RL / Football Fan Crossover

[Phil]

There’s quite a bit of animosity between the soccer fans and Fax fans in Halifax 

[Scubby]

6 hours ago, Dave T said:

Indeed. There are about three hundred other things I would do before becoming an RU fan. And the 300th thing is drop dead.

299th continue to argue the toss!

[Scubby]

Whether there is a cross over it is difficult to gauge. However, when I was a teenager following RL club games regularly it felt very much like a football fan culture with singing, tribalism and demographic. There were more women at RL games was probably the main difference back then.

[Tommygilf]

8 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

I think there is a large crossover in Leeds, but not just with the Rhinos. Leeds Utd tend to draw from a much larger area (primarily because of the dense concentration of RL clubs in that area.)

So where United draw most of their support from means that a large number of Rhinos, Trinity, Cas, Fev, Dewsbury, Batley and Hunslet fans also go to Elland Road.

I haven't seen much, if any animosity between Rhinos and United fans, but I may just not be noticing it!

In terms of Rhinos to United crossover, its almost universal nowadays. You do get a few north Leeds types who dislike football and therefore LUFC; who for them are the epitome of the worst of football - hooliganism, yobbishness etc. The elder amongst these types still think Hunslet have a sizeable support that would stop them walking into pubs in South Leeds for being a Loiner.

You're right at the crossover with much of West Yorkshire. I always laugh at Wakey and Cas fans who hate Leeds at Headingley but boast how "all Leeds etc." they are when it comes to LUFC hours later. The few totally committed anti-Leeds lot from Wakefield tend to support Huddersfield Town in my experience - that is commitment! Plenty out towards Batley and Dewsbury are LUFC fans too

[Eddie]

52 minutes ago, The storm said:

I cant stand football

Driving through netherley in liverpool on a saints match day, i noticed quite a few people in saints tops

Widnes have fans from speke and garston area of liverpool

 

I grew up close to Garston and went to school with loads of lads from there and I can honestly say I never knew anyone who supported Widnes. Am also surprised that there are many Saints fans from netherley (unless it was people from St Helens sampling the delights of Belle Vale shopping centre) but its good to know they’re about. 

[EggFace]

8 hours ago, Damien said:

I've made the point before when people make out that if RL died that RL fans would just become RU fans. They wouldn't, in my experience the vast majority would simply just become more hard core Football fans.

Rugby Union over Soccer for me.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

3 hours ago, Old Frightful said:

In Hull, there always seems to have been animosity from a large percentage of Bluddy Targers fans towards Hull FC. I worked alongside a scaffolder some years back who lived in Scarborough and was an avid Hull City fan and always referred to Hull FC as "Black and White sh*te". I asked him about his loathing as they play different sports and why he didn't also loathe Hull KR but he couldn't really answer either question.

This animosity has only got worse since the event of sharing the same stadium. Comments in the local media and on social media from Hull City fans calling RL fans "eggchasers" and much worse, fuelled by the one time Hull City Chairman Paul Duffen suggesting once on live radio that "RL fans can't write can they?".

I know a very small number of Football fans that follow both Hull City and one of Hull's RL clubs but I doubt it would reach double figures.

Personally speaking, I can't imagine why any RL fan would also want to follow football, after watching a full bloodied, fast and exciting RL game, watching football is like watching paint dry.

My experience in Hull is pretty much the same as this.

I've had full blown shouting matches with supposed good friends that are football fans whenever the topic of RL comes up and it's always the usual stereotypical insults that are offered up by the football fans while I just sit there thinking, yeah ive heard all this rubbish a million times before. They always start the arguments as well because I'll just mention something about RL and it will immediately be turned round to how football is better at the corresponding example despite no mention of football at all and if you try to move the conversation back towards RL then the insults just start. The amateur psychiatrist in me would suggest that they have some sort of insecurity about the quality and popularity of their own sport and think that if anyone else likes something else then it is an attack on football. 

What I will say as well is that the vast majority of hostility I encounter towards RL comes from football fans and not from yawnion fans. The yawnion fans I've met know very little about RL but are always willing to give it a watch but football fans that I've sat down to watch a game of RL with end up just making stupid little comments and patronising jokes. I remember watching the England game that was at Anfield with a football fan and when they were warming up before the game he made some stupid comment along the lines of, "oh I didn't know we were watching line dancing!" He thought it was a very funny comment and I just thought that if I'd made a similar comment about football players warming up I'd have been punched. 

I'm telling you, utter hypocrisy. 

[Phil W]

Newcastle as mentioned at the start is obviously a football city. 

However i think there's loads of potential for the football club, Newcastle Eagles (basketball), Newcastle Rugby (Thunder and Falcons) and Durham Cricket to work together more to promote things.

Falcons have already done some work with the racecourse around a package for racing and rugby and expect Thunder might follow at the right time. For our game against Widnes wor flags from the football side were involved which was good.

The plan for Thunder is to grow sensibly but given pre-Covid Falcons took a game to St James Park and got a crowd of 30,000 if in Super League i could see Thunder trying something similar for a big game at St James Park.

For anyone thinking of coming for the England v Samoa opener in the World Cup get yourselves up here, city centre stadium a short walk from all the bars and pubs, it's going to be a hell of a day!

[Dave T]

2 hours ago, Scubby said:

299th continue to argue the toss!

Are you suggesting it's that that'll see me off. 

In fact, is that a threat?

[Mr Frisky]

11 hours ago, Eddie said:

In the towns where there is both a pro/semi pro RL and football team, why are the differing levels of fan crossover like - ie do people tend to polarise into one camp or the other, or support both? I’m thinking;

Wigan, Oldham, Rochdale, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Bradford, Hull, Doncaster, Barrow.   

Have left London, Newcastle, Sheffield and Birmingham out for obvious reasons, though comments welcome! 

You forgot Workington.

[Eddie]

3 minutes ago, Mr Frisky said:

You forgot Workington.

I didn’t, as it isn’t pre-1977.  

[Leyther_Matt]

2 hours ago, Scubby said:

Whether there is a cross over it is difficult to gauge. However, when I was a teenager following RL club games regularly it felt very much like a football fan culture with singing, tribalism and demographic. There were more women at RL games was probably the main difference back then.

I still find that to be a massive selling point of RL tbh

(For what it’s worth, I know a lot of fellow season ticket holders at Bolton who support Leigh along with a few Warrington, Saints and Wigan and even the odd Swinton fan. It’s certainly been known for Leigh to have a lower crowd if there’s a fixture clash with Bolton as being a match going fan (for both clubs) is more of a done thing from that point of view rather than armchair fans of Utd/Liverpool/City)

[Mr Frisky]

33 minutes ago, Eddie said:

I didn’t, as it isn’t pre-1977.  

You did say semi-pro....

[Eddie]

17 minutes ago, Mr Frisky said:

You did say semi-pro....

They’re in the 8th tier of football, if they’re considered semi pro then I should have also quoted Warrington. 

[Mr Frisky]

10 minutes ago, Eddie said:

They’re in the 8th tier of football, if they’re considered semi pro then I should have also quoted Warrington. 

So you missed 2 teams out....shoddy research......

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, Mr Frisky said:

So you missed 2 teams out....shoddy research......

True, sorry. I should have also included London Skolars in case they and Spurs compete for support, and one I did miss was Salford. 

[Leyther_Matt]

8 hours ago, Eddie said:

They’re in the 8th tier of football, if they’re considered semi pro then I should have also quoted Warrington. 

Particularly as Warrington actually has a semi pro football team* both in the same league as Workington and one in the division above too.

*Sorry Eddie, it is semi pro at that level, whether we like it or not. In fact I dare say there are some (lots…) of Northern Premier League players on as much money as League One RL players, if not the odd Championship. 

[Eddie]

8 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Particularly as Warrington actually has a semi pro football team* both in the same league as Workington and one in the division above too.

*Sorry Eddie, it is semi pro at that level, whether we like it or not. In fact I dare say there are some (lots…) of Northern Premier League players on as much money as League One RL players, if not the odd Championship. 

Well ok I stand corrected. Pedantry aside I obviously meant clubs at a level where they might compete for support, I really don’t think Warrington’s 8th tier football team averaging 100 fans are challenging Wire for fans, and for the same reason I didn’t mention Liverpool Lizards / Everton. 

[gingerjon]

10 hours ago, Mr Frisky said:

You forgot Workington.

Noting that Workington AFC's average this season is 705 but that, I think, Town keep failing to disclose their attendances ...

[Harry Stottle]

21 hours ago, Damien said:

There are certainly plenty of RL fans that like Football and support Football teams. That may not necessarily be the Football teams from the same town though.

By 'support' do you actually mean as in financial terms by attending games or do you mean having a preferance for a particular football team which one will watch on the telly at home or in the pub and wear the shirt, I actually know quite a few who fall into the second option of United, City, Liverpool, Everton and Bolton fans who have never been any where near the ground of their favourite team.

I should imagine very few people could afford to attend both sports today, that would be a very expensive couple of hobbies, and I am not talking just the match ticket prices.

[Tommygilf]

10 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

By 'support' do you actually mean as in financial terms by attending games or do you mean having a preferance for a particular football team which one will watch on the telly at home or in the pub and wear the shirt, I actually know quite a few who fall into the second option of United, City, Liverpool, Everton and Bolton fans who have never been any where near the ground of their favourite team.

I should imagine very few people could afford to attend both sports today, that would be a very expensive couple of hobbies, and I am not talking just the match ticket prices.

In the days of TV contracts and social media, the non-match going fans are as important as those who do go. 

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

15 hours ago, WakefieldCityLoyal said:

Wakefield Trinity & Leeds United

I remember back in the day when a jam packed Wakefield pub cheered on Bayern Munich in that infamous European Cup Final steal. Happy days. How things change.

Much easier back then to regularly attend Rugby on Sunday and Footy on Saturday.  Barnsley for me home and away.

[Harry Stottle]

52 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

In the days of TV contracts and social media, the non-match going fans are as important as those who do go. 

I would wager there are as more FTA than subscribers Tommy, and yes it is still part of a buisness venture for the pubs who do subscribe to lure customers in, but again this is also another way fans get to watch their favourites.

[Mr Frisky]

5 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Noting that Workington AFC's average this season is 705 but that, I think, Town keep failing to disclose their attendances ...

Yes, Town usually double that of the Reds.

[Gregory Peccary]

David Watkins and Salford at the Willows on a Friday night. Colin Bell and City at Maine Road on Saturday afternoon. Happy days.