The poor facilities at St James Park

[ramone]

If City ceased to exist tomorrow I wouldn't be looking at going to Torquay or the GAWS , would probably end up chucking money into Exmouth Town.

 

[fred binneys head]

I'd support AFC Exeter or whatever name would be given to it.

If there wasn't one I would support whoever Argyle were playing that week.

 

[Jason H]

If City ceased to exist tomorrow I wouldn't be looking at going to Torquay or the GAWS , would probably end up chucking money into Exmouth Town.

Given a doomsday scenario like that and without an AFC Exeter (as per FBH) I'd probably end up supporting a local non-league side, presumably Hampton & Richmond or, given a mate's son plays for them currently, Ashford Town (Middx).

 

[IndoMike]

This has become the "If City ceased to exist" thread. If City ceased to exist one of the many important parts of my life would be missed. You can't support a team from childhood to middle age and just switch teams if it vanished. I'm sure the people who saved the club post jokers Russell and Lewis felt the same.

 

[Boyo]

Lots of people at work will go to the rugby for a day out. They'll spend money on tickets, food, drinks, merchandise etc etc. It's treated as a group social and they don't really care about the result. They would never go to SJP.

I've been up the Chiefs quite a few times (always when City are away, I hasten to add!) and always quite enjoy it. I always see people I recognise from SJP however. It's an opportunity to watch top level sport and see a sprinkling of England players. I get a small buzz when the Chiefs win, but don't really care when they lose.

I have no doubt that the success of the Chiefs has a negative impact on ECFC.

 

[Ashford Grecian]

Given a doomsday scenario like that and without an AFC Exeter (as per FBH) I'd probably end up supporting a local non-league side, presumably Hampton & Richmond or, given a mate's son plays for them currently, Ashford Town (Middx).

Good man

 

[John William]

I have no doubt that the success of the Chiefs has a negative impact on ECFC.

Possibly, but the effect is likely to be small and there are so many variables that it is impossible to disentangle them all. There may also be a countervailing coat-tail effect in that many people now associate Exeter with sporting success, that regarded us as a hopeless backwater 10 years ago.

 

[Red Bill]

Well this thread's taken an interesting turn!

I think some of the recent comments speak volumes in answer to the OP. Certainly at our level, football and possibly supporting in general is about connections, connections to place, connections to childhood, connections to times, connections to memories, connections to people, connections to tangibles etc etc etc. These are the things that bond us to particular things and to some extent provide us with comfortable certainties, and as such are bonds that aren't easily broken. The fact that no one has said that if City ceased to exist they'd travel up to Bournemouth or Southhampton to watch top flight football, suggests to me that its these connections forged when we're young that they seek, and that if these are taken away we'll seek to find something that represents those same feelings that created the connections we try hard to maintain. So we don't want to go to the Chiefs or any other top flight polished locations, because fundamentally they don't provide what we want. We may have lost some custom to the Chiefs, but I'd be happy to bet they aren't the true fans but occasionals for whom watching sport is just a day out a couple of times a year. Those of us who've had it in their blood since they were first taken to football with their dads as small children, couldn't really care less about facilities or even what the fortunes of the team are on the pitch in this context, we just don't want that life long connection and certainty to be broken!

For what its worth, I live between Bristol and Bath, so if City ceased to exist although of the two Bristol teams I tend to favour Rovers, I'd actually probably start supporting Bath City.

 

[ramone]

Well this thread's taken an interesting turn!

I think some of the recent comments speak volumes in answer to the OP. Certainly at our level, football and possibly supporting in general is about connections, connections to place, connections to childhood, connections to times, connections to memories, connections to people, connections to tangibles etc etc etc. These are the things that bond us to particular things and to some extent provide us with comfortable certainties, and as such are bonds that aren't easily broken. The fact that no one has said that if City ceased to exist they'd travel up to Bournemouth or Southhampton to watch top flight football, suggests to me that its these connections forged when we're young that they seek, and that if these are taken away we'll seek to find something that represents those same feelings that created the connections we try hard to maintain. So we don't want to go to the Chiefs or any other top flight polished locations, because fundamentally they don't provide what we want. We may have lost some custom to the Chiefs, but I'd be happy to bet they aren't the true fans but occasionals for whom watching sport is just a day out a couple of times a year. Those of us who've had it in their blood since they were first taken to football with their dads as small children, couldn't really care less about facilities or even what the fortunes of the team are on the pitch in this context, we just don't want that life long connection and certainty to be broken!

For what its worth, I live between Bristol and Bath, so if City ceased to exist although of the two Bristol teams I tend to favour Rovers, I'd actually probably start supporting Bath City.

What a rousing post ! There is a couple of beers behind the virtual bar for you Red Bill.

UTC

 

[Gordon Dale]

ITS A WIND-UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!...............................the clue was M & S !! On the rugby front have to say I preferred the old County Ground .

Engendered some heartfelt comments though , ignoring the one or two of limited vocabulary, from the SJP devotees . In that context , I still miss 'the Cowshed'.

The poster who made reference to the Loos does have a point though....which would benefit from a further re-assessment and hopefully future upgrade.