. We then signed the best centre forward I have ever seen and I had the experience of 30-40,000 gates which was phenomenal at the time. So great memories and at the time enough to stamp me a 'Pie for life.

It doesn't seem long ago that the old people you knew were Victorians. Suddenly you realise that anyone born in her reign would be at least 118 now.

Thanks for your answers and if there are anymore then I woud welcome them. I can understand you supporting County as the "underdog," I would usually do the same, but I came from a non-footballing background, you heard more about Forest so I gravitated there. I must admit that sometimes it's quite tempting to think about watching Notts, but I don't think I could ever do it, the die has already been cast. In the same way I'd be disappointed if any of you decided to transfer your allegience to Forest because they played against (some) more glamorous opponents. I hope that both of the teams thrive and that we both have success but it worries me sometimes to think that when I started watching Forest in the early seventies, pay on the gate was either 20p or 40p (I forget which now) and so it was affordable from pocket money. That has all changed now.

There has been a time or two in the period I've been supporting Forest when County could have become the bigger team and I suppose that it will happen some time, unless money continues to call the tune. If it does, enjoy your time in the sun.

I was just thinking of the supporters you gained in the Munto period. I wonder what happened to them.

[magpie_mania]

It doesn't seem long ago that the old people you knew were Victorians. Suddenly you realise that anyone born in her reign would be at least 118 now.

Thanks for your answers and if there are anymore then I woud welcome them. I can understand you supporting County as the "underdog," I would usually do the same, but I came from a non-footballing background, you heard more about Forest so I gravitated there. I must admit that sometimes it's quite tempting to think about watching Notts, but I don't think I could ever do it, the die has already been cast. In the same way I'd be disappointed if any of you decided to transfer your allegience to Forest because they played against (some) more glamorous opponents. I hope that both of the teams thrive and that we both have success but it worries me sometimes to think that when I started watching Forest in the early seventies, pay on the gate was either 20p or 40p (I forget which now) and so it was affordable from pocket money. That has all changed now.

There has been a time or two in the period I've been supporting Forest when County could have become the bigger team and I suppose that it will happen some time, unless money continues to call the tune. If it does, enjoy your time in the sun.

I was just thinking of the supporters you gained in the Munto period. I wonder what happened to them.

Well considering our attendance was 600 higher last season than the Munto one, I don't really think that is a relevant question!

[Elite_Pie]

I can understand you supporting County as the "underdog," I would usually do the same, but I came from a non-footballing background, you heard more about Forest so I gravitated there.

Isn't that that exact opposite of supporting the underdog?

I was just thinking of the supporters you gained in the Munto period. I wonder what happened to them.

Interesting question, but crowd figures suggest many of them remained, or at least retained an interest. Pre-Munto we struggled to get a 4,000 attendance for a home game, but last season we actually beat Munto levels. Whether that was down to the new interest that Munto generated or some very imaginative promotions from Alan Hardy is hard to say. Whatever the reasons I'm just glad to see attendances like 7,000+ yesterday which was 1,000 above my estimate, and I'm usually not far off the mark with attendances. Personal experience also tells me the new supporters gained since the dark days are mainly in the younger age brackets, which is great to see.