lost that loving feeling - Picking up the pieces of shattered dreams

I have to confess to a degree of heavy-heartedness in penning these words. For some inexplicable reason I feel let down. I’ve had a staple football-related myth ripped from inside me with alarming clarity. And for once it’s nothing especially to do with Nottingham Forest (well, not directly).

I have been pondering the destruction of some urban knowledge which whilst doesn’t impact on me directly, nor does its accuracy (or lack thereof) cause me actual pain – it means basically that us Forest fans have been underestimating ourselves for far too long. We should stop this, and take solace in our backing of the mighty Reds, because only by accurately gauging our support can we seek to build and become better.

There’s this mythology that exists in UK football – admittedly it’s largely propagated by those whom it features - but it’s something I’d always bought into. It emanates from the North East of the country, particularly by supporters of both Newcastle and Sunderland. And the myth, basically, is that through thick and thin, North East football fans are the most loyal, passionate and basically ideal football supporters. You know the stories: “Sunderland would get 40,000 fans playing Lincoln in Division Three.” Now, it would be melodramatic to say my well-being depended on this fact being true, but I’d always in a way aspired to try to see a scenario where our own fans could be more like that.

Having travelled to the Stadium of Light to cheer on my beloved Reds take on the might of the Black Cats, I was looking forward to a spectacular stadium filled with a cauldron of noise. As a Forest fan I’m more than aware of the shortcomings of my own brethren – at home we struggle to create a sustained atmosphere, and are very easily subdued by the away support (who admittedly occupy the loudest bit of the ground), and I must admit that I’d always been a bit disappointed in us for that – even though at the majority of away grounds I’ve visited with the travelling Red Army we’ve usually had a pretty good go at controlling the atmosphere.

And so, since we are good away – and we were playing in the legendary North East of England – I was looking forward to pitting our collective wits against some supporters from the most fanatical region in the country. And they were shit. I remember visiting Roker Park a few years ago and singing “Can you hear the Roker roar? No! No!” Admittedly we won that game (to a Scot Gemmill header, if memory serves!), but at the time I’d put that down to the result of the game. So what of this year?

The Sunderland fans were rubbish. The only time we really heard from them was firstly when they’d had a goal disallowed, and then of course when they actually scored. There were the occasional quiet rumblings of “worst support we’ve ever seen” – I believe that was aimed at us for not filling our away allocation. A bit Rich coming from a ‘big club’ who barely half filled the impressive Stadium of Light. Either that or maybe they were singing at themselves? Because even after taking the lead and Forest were looking lacklustre on the field, Forest fans were dominating the proceedings off pitch. A twenty-odd minute chant of “Paul Harts’ Red ‘n’ White Army” rung out from the stands.

And so, I was to be thwarted in my quest for a good bit of chanting battle – but I would say that I was proud to be part of the Red Army that day. I think we are – or certainly I am – a bit to hard on our own kind. I would love to be able to turn the City Ground into a cauldron of noise – but realistically how many grounds have you been to that have achieved this?

My potted experiences would include St James Park – but of course, that was after Newcastle’s fortunes had been revived – so they were pulling more than the 8,000 odd fans they attracted during leaner times. Old Trafford was impressive as we were two-one up and the United fans built up the noise to try to help their side get the equaliser. I’ve been to Derby matches and the home crowd certainly weren’t as loud as ours was when they visit us (not sure whether that holds true for all our ground, but certainly Capital One corner was rarely quiet). All in all, sure, we could be better – but I don’t think we should be quite as low in our estimations as we seem to fall.

So what is the conclusion of this journey of myth, observation and myth-shattering? Well ultimately it means that we Forest fans don’t promote our virtues enough – maybe that’s the polite thing to do, but maybe it’s time for us to stop being such shrinking violets and accept that we are actually pretty damn good supporters – and we shouldn’t feel uncomfortable expressing that. Maybe when this sits a bit more comfortably with our consciousness the improved City Ground atmosphere will start to pick up.

YOU REDS!