Has the penny dropped?

[Jackson Corner]

Was in town today and I could not help but notice how many of this seasons shirts from other Premier clubs were about I counted 7 Arsenal 5 Chelsea 5 Man Utd a couple of Liverpool and ONE kid in a Royals shirt. But when you go to Sports world in the Oracle they are stacked to the roof with these shirts a tenner less than our hideous efforts. In the past this didn't bug me as we were a Championship team but not now these teams are in the same league as us. Why aren't the shops selling Reading shirts? Why are these kids still following the big teams not there local team?

[mortimer royal]

let them support whoever they want. i know it's best for the long term for the club, but i always perfered being in the minority, and looking down on kids that supported man u, liverpool, chelski etc knowing they will never feel the pride of supporting your local club. The people that only start supporting the club now are the people that will stop when/if things start going badly, what this club needs is loyal supporters who will support this club for the long term through thick and thin not just when we are doing well.

plus when i was buying my boro ticket i saw a kid in a chelsea top in th ticket office bragging how he went to see the feyenood game

[URZZ]

plus when i was buying my boro ticket i saw a kid in a chelsea top in th ticket office bragging how he went to see the feyenood game

It hasn't been played yet.

[mortimer royal]

the chelsea - feyenood game

[TFF]

let them support whoever they want. i know it's best for the long term for the club, but i always perfered being in the minority, and looking down on kids that supported man u, liverpool, chelski etc knowing they will never feel the pride of supporting your local club.

I know what you mean. I am 38 and apart from a primary school dalliance with QPR (Stan Bowles era) I have always supported Reading and have taken a perverse pride in being on the wrong end of a 4-1 against Doncaster Rovers or grinding out a result against Crewe whilst my mates were following Liverpool or Man U.

My son is 7 and has Chelsea and Reading shirts. At seven years old it's difficult to ignore the glamour and success of the big teams and frankly it's easier to fit in with the crowd. I bought him an HST at Christmas and he's thoroughly enjoyed coming to the Mad and watching us beat all comers. Slowly he is becoming a Royal.

The other day I caught him arguing with the Chelsea supporting lad next door. "Reading are the best team in the world." "Chelsea are a bunch of cheating divers" That sort of thing.

The test will come this season when he sees us defeated and perhaps struggling for the first time but I'll wager that his blood now runs blue and white.

The people that only start supporting the club now are the people that will stop when/if things start going badly, what this club needs is loyal supporters who will support this club for the long term through thick and thin not just when we are doing well.

There may never be a better time for us to pick up new fans. I think you are harsh on those that may discover Reading this season - not all of them will drift away at the first signs of failure. I've often heard folk on here state that they started following Reading after the Simod Cup, the Wembley play-off or the MadStad opening day. All highs in our recent history that have been interspersed with prolongued periods of mediocrity - whilst our fan base and attendances have steadily grown.

[Avon Royal]

I used to go out with a girl called Penny, she could drop like a pro............

[OzBiscuit2004]

My son has dragged me around several sports stores in Sydney looking for a Reading shirt. He is 10 and figures that seeing we are Premier League we should be able to get them here now. I told him it was a struggle to get them in Reading let alone Sydney.


I will probably try and get him a shirt for Christmas.

[Barmy_army_04/05]

walking around newbury ive never seen so many people wearing reading shirts, any way 1 week to go no more working saturdays again i really cant wait excuse the awfullness of this but BRING IT ON! terrible i no

[Readings_Fair_City]

seen a few blokes cycling to work and little kids with rfc shirts or shorts in Twickenham/Teddington!!

[Mr Sonko]

Saw a young lad in a Royals shirt in Barcelona on hols last week; good to see amongst all the Barca shirts (not many Man U or Chelsea there!)

[mortimer royal]

[/quote] There may never be a better time for us to pick up new fans. I think you are harsh on those that may discover Reading this season - not all of them will drift away at the first signs of failure. I've often heard folk on here state that they started following Reading after the Simod Cup, the Wembley play-off or the MadStad opening day. All highs in our recent history that have been interspersed with prolongued periods of mediocrity - whilst our fan base and attendances have steadily grown.[/quote]

You have a good point but i think there are noticable less man u shirts around than there used to be now they aren't quite as successful. every club has a certain amount of supporters who "sort of" support them. ie they stay very quiet when there team are struggling but buy the lastest shirt and start bragging the moment they get success. At the moment I seem to be surrounded by chelsea supporters who say thev've liked them for years.

[retro royal]

I blame the parents

[test icicles]

im always getting into arguments with my man u, chelsea, and liverpool fans whop all of a sudden have liked reading for ages, just never got round to buying the season ticket or just never got round to buying the shirt.

but i think as fans of a club like Reading we have it better than fans of Chelsea, Man U, and Liverpool as they may experience the odd win over eachother, and in the champions leage. But other than that what joy do they get from a 2 - 0 win over Everton when they werent even at the ground. Whereas for me, if we got a 1-1 draw with them id be going mental. Probably still going mental if we lost 2-1

They may be able to buy their shirts and merchandise from every sports shop around the country, but they certainly cant feel the happiness, excitment and/or heartbreak like we do from say loosing in a play off final or winning promotion. They will never feel the passion of a proper fan. Most of my friends get to see about 2 games a year. Whereas i normally get to about 15 times that. We are the proper fans of the proper game. They are in the artificial stuff imo, and we are better off. waaaaaay better off.

[PREMIERSHIP_ROYAL]

i just came back from holiday in fueterventura and i honestly saw more reading shirts than liverpool and newcastle

[AbovetheI]

What makes me laugh is the fact that people still openly wear those crappy un-official rubbish that was sold outside the ground when we were on the brink of promotion.

[mydak]

i;d lvoe to say i see more reading than saints shirts down here, but the ground is all of 5 minutes away, so i see loads.
nice new away kit they've got

[wehateoxford]

i just came back from holiday in fueterventura and i honestly saw more reading shirts than liverpool and newcastle

did you leave your room?

[wehateoxford]

i've seen a lot more kids wondering around in reading shits this year. surely a good thing

[PREMIERSHIP_ROYAL]

saw bout 5 reading shirts on the streets compared to only 1 newcastle shirt all holiday

[rabidbee]

The people that only start supporting the club now are the people that will stop when/if things start going badly, what this club needs is loyal supporters who will support this club for the long term through thick and thin not just when we are doing well.

There may never be a better time for us to pick up new fans. I think you are harsh on those that may discover Reading this season - not all of them will drift away at the first signs of failure. I've often heard folk on here state that they started following Reading after the Simod Cup, the Wembley play-off or the MadStad opening day. All highs in our recent history that have been interspersed with prolongued periods of mediocrity - whilst our fan base and attendances have steadily grown.

My first game was the Man City league cup match in '93 (or '92?). As most of my family are northern, the media coverage of the 1-1 draw at Maine Road was the first time I'd really heard about Reading. So, my first two seasons saw us get promoted and then reach a play-off final. But yeah, I've stuck around since. To be honest, I would have fallen in love regardless - it was the atmosphere of being in a football crowd, getting drenched, under floodlights, that was what got me hooked, not any success (and, consequently, failure didn't drive me away).