The use of "we" when discussing sports teams

[Mr. BAW]

"They" say............

I hate it when someone starts off with that....who the hell is "they".....?????

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I think its perfectly acceptable to say "we". I nearly always say "we". I also very much believe that shouting and screaming does make a big difference to what happens on the pitch.

In the case if my team (<-- see avatar), we have lost 13 out of the last 27 away matches. Whereas at home we have lost only 3 of the last 31, winning 19 of them. The crowd has a big influence over what happens on the pitch. Popular saying in football is that the crowd act as a 12th man.

I know men who have been season ticket holders for twenty+ years at certain clubs and have seen players and management come and go. The supporters are there for life. Hence I feel "we" is appropriate. The supporters ARE the club.

keep tellin' yourself that...

i've been lucky enough to play basketball in college at a place that got very good crowd support, and then coach in a place that got great crowd support...

did it make a clear home court advantage? yes. was it great having the support and having the crowd noise? yes.

did i ever consider those in fhe crowd part of "we?" no fucking chance.

to show up on game day drunk off your ass and consider yourself to be "part of the team" is an insult to the players & coaches who've dedicated their entire lives to their craft.

 

[BoMac]

It's not as bad as men saying that "we" are pregnant when they are going to be fathers! Sorry, guys, you might be expecting, but you definitely aren't pregnant!

 

[phillyfan26]

Headache, it's got nothing to do with being a part of the team. It's when you're talking about teams, the "we" is the team you follow as opposed to the other teams, the "thems." Just because I say we, it doesn't mean I think I'm part of the team.

Dawn's Comment

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

Well in some cases in England they actually allocate shirt numbers for 'The Fans' and register them as if they were players, usually the number 12 shirt.

Plymouth, Norwich and Oldham are but three examples.

Personally I think it's a bit naff but well. There's a long thing I want to say about European and American cultural differences in terms of sports that I'd like to say but can't get my head around at the moment.

 

[angelordevil]

Lol i remember the Seinfeld episode where Jerry is talking about this.... he is mimicking happy fans saying 'We won! We won!'.... NO.. THEY won.. you watched!

I love Seinfeld. That quote reminds me of another episode, the one where the guy speaks of himself in the third person...I think it was "Jimmy." He would say things like "Jimmy played tennis so well today, and now Jimmy's tired!"

The only time I use a we while watching sports is during a national team game, like Olympic hockey here in Canada. I caught myself shouting "God, WE SUCK!!" quite often during the men's tournament last year. I tend to invest a lot of emotion in hockey when my country's international reputation is at stake

There's a long thing I want to say about European and American cultural differences in terms of sports that I'd like to say but can't get my head around at the moment.

It's OK, we can wait.