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With the development of modern football, evolving from the action on the pitch to heated debates off the field, fans from different backgrounds supporting different teams have been brought together—the beauty of the game. When I was growing up and was getting interested in the game, it was a matter of supporting your team, going back to school, and gloating defensively in defence of your favorite team. There were still live telecasts but not as developed as now (lying within remembrance). If you did not know the game, keeping quiet was the way forward. No way could you afford to gloat. Consequently, you would say anything, and in no way would you claim to be a fan if you were not among the cool group of the elites. Time has gone twenty plus years down the lane supporting football and making friends as we debate over the beautiful game.
With the advent of social media, like Facebook or the 280-character limiting Twitter, faceless conversations have emerged, and fans continue to voice out their different controversial iced opinions more vociferously with the fear of face to face confrontation. That’s fine as you can still have intelligent conversations with fans of rival clubs. Though, it has gotten worse. People who do not know anything have entered the said conversations. They have come up and want to be recognized by the cool group. You know, the ones for whom watching cricket is anathema for no reason other than that it is too mainstream. They have sought the best alternative. Football. They have taken to the game like ducks to the water. The only difference is that they remain ugly ducklings instead of growing into beautiful swans. They are a curious phenomenon. I am not saying it is a bad thing, as it explains the popularity of the game (hence more will be happy to be associated with it). However, it explains the evolution of the unwanted fan base thoroughly. Should you call it the sixth finger? Yes. It fits. Definitely.
In an orthodox way, the term plastic comes in. Uh, an insult? No. Contrary to the popular perception, they are ruining the experience of the beautiful game. These species do not know, nor do they show any inclination towards making an effort to learn. There is no hope for the faceless discussions on Facebook or Twitter, as it all sums up to shame. By the use of limited knowledge, these fans have become trolls. They intend to provoke an emotional response from the rival fans and ensure that a normal discussion is disrupted. Instead of supporting their team by either watching or trying to find out who performed and who did not, they wait for the game to be over simply so that they can come online and rub it in the face of hapless rival fans. You can forget about discussing the match in such cases as the standard response after one or two arguments that you put forth would be, “we won, and that’s all that matters”. There is more to the game than that.
I do not want to sound bitter or emotional, but after a clear observation, which I know many can back me up, many would agree that God saves them when their (his) team loses. Even though the thought of getting back to them when their team loses to give them the taste of their own medicine comes up abruptly, my sincere suggestion would be to stay away from these ‘plastic fans'.