Twitter twits!
Aspects of the RYAN DARBY on why the positive be overshadowed social media tool can sometimes by ‘keyboard warriors’
TWITTER and social media have done many great things for football and sport as a whole. It’s given fans a new way to reach their favourite players and clubs, it’s provided access that you’d never thought possible five or ten years ago.
As of next season, the Premier League have agreed a deal to show live highlights of matches across Twitter, another option for supporters to see their favourites.
However, with every positive, there’s a negative. What Twitter has brought to the game is a hefty ton of baggage, more commonly known as a those ‘keyboard warriors’.
Across social media you can quickly stumble across your everyday, match-going, diehard football fans.You can also find those you may use the term ‘fan’ to resemble themselves with a particular club when, in reality, they’re really not.
Chelsea ‘fans’ caught the headlines in July for their reaction to the news that Branislav Ivanovic had dislocated his shoulder during pre-season training in Austria, meaning he would subsequently miss a month of football and the start of the new Premier League season.
A handful of online websites and blogs caught on to the fact that Blues ‘fans’ were reacting very joyfully on Twitter, expressing their delight at seeing the Serbian sidelined.
Despite his sudden drop in form that saw him exposed by wingers last season, this is a player who has been an essential part of Chelsea’s success over the last eight years.
He has been a regular presence alongside John Terry and up until recently, Petr Cech, in the heart of the Chelsea defence.
During that time, he’s picked up two Premier League winner’s medals, the Champions League, the Europa League, three FA Cup winner’s medals, a League Cup and a Community Shield. To add to that trophy-laden list, he has been named in the PFA Team of the Season twice. Heck, he even scored the winning goal in the Europa League final. Regular season-ticket holders at the Bridge will understand what Ivanovic has achieved for the club and appreciate that he is coming towards the end of his career, but you’d never find one of them cheering to see him injured. Websites across the globe took advantage of this and, as you’d expect, came out with headlines such as “Chelsea fans happy to see Ivanovic sidelined”, you get the idea. Those fans probably couldn’t even direct you to Stamford Bridge. Years ago, you could walk down to the pub with a group of mates and talk about your club with pride. Now, you can be shunned for merely stating which team you support. If you’re a West Ham fan, you’re presumed to be violent, an Arsenal fan, you’re presumed to have nothing but hatred for Arsene Wenger and a love for Sky Sports polls. A Chelsea fan? You didn’t know about them prior to 2003, Manchester City? Likewise. All of this comes with the territory with a game that is becoming more and more global by the year. Interest across the world is booming and everyone wants a piece of the Premier League. Twitter and the internet have done so many things that could have once been seen as unthinkable, taking the game’s coverage to another level time and time again. But next time you see an article that showcases the way ‘fans’ have paraded themselves across social media, just stop and take a minute to think about whether they really are true ‘football fans’.