Geordie Blade
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As I’ve mentioned before on here, discussions about “who’s the biggest Blade?” have always seemed peculiar . I can’t really think of any other commercial commodity (let’s be honest – that’s what football is) that invites so much comparison around who like “it” the best. Maybe teenagers arguing about who likes which band the most, but even then, liking only their "early stuff" is somehow deemed to be more loyal than liking all of there music, including the latest 'commercial' album. Nevertheless, despite my qualms with the concept, I can’t help but wonder how we could measure “Biggest Bladeness”, should that be something we’d like to do. These would be my criteria (not necessarily in any order):
Length of service
This is obviously going to count against the younger fans a bit. A 12 year old might count him- or her-self as a huge fan, but will only be able to claim about seven seasons’ worth of loyalty. You’d think that an 89-year-old who’s followed the Blades since the 1930s would be able to win points on this one. But, that leads to…
Continuity of service
What if the 89-year-old didn’t miss a single game between 1949 and 1986, but hasn’t managed to get to many games in the last couple of decades? If they still take an interest in the Blades (listening on the radio), I think that would count quite highly. If they’ve moved away from football and onto, say, gardening and crosswords, then fair play to them – they won’t be claiming to be “massive fans” anyway.
Support
Support (v. to undergo or endure, especially with patience or submission; tolerate; to sustain or withstand (weight, pressure, strain, etc.) without giving way; serve as a prop for; to sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction). This relates to not just loyalty in attending the games, but how much actual support the individual gives to the club. Many people will go to every game, but whinge and moan at the players for 90 minutes every time. They might argue that complaining is a constructive means of improving the outcomes of the team, but my feeling is that those people able to stick by the team and remain positive even when things are going well should be the ones to win “Bigness” points here.
Number of games attended each season
I deliberately didn’t include “season ticket holder” as a category, because there are many people who don’t have a season ticket, but attend far more than 23 games each season, home and away. Does going to more games make one a bigger Blade than someone else? All other categories being equal, I’d say that it probably does. Another question is whether attending more away games that someone else should get extra points. I suppose that it depends on the distance of travel. Someone who lives in London, and attends the six or so away games in the capital and south east oughtn’t to qualify for too much by way of loyalty. Someone who travels back from the USA five times per year just to see their beloved Blades occasionally would score a bit higher.
Attendance of nominated ‘low-point’ games
We all know that Adrian Heath’s last game in charge at home to Port Vale was attended by almost half a million people, despite the club lying that the attendance was only 8,965. Attendance at that game automatically make you a bigger Blade than anyone else. You’ll pick up points for being at the 3-0 defeat at Crewe last season, but won’t get anything for watching the semi-final against Hull. I suppose that bonus points should be awarded for the early league cup rounds (that typically attract fewer than 5,000 people), though other people might say that it’s only league games that count.
Attendance of obscure matches
Sometime around 1994/95, I was quite bored one day and decided to travel to Goodison Park on a Tuesday night to watch our reserves play Everton reserves. We lost 3-2, and I think that it was goalkeeper Sal Bibbo’s debut for the reserve team. In my mind, that elevated me to Big Blade status, even though it was a one-off, and irrespective of what loyalty I choose to display these days. I’m sure that most fans have similar stories, so probably all end up neutralising each other’s bonus points here. I think that the same goes for pre-season games. My friend saw United play in Australia (1992, I think), but really that was part of a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, and he’d have gone there anyway, whether the Blades were there or not, so I don’t think he deserves anything for that (though this just shows you how biased we can be in choosing what qualifies for “Biggest Blade” points).
Reserve games
I went to about 80% of the home reserve games between 1991 and 1996. That said, I think this was a result of boredom (I was too old to want to stay at home, but too young to go to pubs) rather than any particular loyalty. However, it did inadvertently create a bit more a bond (in my mind) between me and the club, as I felt that I was amongst the first to discover new talents like Mitch Ward, Andy Scott and, erm, there actually weren’t that many that came through into the first team back then.
Merchandise
I’m sure that there will be some who claim that spending £400 on replica kits, duvet covers and SUFC cufflinks wins some extra points, but I’m not one of them, I’m afraid. Unless you count the Simon Tracey Sondico £40 goalkeeper gloves that I spent four months saving up for in 1993…
Other categories
What else would you suggest counts towards being the Biggest Blade? Does a Darren-esque ability to recall the scorers in the 4-1 win at home to Bournemouth in 1990 get more points than being the person who starts the “We are Blades” chant on the Kop? If you invest £105 into the club by buying pies at every home game, do you accumulate more loyalty than a guy who owns a match programme from every game since 1961?
Length of service
This is obviously going to count against the younger fans a bit. A 12 year old might count him- or her-self as a huge fan, but will only be able to claim about seven seasons’ worth of loyalty. You’d think that an 89-year-old who’s followed the Blades since the 1930s would be able to win points on this one. But, that leads to…
Continuity of service
What if the 89-year-old didn’t miss a single game between 1949 and 1986, but hasn’t managed to get to many games in the last couple of decades? If they still take an interest in the Blades (listening on the radio), I think that would count quite highly. If they’ve moved away from football and onto, say, gardening and crosswords, then fair play to them – they won’t be claiming to be “massive fans” anyway.
Support
Support (v. to undergo or endure, especially with patience or submission; tolerate; to sustain or withstand (weight, pressure, strain, etc.) without giving way; serve as a prop for; to sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction). This relates to not just loyalty in attending the games, but how much actual support the individual gives to the club. Many people will go to every game, but whinge and moan at the players for 90 minutes every time. They might argue that complaining is a constructive means of improving the outcomes of the team, but my feeling is that those people able to stick by the team and remain positive even when things are going well should be the ones to win “Bigness” points here.
Number of games attended each season
I deliberately didn’t include “season ticket holder” as a category, because there are many people who don’t have a season ticket, but attend far more than 23 games each season, home and away. Does going to more games make one a bigger Blade than someone else? All other categories being equal, I’d say that it probably does. Another question is whether attending more away games that someone else should get extra points. I suppose that it depends on the distance of travel. Someone who lives in London, and attends the six or so away games in the capital and south east oughtn’t to qualify for too much by way of loyalty. Someone who travels back from the USA five times per year just to see their beloved Blades occasionally would score a bit higher.
Attendance of nominated ‘low-point’ games
We all know that Adrian Heath’s last game in charge at home to Port Vale was attended by almost half a million people, despite the club lying that the attendance was only 8,965. Attendance at that game automatically make you a bigger Blade than anyone else. You’ll pick up points for being at the 3-0 defeat at Crewe last season, but won’t get anything for watching the semi-final against Hull. I suppose that bonus points should be awarded for the early league cup rounds (that typically attract fewer than 5,000 people), though other people might say that it’s only league games that count.
Attendance of obscure matches
Sometime around 1994/95, I was quite bored one day and decided to travel to Goodison Park on a Tuesday night to watch our reserves play Everton reserves. We lost 3-2, and I think that it was goalkeeper Sal Bibbo’s debut for the reserve team. In my mind, that elevated me to Big Blade status, even though it was a one-off, and irrespective of what loyalty I choose to display these days. I’m sure that most fans have similar stories, so probably all end up neutralising each other’s bonus points here. I think that the same goes for pre-season games. My friend saw United play in Australia (1992, I think), but really that was part of a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, and he’d have gone there anyway, whether the Blades were there or not, so I don’t think he deserves anything for that (though this just shows you how biased we can be in choosing what qualifies for “Biggest Blade” points).
Reserve games
I went to about 80% of the home reserve games between 1991 and 1996. That said, I think this was a result of boredom (I was too old to want to stay at home, but too young to go to pubs) rather than any particular loyalty. However, it did inadvertently create a bit more a bond (in my mind) between me and the club, as I felt that I was amongst the first to discover new talents like Mitch Ward, Andy Scott and, erm, there actually weren’t that many that came through into the first team back then.
Merchandise
I’m sure that there will be some who claim that spending £400 on replica kits, duvet covers and SUFC cufflinks wins some extra points, but I’m not one of them, I’m afraid. Unless you count the Simon Tracey Sondico £40 goalkeeper gloves that I spent four months saving up for in 1993…
Other categories
What else would you suggest counts towards being the Biggest Blade? Does a Darren-esque ability to recall the scorers in the 4-1 win at home to Bournemouth in 1990 get more points than being the person who starts the “We are Blades” chant on the Kop? If you invest £105 into the club by buying pies at every home game, do you accumulate more loyalty than a guy who owns a match programme from every game since 1961?
28th April 1990 (Bryson 2, Agana, Deane). Cadette got one of Bournemouth's goals.
