What constitutes a bona-fide Celtic fan

Following on from a comment made on another thread I was interested on people's view on this and didn't want to take the other thread off topic.

Up until 5 years ago I lived less than an hours drive away from Paradise, from the age of 5 I attended just about every home game (never got to see the huns games until I was 16) from the age of 16 I went everywhere, home away and I'm nearly at the 30 mark with trips abroad.

This changed when I moved to Belfast 5 years ago, now have a house, girlfriend and a little daughter so my disposable income has all but dried up. Now I get to 4 or 5 games a season.

My point is, was I a better Celtic supporter over 5 years ago than I am now just because I attend less games?

What exactly constitutes a supporter?

Do you have to spend all your money attending all games, get to a few games a year, once a year or how about never attending?

Are there different degrees of supporters?

For the record I have never felt I am any better or worse than anyone else who says they support the Hoops. If you say you support them and cheer when we score then that's good enough for me

 

1. You dont want to miss a game(if you can afford a ticket or get a ticket you go, if you cant you watch on the internet, if youve not got the internet you go to a pub etc and if you cant see it anywhere you feel annoyed about it)

2. You want to give your money to the Club(even if something is cheaper elsewhere you want to get it from the Club so they get more money, and if you do buy it from elsewhere as its cheaper as you cant afford the extra £10 or that, you feel bad about it)

Id say thats probably the two main things.

Wanting to win goes without saying, isnt really what makes a supporter though. As you could just like something and want them to win without being a supporter. Like I like Usain Bolt and Barcelona and want them to win but if they dont, it doesnt matter so I am not a supporter of them.

 

You aren't any worse just because you attend less games. Obviously living in another country makes it difficult and in bad financial times you do well to even make a game. I don't think how many games you attend makes anyone the greatest fan. I used to live in New Zealand for a year in Mowbray's reign and even though we were absolutely hopeless i still got up at like 4 in the morning to watch a game. Now I have my third season ticket in a row attending games regularly. But that doesn't make me better or worse . For me its about following your team however you can , through the good and bad, wearing your top with pride head held high letting everyone know that you support the mighty Glasgow Celtic

 

We are all one big family,thats what makes us special imo

That comment sickened me earlier but wasnt surprised by the poster

 

If you feel joy when we win and pain when we lose you are a Celtic supporter, regardless of how many games you go to.

I went religiously for years but like the poster above with a family, bills and no disposable income I don't get to as many games as I would like these days.

I don't think it makes me any less of a supporter, I still buy the strips for my bhoys, dvd's, books etc... and go to the games when finances dictate.

Anyone who discovers the club from wherever in the world and reads up on the history and gets what we are all about is a bona fide Celtic fan in my eyes.

 

Just last night I saw a Celtic supporter on Facebook accuse another of being a "part-timer" because he doesn't attend every away game. Terrible attitude. There are countless reasons that a person might not be able to make it to every match, be it financial, work commitments, travel related, etc.

Later in the discussion it transpired that the supporter doing the accusing had, in the past, decided to take "a year out from Celtic", but felt that this was irrelevant as he now runs a supporters bus. I'm not one to rank anyones commitment to the club, we are all supporters and I believe we are all equal, but with that history, you'd think he would think twice before questioning the commitment of another fan.

 

I hate the whole 'just because you dont attend games your not a real supporter of the club' pish.

For me being a supporter of any club is more of a feeling than materialistic. I dont care if you've never been to Celtic Park i dont care if you've purchased any official merchandise what i praise most and feel that makes a supporter a supporter is the belief for your team and want the best for your team.

Ive been privalaged to have owned a season ticket for just over 20 years now but i dont have any less respect for someone that has not been to see them or has only been to a few games. In fact i LOVE seeing people at games for the 1st time you can spot them a mile away the lost explanation on their faces mixed with excitement and awe when you walk into the ground/surrounding area's, just knowing and remembering the feeling you 1st walked their steps and remembering the feelings you felt on your 1st game.

Like ive said many things contribute to being a supporter of a club and especially a club like Celtic its all about welcoming new fans no matter who they are as long as they want what's best for the club.

Because that's the Celtic way, ............ our Celtic family!

 

I was taken by my dad from about the age of 7 up until the early 80`s when i started to go with some mates.I got taken to America for a year in 1983,so obviously i couldn`t go then.
Came back in 84 and picked up where i`d left off,followed avidly until 89,I still went through the early 90`s but not as much as before until the Hampden season in 94,got a season ticket for the teporary stand in 95 and had thhat until 2009,i also went to a good few euro aways in the noughties.

In 09 I lost my job and since then i haven`t been able to afford it cause of my lack of work situation.
Now i`m annoyed that i can`t get to Paradise the way i used to but i don`t feel i`m a worse supporter than i used to be ,* i love this club ,it`s in me till the day i die.

Anyone ,whether they attend or watch on telly or PC that feels the joy of seeing us win and feels the despair of when we lose is a Celtic fan in my book.can`t be doing with the uber tim *,If anyone feels the passion that following Celtic can instil in you then that`s bone fide enough for me,be it they live on Springfield road or * Timbuktu.

 

I have lived in France for the last three years i have watched every game via the internet and i'm on this site more or less every day seeing what the latest news is.I'm 53 years of age and its been like this for most of my life and it does'nt look like its going to change.

 

Have told my story on the other thread lol... for me it's a feeling, a deep feeling that only another Celtic supporter would understand. I go to as many matches as I can but my heart is always at CP whether I am or not.

 

If you make a effort to watch all the games and go to the games you can afford to go too then no matter if you live in Glasgow, Inverness(like myself), Poland or Australia you are part of this family.

I just hate fans of any team who say they support a team then don't even know that they are playing on a particular day or if they have signed anyone. Like a boy at work says he supports Rangers and he never even knew they got put into the division 3

 

For me the best way to define it is in contrast with supporters who just aren't that interested. The guys who live in Glasgow, have good jobs and disposable income, but just don't bother, or the guys who are happy to follow religiously during times like the MON era, but when we have a bad season like under Mowbray just aren't interested. It really saddened me to see attendances of around 30,000 towards the end of 2009/10 because fans just weren't caring. I'm sure some people had legitimate reasons for not going, but there were no doubt plenty who didn't bother because we were * then.
I've never understood how people can live in Glasgow and not go though. Not saying they aren't true supporters, I'm sure they have legitimate reasons, it's just always seemed weird to me since I live so far away, so whenever I'm in Glasgow it's specifically to go to games. Seeing videos of fans watching games in Bairds just makes me think 'you're about a mile from the game, why are you watching in a pub?'

 

I agree with this. I used to have a season ticket until I started uni when my parents decided I was old enough to buy it myself, which I thought was fair enough. The problem with that is though, I can only work weekends because I'm at uni during the week, and if I'm at work, I can't go. So that stopped me going. I still buy a ticket and go when I can afford it though.

I also met my girlfriend around the same time I started uni. Another problem arose here. She lives in Ballymena and I in Glasgow. This meant that any money I did save, I generally spent going to see her. She's moving to Stirling now for uni so that'll save me money which I can hopefully spend on Celtic. :icon_mrgreen:

I have other commitments which means I can't get to matches, in my opinion that doesn't make me any less of a fan than someone who goes to them all. I'd love to go to every game, home and away, if I was able to.

I also agree with your second point. An obvious example of that is SoccerTriads. It would be so easy to purchase the tops from there for a fraction of the price, but I'd much rather Celtic got the money for it, so I'll buy them from the Celtic shop.

 

Don't agree with the purchasing of stuff from the Celtic shop. Half of it is over priced tat. They charge more than any other sports shop and the way they handle things, such as the delivery of the new away top, has been a joke. If there's a JD Sports 5 minutes walk from your house but no Celtic shop for a good few miles then it's JD for me.

 

Anyone who claims to be a supporter IS a supporter (unless you're a lurker).

 

The way I see it as is this. Aslong as you have Celtic in your heart then your a supporter regardless if you can make any games or not.

 

For me personally though, that would be acting like a customer rather than a supporter. IE. I want to own a Celtic top, I will buy it wherever its the cheapest. The delivery being late to me too, is a good thing as it would mean there is lots of orders from the Celtic shop and lots of others feel the same, id rather wait a month longer to get it from the Celtic shop than get it from anywhere else. When I get anything Celtic, I want the Club to benefit from it, so I get it directly from them.

 

I agree with that.

 

1. You dont want to miss a game(if you can afford a ticket or get a ticket you go, if you cant you watch on the internet, if youve not got the internet you go to a pub etc and if you cant see it anywhere you feel annoyed about it

Yep thats the one for me - sat on a tube/train/bus find yourself saying "kicked off against Inverness 5 mins ago" or 2 down with 3 mins to go say to yourself "we're still in this - cmon the hoops"

Walk along a street witout a care in the world and start singing to yourself "for we only know that there's gonna be a show ...." for no reason !

 

I disagree entirely with your post im afraid although every one has their own opinions i respect that, if you support a team in any way or form you support a team its as easy as that.

(not aimed at you) People thinking they are a bigger or better supporter just because they have attended games or 'ma da supported the hoops, his da supported the hoops so i support the hoops and have more right to than you' mentality is just absolutely a load of pish.