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(This article was originally published in the WFC Programme in the 2001-02 season. It has not been changed, and may no longer be fully up-to date)
Our reputation amongst our fellow non-league supporters
I’ve always felt pretty good about our reputation as Worthing fans. After all, we’re one of the better-supported teams in our division, and take a decent crowd away with us (at least 15-20, sometimes around 50-60 plus), at least compared to the majority of teams who visit us. Not only are we respectable in numbers, we are a broad church: there is a wide breadth of ages on the terraces (and our travelling support must be one of the youngest in the league), and a good ratio of female fans, not to mention the colourful tapestry of league club shirts that can be seen at Woodside on matchday.
So, I went into this season comfortable with our “standing” as fans of good repute, at least until the Saturday before the Brighton friendly in July, when I took up an invitation to attend the Maidenhead Utd vs Reading friendly. Back in April 2000, on Tartan Army manoeuvres in the Netherlands, a fellow Scotsman had asked me where Netley Abbey was (as per my “Netley Abbey Tartan Army” T-Shirt), and this circuitously led to a discussion about southeast England, and Maidenhead United’s promotion chances (us having blown ours by losing 1-0 to Bognor that very Monday!). A chance email months later led to an invite to go along and see the Magpies kick-off the pre-season, so up to Berkshire Helen and I went, wearing my Worthing shirt to aid recognition (and to show off that we had a Nike kit!).
Although Maidenhead’s attendances, even in the Premier, are usually lower than ours they do have a tightly-knitted “hardcore” of support, who all know each other on a first name basis, and most of whom were introduced to me. The same question was asked each time – “Do you know Nobby?”. Apparently, the last time Maidenhead had been to Woodside on a Saturday, they were shocked at the rudeness of the fans (compared to Bognor, who are apparently one of the friendlier supports – we must see their bad side!), and one in particular, calling himself Nobby, who wanted to fight them! Now, all of this must have been before my time, as I’ve never heard of Nobby, however it did get me questioning whether we truly can be considered friendly fans.
Now, coming from a Tartan Army perspective, where a great deal of emphasis is placed on making a good impression and having a good time with the locals, it occurred to me that Worthing fans, even away from home, were pretty much the silent majority. And so it came to be that a few of us decided to try our utmost to improve our reputation with other clubs fans, in this final season of Division One as we know it. One yard-stick of this can be seen on internet at the Rebels’ Unofficial message board (http://worthingfc.proboards.com/), where several fans of other clubs (such as Harlow and Carshalton recently) can discuss issues such as decent pubs and player moves without the abuse that would have been seen in seasons past. Another is the issue of singing – this is used by others to judge us as fans more than many would think.
The singing started at Harlow, although pretty much petered out until the Staines away trip, the first of this season’s legendary “Train Trips”. Despite going 3-0 down in the first 25 minutes, those fans foolish enough to stand behind the goal carried on singing with good humour (with classics such as “4-3, we’re gonna win 4-3”, and “We’ll support you up to four”), only to be complimented by the home fans on their optimism at half-time (well, it was 3-3 by then). Interestingly, this particular ground also saw the debut of the “Horse” last season (when we were playing Walton & Herhsam).
Since then more and more of the fans have done their best to keep the atmosphere going, resulting in a rousing send-off for Sammy after the Windsor & Eton game (where even the half-way line “Bus Stop” was joining in). The crowd at Westfield (where Worthing fans made up over half the 187 present – not bad for a 100 mile round trip to a muddy paddock!) were treated to the sight of a 4-foot inflatable penguin and a first-half avalanche of rocket balloons, not to mention the cacophony of hooters, sirens and singing that greeted each one of our three goals. Even a December Tuesday night visit to Yeading brought a two-thirds majority of Worthing fans, and another compliment (this time via email from a Club Official) on the good humour and behaviour of the travelling fans.
In between all this, a delegation of Rebels fans up at Bedford for the trophy defeat found themselves invited into the hospitality area afterwards for complimentary drinks because the home fans “liked the big flag”. This is a particular area where we fall short on – supporter hospitality – partly due to the two-bar set-up, and partly due to our suspicion of away fans - lets not be afraid to chat to the visiting fans, share a table with them and ask them how their season is going.
So, it would seem as though the corner has been turned in terms of supporter public relations – so let’s keep it going. At the end of the day, we all go to football to enjoy ourselves, typically by hoping that our team wins. What better way to compliment that traditional route to satisfaction by making a fool of ourselves along the way? And even if we don’t win, it can take the sting out of the defeat (Staines was one of my most enjoyable away trips, despite us eventually losing 4-3) – everyone laughs at the Tartan Army’s antics as simply away of deflecting attention from how bad the Scottish team actually is, but, if we’re enjoying ourselves, what the hell?
So, if you want to join in, come and bring your air-horns, hooters, duck whistles, penguins and kazoos behind the goal, learn the words to the songs, don’t ask why we sing about a horse and just join in. You never know, you might enjoy it!
7th Feb 2004