This anti-matchgoing support rhetoric really winds me up.
Let's look at this from the other angle and I'll do so using my own personal experience so you don't get offended as a non match going supporter.
I live in the UK and watch Orlando City in the MLS. I first saw them play in 2010 long before they became an MLS club. Since then I go to on average one game a season but I stay up to watch every match online with most games kicking off around 12:30am UK time.
Why the feck should my opinion on anything to do with the club be as important as one of their season ticket holders? I would never dream that my view on anything to do with the club is as important to the owners as those who go every week, those who follow them thousands of miles across the US or even those who only attend 5-6 matches a season? I am - quite rightly - at the bottom of the pile in importance of support to the club.
They are far more important supporters to Orlando City than I am, and yes quite frankly; they are definitely "better" supporters than I am because they are there week in week out and trying to pretend otherwise would be incredibly arrogant of me.
interesting take on it. Your pretty brave to articulate it on this forum! But it’s true.
who is more important a fan that is a season ticket holder and goes to most games, paying £2/3k per season for the privilege.
Or one that watches streams of matches and never visits the club? That’s not to say all fans aren’t important, but clearly some are more important than others.
Maybe they are more important to the club because their money goes directly to the club. Also most are just „lucky“ to have been born / raised in Manchester (unless they moved to Manchester just for United).
Then take me for example, there have been seasons when I watched United at OT 2-3 times per season (on other occasions I can’t manage to go there for two years running: can’t take that many days off work „just“ for United, sometimes I don’t even get tickets for a match even if I could fly on those dates, etc.).
When I attend a game: I get an expensive match ticket, then only once my ticket is confirmed through a ballot or something which I find out only a couple of weeks in advance I can book an expensive flight at short notice. I then pay the hotel night(s). If it is a CL game I also take 1-2 days off work.
So at the end I am paying a similar amount just to watch United only for a couple of times, a season ticket holder pays for the entire season. Obviously the difference is that my money (and time) goes to United, Hotels, airlines, etc. whereas a season ticket holder only invests in the club. And yes he can be there every week obviously.
So I can understand some fans claiming they are more important, but this so called importance is then also based at least partly on luck and / or how „rich“ someone is.