So goes the conventional thinking of fandom that a team is supposed to be supported by its followers no matter what, even if in practice that isn’t frequently the case. People expect the time and emotion invested in a sports team to be rewarded with the euphoria of success. Denied this, fans become restive, even if they aren’t necessarily supposed to, according to fan decorum.
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The Japanese Have Exacting Soccer Standards
↵↵Not the Japanese. They’ve been given free reign by the president of the country’s football governing body to boo their black hearts out when they feel the pangs of disappointment while watching their country’s soccer team take part in games leading up to this year’s World Cup. ↵
↵↵⇥Japan Football Association (JFA) president Motoaki Inukai told Sunday’s Sports Hochi: “I want the supporters to boo their hearts out. It’s good for the players.”↵↵↵The fans complied with the booing edict on Saturday when the Japanese played to a 0-0 draw at home against China in the East Asia championship. The team’s coach has set expectations high by saying the team’s mission was to make the World Cup semifinals, even though the country has never won a World Cup match on foreign soil. So either do better than the team has ever done, or feel the fan wrath!↵
↵↵(H/T to Slanch Report)↵
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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