The first professional match I ever saw was West Ham vs. Cardiff City in Cardiff, 2003. It was at a time when the Hammers had been relegated.
The entire day, there was an enormous police presence throughout the city, with horses, water cannons, and police on foot. I was visiting a friend, and went to the match with his neighbour, a retired hooligan.
Before the match, we went to the Cardiff supporters' pub, home of the hooligan firm, the Soul Crew. There was a palpable adrenaline charge in the air. You could feel that these lads were ready to throw down at a moment's notice.
I asked my guide, J., if there was any chance the ICF would try to invade the pub. He replied that it wasn't likely, given our superior numbers and the prevalence of CCTV in the area. He said that if anything happened, it would likely be late at night on the outskirts of town.
We went to the ground as a group, and J. ran ahead to confer with some of his mates who were acting as spotters. We took our places on the terrace (at the time only Premiership stadiums were required to have seats) and saw the section of ICF to our left. They were chanting and throwing coins and batteries across at the Soul Crew, who happily returned the missiles.
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I think the result was 2-1 West Ham, but I'll never forget the electricity in the air. People were staring at me, like, who the f*ck is he? Is he one of them? If I hadn't been with a former hool, I probably would have got my ass kicked.
I met my friend (not a football fan) after the match, and we went to a pub to meet some of his friends who are/were hooligans. They said there probably wouldn't be a fight, but that the Soul Crew were out hunting for ICF.
Personally, I'm not against football violence, as long as people don't kill each other. I know about the tragedies that have happened, and I make no excuse for the perpetrators.
I also disapprove of those who use weapons, especially guns, in hooligan fights. If grown men with a mutual desire to clobber each other wish to do so, fine by me. As long as they don't target innocents and keep the destruction of private property to a minimum, I think it's a great way to relieve stress and build camaraderie.
The truth is, with CCTV, facial recognition software, databases of known hooligans, travel restrictions, and all the rest, it's almost impossible to stage a mass brawl anywhere in the UK or Western Europe. The authorities in those countries have all but eliminated the hooligan phenomenon. The eastern Europeans can still get away with it, as can the South Americans and people in other parts of the world.
Hooliganism will survive as long as young men burn with the drive to seek status through strength in an organized group. It is a condition that has defined the rites of manhood for thousands of years, in every culture, much to the chagrin of our modern social engineers.
To read about what it's really like, check out:
- Soul Crew, by David Jones and Tony Rivers
- Hoolifan: 30 Years of Hurt, by Martin King and Martin Knight
- The Naughty Nineties: Football's Coming Home, by Martin King and Martin Knight
- http://www.ave-it.net/hooligan_firms.htm
I support:
- Toronto FC (MLS)
- Liverpool FC (EPL)
- Cardiff City (EFLC)
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about 1 month ago
Excellent article. Another great read on hooliganism is "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford. He runs with some hooligans to see what the allure is, and eventually finds himself getting beat up by police at World Cup '90. They get into some scary stuff.
about 1 month ago
Thanks for sharing, Rich. A very interesting story to say the least! And just wondering, which clubs have supporters most notorious for being hooligans in England? I know West Ham is one of them but are there a lot of others?
from about 1 month ago
I know that Millwall's Headhunters were one of the most feared firms back in the day.
about 1 month ago
I just saw one of the links actually and I see that there are actually quite a number of clubs with hooligan supporters! It's quite overwhelming.
about 1 month ago
What a whack job. I hope that shit stays on your side of the pond. As a sports fan I was dismayed to read of West Ham hooligans coming over to invade MLS game in Columbus, Ohio, US.
I understand the adrenalin/testosterone thing...but that's why we have sports...join a league or something! Start a new sport: group boxing...but keep your nuerosis out of stadiums meant for football fans, not fight addicts and out of bars meant for socializing not sociopathing...or wake up at 35 or40 ad realize you've drunk/hooliganed your life away...what a waste
about 1 month ago
valid perspective. obviously some people can't handle it(see above). i like your comment about modern social engineers near the end. as we approach a ridiculous orwellian type facist future of unknown levels of state control and snooping it is only human to try and screw the system in some way. a lot of people would get into a bit of a lather over something like this, non-sanctioned fighting etc. then they will watch a movie like fight club and say 'yeah i love fight club', a very strange type of hypocracy that is everywhere. if the violence is sanctioned by a governing body suddenly it becomes less violent. good writing, a lot more interesting than a lot of the fodder you see on here.
about 1 month ago
die
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