Fan uprisings: Oilers not only team to face wrath of supporters
The past few years have made it a difficult time to be an Edmonton Oilers fan, and these days, supporters aren’t afraid to show their frustrations — just talk to one of the 14,000 or so members the “Kevin Lowe has to go” Facebook group.
But Oilers fans certainly aren’t the first ones to lash out against their own team.
When teams are stumbling, supporters will often go on a search for accountability — someone to blame for the struggle or, as some may put it, for the mess of a team. More often than not, the first place they turn to is team management. That’s what’s happening with soccer in Wales, and what happened with football in Detroit.
Despite ascending to the top division of the English Premier League this season for the first time in 51 years, fans of Cardiff City F.C. in Wales have been grumbling since Vincent Tan purchased the team in 2010.
Tan has become one of the most polarizing owners in English football. In 2012, the Malaysian billionaire changed the team’s colours from blue to red — despite the fact that the team longtime nickname is the Bluebirds — claiming the move will help bring in support in Asia (the team is listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) where red is seen as a colour that brings good luck. He then changed the team’s emblem from the blue bird to a dragon and fired Malky Mackay, the team manager who brought the team out of the lower tier division and into the Premier League.
Hundreds of fans staged a pre-game protest against Tan before the club’s Boxing Day game this year, carrying signs and chanting slogans against the owner, while showing support for Mackay. That would prove to be the last game with Mackay at the helm of Cardiff City.
Matt Millen’s legacy with the Detroit Lions might remind “Kevin Lowe Must Go” supporters of their quandary.
During the seven seasons Millen helmed the Lions as chief executive officer and general manager, the NFL club had one of the worst records in modern football history, going 31-81 — a .277 winning percentage. But despite all the losses, Millen enjoyed the firm support of Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr., even securing a five-year contract extension prior to the 2005 campaign.
By the end of that season, fans decided they’d had enough. “Fire Millen” chants broke out not just at football games in Detroit but also at hockey and basketball games. Hundreds of fans marched in the streets as part of the “Millen Man March.” Millen was fired four games into the 2008 season.