for me, footy "hatred" etc is a complex & multi-level thing. I think (hope?) most footy fans at the deepest level have a love & begrudging respect for other fans, because we are all cut from the same cloth. every club has a range of fans, some we like, some we despise, be it politics, attitude or watever. we tend to like the same things - escapism, loyalty to the thing we've loved all our lives, beer, saturday afternoon entertainment etc. but we have to have other levels that make us dislike other teams - thats the whole point! it can be jealousy, irritating individuals, local stuff, past violence, bad personal experiences. harry arters diving was embarrassing, and it was cheating. lots of players do it - we love it when we get away with it, hate having it done to us - again, thats the point. var has ruined it a bit by taking away the "getting away it" aspect (possibly!). I dislike teams we've had historical battles with (and lost too usually), yet when I've met their fans face to face, annoyingly they are often decent people - I usually like them more than the bormuff fans I mix with every week, a lot of whom are total ****.. but maybe thats beer affecting my judgement. as for all the financial stuff in football - theres not a lot your average fan can do about that these days, and I am sure a lot goes on we never know about. its cheating on another level, I'm sure - I hate it, but what can you do. anyway, speech over.
