General Losing Interest.

If you are used to going to games then 9 months without going will have that effect.

I paid to watch my first away game on iFollow today, probably because I had nothing else on, it’s an international weekend and the missus went out. Apart from the result I enjoyed it but it’s still not the same (and that’s not even acknowledging the fact that I missed our goal and have to watch on my phone as my missus laptop and iFollow don’t get on).

You don’t support a team at our level to watch on tv, for the glamour or glory or even the football I suppose, you do it for that feeling of being being part of something, of belonging and that link to something local even if you have moved away etc, not being able to attend a match, whether you would of or not takes something from it.
 
It's not just me. Other supporters I know are just feeling distanced from it all. Today's result just didn't bother anyone I know.
 
There is just no sense of occasion or anything exciting about a game with no crowd.
 
Yeah, and it's exactly the same for more than 100 other sets of supporters.

Most of whom haven't just had their best season in 20+ years.

If you want sympathy or empathy you won't get it from me - OUFC needs support more now than ever.
 
I can relate to that too.
I was hoping to get a season ticket. Hopefully we can play better soon. I’d be a lot happier if there was less talk about the premiership and all their prima Donna players.
 
Peterdev said:
I can relate to that too.
I was hoping to get a season ticket. Hopefully we can play better soon. I’d be a lot happier if there was less talk about the premiership and all their prima Donna players.
Click to expand...
You can still get a season ticket...
 
Essexyellows said:
Give your head a wobble............. we are going to miss a few matches in Div 3.

We`ve been through far worse :poop::poop::poop:

The sun will rise again!!
Click to expand...
Well said Colin , get a grip Dean , it’s football.. Does anyone recall the Spanish Flu ? We got over that l recall ? ?
 
It isn’t the same but we have ifollow and yes like today there will be glitches but t we will be back and we have to stay positive for that, Dean you’re a new member but I bet you’re not as frustrated as I am and I’ve been supporting for 51 years but will be there when we return.
 
Deanroger said:
I've been watching Oxford since the age of 5 (47 years) and I'm sorry to say that the play off defeat, recent poor form and not being able to go to games has combined to seriously dent my interest in it all.
Click to expand...

I have to say I do empathise with this.

At the moment I just don’t get that match day feel..... this year has been a total write off and the 20/21 football season is the same.

Just get through it, survive as a club, hopefully stay in league 1 and we’ll crack on in 21/22.
 
Of course it’s less engaging when we can’t go to games at all, I think all Oxford fans look forward to their first live game of each season, whether that’s the first game of the season for those who go every week, home and away, the first home game for the season ticket holders, the first away game near them for the exiles or the one game a year that those exiled abroad manage to get to. It’s not shameful or disloyal to admit that not being able to go to grounds and instead watching online as the team struggle (so far) in empty, echoing grounds is at best a little odd and at worst a big turn off (if the team was playing scintillating football, scoring goals and winning every week I’m sure it would be a little better for everyone)

However, we will get through this pandemic, as a county, as a nation and as a planet, and I’m sure at some point this season or the beginning of next we will be watching the mighty yellows win games and all this will seem like a bad dream. Let’s stay strong, support eachother and go again.
 
I have a different mind set towards the games this season. The results I’m not too fussed about as I’m just happy knowing we have a well ran football club to support. I’m enjoying Robinson’s new, calmer approach. I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops this squad as it is young and full of potential but players who just haven’t fulfilled it yet for whatever reason.
It might be completely alien to us but just like various other things in life right now, it is what it is and you can either embrace it or you can sit back and sulk about not going to games.
 
MC Yellow said:
I have to say I do empathise with this.

At the moment I just don’t get that match day feel..... this year has been a total write off and the 20/21 football season is the same.

Just get through it, survive as a club, hopefully stay in league 1 and we’ll crack on in 21/22.
Click to expand...
Agreed. "Avoid relegation" is the only goal which interests me this season. My interest will return when I can turn up at an away stadium and hear familiar accents /spot yellow shirts. That's what it's all about for me.
 
Yes, as I said on another thread, if it comes to next August and we are in the stadium watching an OUFC team playing in L1 with the club in a relatively stable condition as far as ownership and finances are concerned, I think that would be a very good outcome.
And I do agree, watching the games via iFollow is a very, very pale imitation of the real thing and although I wouldn't say I was losing interest, it is quite difficult to get quite so worked up about the whole thing - this season is going to be one for us all to just get through.
 
Ultimately, what this season is already proving is that streaming is no threat to football. If you can go to a game, you’re going to go to a game - nobody is picking the current ‘experience’ over the real thing unless going isn’t an option to begin with. There’s a reason the US networks have been broadcasting basically every game in every sport for years, and the stadiums / arenas are still full regardless. You can’t beat the real thing. But if you have both, where people who can go do, and those who can’t can stream for a reasonable price, the end result will be a positive one. People won’t take going to a match for granted again, and on the flip side nobody has to fear letting somebody from Stafford stream a match on a weekend that they can’t attend anyway. It’s better than nothing (when it actually bloody works), but the stadium is where everybody wants to be. And when there are people in the ground, even watching it on a screen improves as a result. Without stadiums filled with people, none of it really works.

I think most football clubs are doing a fairly lousy job of keeping supporters engaged, across all divisions. Everything feels very separate and there needs to be much more interactivity. Online fans forums / QA’s, regular content across all digital and social media platforms - there’s nowhere near enough going on that attempts to genuinely reach out and bridge the gap between fans and their club. That applies to nearly every last one of the 92 - it’s bigger than OUFC. Football as a whole has really failed, and been shown up quite badly to have any real clue as to what it’s doing once the turnstiles no longer spin. The latest Premier League shenanigans with the Box Office games being held hostage for £15 a pop, plus all the absolute nonsense with the EFL and their total inability to govern on almost any level, has really shown that the game is out of touch with the supporters. Now that the routine and tradition, and the experience of a match day is gone, it’s like discovering that the very tall man wearing the trench coat is actually just three midgets on each other’s shoulders. Some have done better than others, and some are in far worse trouble than others financially, but overall much of the sport could do a little more to try to think of ways to harness that community spirit.

I absolutely understand how and why some people are struggling to stay connected with it, but I think a part of that is probably personal as well. It’s a hard time for almost everybody - lots of uncertainty, the feeling that nothing is really getting better and worrying if it’s going to get worse still, just as the days get shorter, darker and colder. That will start to play into and affect people’s mood and perspective, so I would be careful about taking the approach of “Grow a pair, you big girl’s blouse! Real fans understand that they need to dig deep!” You just never know what someone is dealing with or what they’ve got going on that can start to slowly eat away at the things they previously enjoyed. A lot of people depend on football to get through the week, or provide them with an outlet and a place to escape for a few hours every other weekend. It’s such a massive part of a lot of people’s lives and plays a really important role for a great deal of people. So just be careful about criticising someone for daring to say they’re having a bit of a wobble with it.

I hope that the OP manages to stick with it, and that a win or two can help with that in the near future. The next 6/7 months in general, let alone in the context of a football season, are simply about getting through the sludge. But we will get through it.
 
Last edited:
Excellent piece RB. One of the few positives is that the Pl have realised that the fans are essential to the whole experience. I did read a few months ago that the PL have a war chest of 1.5 billion. If thats true how come this 250 million the efl needs is so hard to come by. That would mean the pl clubs wouldnt even need to spend the relatively small amount a bailout would cost them each(12 million)
 
I actually agree with the OP. Without crowds, football is unattractive for me.

I really see Covid19 as a reset or checkpoint for a lot of things we do in life. Some we now realise we have alternatives, some we realise we can't or don't want to do without.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom