By Anon
April 13 2005

There follows an open letter to those on the Craic website. The author is known to many of us but has expressed a wish to remain anonymous. London Irish has a massive supporter base, a fraction of whom read and or post on any number of message-boards – or forums if you prefer.

As one of that number I have enjoyed the friendliness of The Craic over all others. It lacks the open hostility of the official site board and is more welcoming than The Sunbury Centre.

However, recently I have found it a less enjoyable experience. Why?

Predominantly because the number of people who seem to feel they have a right to dictate how others think, feel and respond to a given situation or event has increased alarmingly.

Believe me when I say I am a reasonably intelligent person. I have the same ability as the rest of you to form an opinion and have a thought; I also have the same ability as the majority of you to make my point – and I think based on what I’ve seen recently, a greater ability than some.

I don’t need or want you telling me what to think, when to support or how to support my team. That’s my choice and one I would like to make. Some people support in the background, some support from beneath a mop of green nylon; some quietly and some not. No one method is better than another. No one method makes one a greater supporter than another.

You may think that you are ‘rallying the troops’ and doing what you’re doing for the good of the team. But are you? It comes across as opinionated pomposity and is incredibly irritating and – what’s worse – from conversations I’ve had with others, alienating.

It should be fairly obvious by now, that most of those who regularly post on the message-board are long-term supporters. They’ve supported the club through mediocrity, heady success(!) and, more recently, a three-year trot of poor form. They have stuck to the club with their hearts. Can’t that be enough for you?