by The Sum of the Parts »
10 Feb 2016 17:18
Sebastian Do you feel the same way about every form of entertainment you engage with?
No but the relationship between a supporter and his football club is quite unlike the relationship between any other kind of "consumer" of a product.
There's an emotional connection that is much deeper than just "customer" or "fan" - for instance, if Reading ceased to exist tomorrow, I doubt many Reading fans would go to an alternate provider of "entertainment" such as Oxford or Swindon, as they would if their local supermarket closed down. It's the kind of emotional tie that makes people want to have their ashes scattered at their football club - when did you last hear of anyone wanting to have their ashes scattered at their local branch of Tesco's?
The bad news for fans is that this emotional relationship leaves them open to exploitation - it's a loyalty that hurts them when it comes to ticket prices, merchandising, etc.
But with the emotional and financial investment that supporters make to the game, the standard commercial model of supplier/supplier just doesn't work. Fans feel disenfranchised and exploited, owners feel harassed to deliver what may not be possible and to spend money they may not have.
In an ideal world we'd be closer to the German model, where clubs are run for their supporters, who own at least 50%+1 of the club. There, supporters really are stakeholders and participants in the game - and the "Club" in football club really does have meaning, because football clubs are recognised and run as assets that have value to their community, rather than as any other type of business where the principle aim is shareholder profit (which is never possible except at a few clubs, in any case.)