Arsenal fans have become notorious for leaving the
Emirates early, way before the final whistle blows. On Saturday,
the ground was just over half full when Cesc Fabregas stepped up to
score the second goal and clinch victory over Sunderland. The
victory was not secure until Fabregas's injury time
penalty.
Not that thousands of Arsenal fans cared. They were already on
their way. There have been worse examples, most notably the
Champions League semi final against Manchester United last season.
That was truly embarrassing.
But before I get bombarded with e-mails and foul mouthed hate
mail, a lot of Arsenal fans agree with me. When I wrote a tweet
(johncrossmirror if you want to sign up) on this at the weekend, 90
per cent came back and said they agree and that it's the "new
breed" of supporter.
There was one exception, though. This angry twitter-er told me
he pays £1,000 for a season ticket therefore can do as he pleases
and asked: what's wrong with leaving early to beat the rush?
Here's a simple solution for that supporter: don't bother going
at all. Yes, it's up to you to pay £1,000 and yet why work all week
to buy the ticket and then leave early to save yourself half an
hour?
Yes, it is a nightmare getting away. The queues for the three
nearby Tube stations are a nightmare, roads and parking is chaos
and you've got a lot of people leaving in a short space of
time.
But the replies sent to me at the weekend all complained that it
was the new fans and they were embarrassed about them all leaving
early. Others said they'd love the ticket and if they didn't want
to watch it, then they would take their place.
A new stadium attracts new fans. Arsenal is a good day out: good
football, great hospitality and generally a few goals, too.
But football should also be about a good atmosphere, cheering
the team until the end and if that means being a bit held up
getting home then so be it. The latte sipping classes at Arsenal
will have enough home comforts when they get there.
However, your football club needs you. Does staying until the
end make a difference? Yes, it certainly does. And being a
supporter should mean just that - offering support.
Thierry Henry once made this very point. Knowing that I was a
regular reporter at Arsenal, Henry was fascinated to know why
Arsenal fans left early. It annoyed him, upset him and he wished
they stayed until the bitter end.
After all, how often do those final minutes count?
Henry was aware of Arsenal fans leaving early just as he was
always aware of before every game at Anfield the Liverpool fans
chanting: "You'll Never Walk Alone" at the players when they warmed
up before games.
Henry would stop his warm-up drills and stop, watch and listen
to the Liverpool fans because he was utterly blown away by them. If
there was one club in England apart from Arsenal he would play for
in the future, I bet it would be Liverpool.
Have you really been to the cinema recently and left with five
minutes to go before the end? No, of course not. So why on earth is
football any different?
