Monday, February 18, 2013

Sometimes a Fan Has to Avoid Twitter and Reading the Papers


Saturday's loss to Blackburn at the Emirates was worse than a kick in the gut. Seeing Arsenal dominate the match only to lose on a lucky shot from an inferior team was a sadly familiar sight. Like the loss to Bradford that knocked Arsenal out of the League Cup, this humiliating Blackburn defeat killed this season's dream of winning a trophy. Losses to great teams are difficult, but at least can be explained. Losses to poor teams that have barely put up a fight are just plain unacceptable.

Rational or not, fans' moods are affected by the results for their team. Needless to say, this result left Gooners everywhere angry and fed up. Twitter became a stream of vitriol and every type of anti Arsenal slur was being thrown around. Fans were fighting with other fans, fans of other teams were taking pot shots and the football press was ready to pounce on the wounded Arsenal psyche.


At that point, I knew it was time to unplug from the digital world and not get involved in the blame game. I definitely have my feelings, but I also want to support my team and don't see the point in spewing anger and knee jerk reactions at random.

It's apparent that the Wenger Out movement has gained a lot of supporters as a result of recent losses. I'm not going to say that these folks don't have a point, but I'm also not ready to jump on that bandwagon. 

I may be in the minority, but I still believe in Arsene Wenger. I do, however, believe that there has to be some type of real change within the club and a bit more honesty with the fans as to what goes on behind the scenes.

I know that football is a total different sport and the EPL is unlike any league in the US. I do know, however, that there are plenty of fans worldwide that rarely if ever get to see the club they support win championships. Arsenal under Arsene Wenger have achieved a lot of success so despite an eight year trophyless stretch fans need to keep in mind that they have tasted success and believe that they will again soon.
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The Mets are now in Port St. Lucie as Spring Training has started. I recently wrote about how GM Sandy Alderson is doing the best he can with what he's been given in terms of turning around the Mets. While I think the team is still a few years away, there's nothing like Spring Training and a clean slate to get you excited for the start of the baseball season.

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