Can we put this naysaying to bed now? : Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:35 am  

I think I ought to preface this by conceding that I've had couple of bevvies. BUT...

As a Cas fan who's at the heart of the Tigers fanzine I do try my best to remain (fairly) impartial most of the time, primarily because I don't want to discourage potential writers who might not necessarily agree with my views (yes - I DO think about these things, sad eh?). As such I find it hard sometimes to put my heart on my sleeve on the MB's and say what I feel like saying, and on those occasions when I do let rip there have been times when I've overstepped the mark and left myself open to all sorts of (sometimes justified) criticism.

BUT... After a narrow loss to Quins and (if truth be told) an equally narrow victory over Wigan, I feel driven to at least offer some kind of perspective for those who seem to be perpetually armed and ready to knock all things Tiger. Sure, you're happy at the moment, but ...

When Cas do sh*te I can promise you it's the other (more moderate) voices in the fanzine holding me back from venting my spleen at the club, the board, the players... all of that cr*p. And I always defend my actions under the shield of "paying punter"... That special 'consumer' immunity which states that I can say what I like. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE to hear conventions challenged - it either destroys them or it makes them stronger. But even I'm prepared to concede that even the worst cynic among us ought to be getting behind Terry and the lads now - unequivocally.

I, and therefore WE, have seen some sh*t times over the last few years. We've had to mentally adjust from the moral high ground of "never been relegated" to the morass of "recalling past glories" in such a relatively short space of time, and it's been made all the harder by the fact that (when you strip the 'never been relegated' bit away) we're not a 'big city' and we apparently need to prove SOMETHING to SOMEONE to show we still deserve our place in the new era.. Well, it's a worrying time for us all. Especially with the lack of concrete news over the new ground.

But don't let the paranoia overcome you. I know it's easy to boo like some of us did last week vs Quins (and to my last breath I'll defend any paying customer's right to do so), but the truth is we HAVE come a long way. The frustration we all feel isn't a measure of how TM is carrying the team now, it's a measure of the heights we once aspired to - nothing more. To fall into the trap of being deceived by our own aspiration is to fall into the trap of being (..let's just say it..) Wigan fans. It's easy to live off THAT Regal Trophy final, it's easy to live off THAT 40 minutes where we sang our hearts out at Saints. What's harder to do is to take where we are now and to recognise the progress Cas have made recently, and STILL get behind them.

One day (I like to think soon) we'll be back up there. One of these days we might even shake this league up by winning the f*cker. So keep the faith, cos no matter what - if you do, at least you'll still be better than those other clubs' plastic fans.

It's been said before, but it's worth saying again: "Rant over".

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:58 am  

Nay

Re: Can we put this naysaying to bed now? : Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:10 am  

Disco wrote:

I think I ought to preface this by conceding that I've had couple of bevvies. BUT...

As a Cas fan who's at the heart of the Tigers fanzine I do try my best to remain (fairly) impartial most of the time, primarily because I don't want to discourage potential writers who might not necessarily agree with my views (yes - I DO think about these things, sad eh?). As such I find it hard sometimes to put my heart on my sleeve on the MB's and say what I feel like saying, and on those occasions when I do let rip there have been times when I've overstepped the mark and left myself open to all sorts of (sometimes justified) criticism.

BUT... After a narrow loss to Quins and (if truth be told) an equally narrow victory over Wigan, I feel driven to at least offer some kind of perspective for those who seem to be perpetually armed and ready to knock all things Tiger. Sure, you're happy at the moment, but ...

When Cas do sh*te I can promise you it's the other (more moderate) voices in the fanzine holding me back from venting my spleen at the club, the board, the players... all of that cr*p. And I always defend my actions under the shield of "paying punter"... That special 'consumer' immunity which states that I can say what I like. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE to hear conventions challenged - it either destroys them or it makes them stronger. But even I'm prepared to concede that even the worst cynic among us ought to be getting behind Terry and the lads now - unequivocally.

I, and therefore WE, have seen some sh*t times over the last few years. We've had to mentally adjust from the moral high ground of "never been relegated" to the morass of "recalling past glories" in such a relatively short space of time, and it's been made all the harder by the fact that (when you strip the 'never been relegated' bit away) we're not a 'big city' and we apparently need to prove SOMETHING to SOMEONE to show we still deserve our place in the new era.. Well, it's a worrying time for us all. Especially with the lack of concrete news over the new ground.

But don't let the paranoia overcome you. I know it's easy to boo like some of us did last week vs Quins (and to my last breath I'll defend any paying customer's right to do so), but the truth is we HAVE come a long way. The frustration we all feel isn't a measure of how TM is carrying the team now, it's a measure of the heights we once aspired to - nothing more. To fall into the trap of being deceived by our own aspiration is to fall into the trap of being (..let's just say it..) Wigan fans. It's easy to live off THAT Regal Trophy final, it's easy to live off THAT 40 minutes where we sang our hearts out at Saints. What's harder to do is to take where we are now and to recognise the progress Cas have made recently, and STILL get behind them.

One day (I like to think soon) we'll be back up there. One of these days we might even shake this league up by winning the f*cker. So keep the faith, cos no matter what - if you do, at least you'll still be better than those other clubs' plastic fans.

It's been said before, but it's worth saying again: "Rant over".

Well said

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:40 am  

Without slightly drifting, that's why i was so annoyed at the boo boys last week. I would much rather we start a fresh and get behind the lads from now on and forget the relegations etc. Afterall, we have half a squad who had feck all to do with any of that that went off before and the rest are the likes of young Shenny, Westy, Huby and Owen and they always give 100% because they're just like me and thee. Great post Disco, time for us fans to back the lads with great support like we did at Wigan.

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:55 am  

...And buy the next issue of the fanzine..


Delboy66(aye of the tigers fanzine)

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:18 am  

And buy Speedy a beer or two

by the way good rant Disco

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 12:42 pm  

It's good to get it off your chest every now and then!!

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:23 pm  

delboy66 wrote:

...And buy the next issue of the fanzine..


Delboy66(aye of the tigers fanzine)

Will you be selling the aye before the game on saturday mate?

: Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:10 pm  

Therailwayendisuponus. wrote: Will you be selling the aye before the game on saturday mate? No mate due to the demand last week and online sales we have now sold out of issue 42,The next issue will be number 43 and should be out for the Wakey home game on the 10th April. Delboy66(aye of the tigers fanzine) You could also check Disco's message about half way down on this link http://forums.rlfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=394436 if u are desperate mate HTH

Therailwayendisuponus. wrote: Will you be selling the aye before the game on saturday mate? No mate due to the demand last week and online sales we have now sold out of issue 42,The next issue will be number 43 and should be out for the Wakey home game on the 10th April. Delboy66(aye of the tigers fanzine) You could also check Disco's message about half way down on this link http://forums.rlfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=394436 if u are desperate mate HTH

: Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:22 am  

I think that a number of clubs' fans need to take a look at themselves. There'll be few easy wins this season for anyone outside Leeds and Saints and fans need to realise this, accept it and just support their sides.

We were booing after 1 game, a narrow defeat in awful conditions to a team that finished 7 points above us last year.

Warrington fans booed them for losing to a team that finished 3rd last year!

No matter how many times they said "no offence to Cas/Wakefield..." you couldn't help thinking that the Radio Manchester commentary team were stuck in the 80s/90s and expected Wigan to be guaranteed a win against such sides.

Whether it's an improvement in the lower sides or a "levelling-down" is up for debate but fans will have to get used to teams losing games they'd have expected to win in previous years. The flipside is that they'll geta few wins that surprise them, like Friday night. They just need to learn to accept it, move on and enjoy the ride.