Is it OK stop supporting the team you have grown up supporting as a child?

 

Most football fans will say If you support a team growing up you have to stay supporting them forever.  However the time period “forever” is such a long time, it’s just so eternal.  Things change, people change, clubs change – do we HAVE to stay with the same club forever? (I’m just asking for a friend).

Working for Chelsea I have seen the success of the academy over the past 12 years and felt enormous pride throughout my time at the club.  The feeling of being part of something, the idea you are contributing to something bigger than anything you could do on your own is really cool; I’ve loved it. It has been hard to see players struggle to have a sustained run in the first team but Chelsea have been the most successful club in the Premier League in the last 10 years, so it isn’t easy for the players to earn a place. You know when you scout a player for the club you have full confidence you are doing the right thing for the player. 86% of players who signed as scholars for Chelsea, over the past 10 years, are still playing professional football now. As a result of all this, I’ve grown very fond of the club.  I feel part of the Chelsea family, I look up to the people working there as they are often the best in their selected field in the country.

You can potentially see where I’m going with this. My opening question asking if it’s ok to give up supporting the team you’ve supported for 25 years, was not for a friend; it was for me.  However it does get worse, the team I have given up supporting are arch rivals to Chelsea.  Chelsea fans are probably more interested in Tottenham and West Ham than QPR, but to hardcore Rangers fans, Chelsea are the number one enemy.

Also, I have my father to speak to, he has been a QPR fan since the 1970’s. He took me to my first ever football match at the age of 5 years old; QPR v Man City.

Despite all this, I don’t think there should be a hard and fast rule for staying with clubs you supported as a kid. My appreciation for football has developed in recent years and it is so hard following a club when you are mortified with the technical ability of their players, style of play and the team set up.  I have become quite a football purest and find I only really enjoy the top Premier League games, La Liga games and Champions League games.

As I conclude this blog/article/ramble, I have made a decision I will support Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona, Chelsea and Man City. These are the teams I enjoy watching and there’s a good chance one of them will win something this season.

I hope any QPR fans reading this will forgive me and any fans thinking of switching sides will feel encouraged to make the switch, forever is just such a long time.

Sean Conlon
CEO | We Make Footballers