As you know I like to bust open the doors of SBR to guest posts and here’s one from my good friend Hank who felt like getting some things off his chest and what better place to do it than here in the madness of the SBR blog. Gew on Son *Passes the Mic
Welcome to Molineux, the home of Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers. It’s a place of joy, excitement and togetherness as almost 30,000 supporters cheer on the most gifted bunch of footballers seen gracing the hallowed turf in a generation.
Except… it’s not is it? What the fuck is going on?
Hit Wolves Twitter up at any time of day and you’re guaranteed to see some fan(s) banging on to some other fan(s) about what it means to be a Wolves supporter. Like there’s some sort of hierarchical scale of support that requires certain achievements be met before you can ‘level up’ and only the SuperFan who has home and away season tickets, buys every shirt the club puts on sale and turns up to watch the U23 and Academy games can truly have their voice heard as a “true supporter”.
When did we put these rules in place about what it means to be a Wolves fan? Or decide to split ourselves from a united pack into a disjointed bunch sub-branches determined by what stand we sit in, whether we sing at the game, whether we arrive on time or stay until the end?
This has been brewing in me for weeks but was topped off after the Forest game when someone tweeted a complaint about the South Bank singing the “Nuno had a dream” song for too long and for too many repetitions, thus introducing a new rule into the game – if you do sing, do you sing the right songs?! The aftermath of a home game now focuses less on what happened on the pitch and more on what went on in the stands.
The South Bank sings about the North Bank not singing. The North Bank retorts that they’ll sing when they want and that they’ve never had a Baggie in their seats. The Steve Bull feels left out so pipe up for a few minutes, while the Billy Quiet has a kip. Then we get photos from the South Bank of the North Bank, half empty, criticising the fact that some people have decided to leave early and get back to their cars before they’re locked in after the game, while the North Bankers have a go back about how there are still plenty of gaps in the South Bank after we’ve kicked off because some people can’t resist one more pint before making their way to the ground.
At the end of the day does it really matter? If you go to a game and you want to sing, great, do it but don’t moan about the folks that just want to watch the football quietly. Conversely, if you turn up for a football match then expect to hear some fans singing. Singing songs of their own choice! If you don’t like what you hear, ignore it and watch the game but, please, can we all just agree that we all want the same thing? That little ‘P’ next to our name on Sky Sports News’ league table in May (or earlier!), our name on the Football League trophy again, a euphoric victory parade through the City Centre with fans gleefully hanging off the Mon on the ‘oss.
We have three and a bit months to go, let’s be one pack, united, not lone Wolves. However you choose to support the team, I salute you. We’re Wolves ay we?
10 responses to “The Grit Bin: Wolves Ay We”
Never a truer word said. Good read.
What is a fan and who has the right to decide? Why do some fans think they are better than others? How can you begin to measure and more importantly why should you? I live in Newcastle upon Tyne and have not had the joy attending a game since the two in a week against Newcastle at St James Park last season so what am I?
I was born in Wolverhampton in 74 at the Royal hospital and some of my earliest memories are standing on the old Waterloo road stand with my dad swinging on the metal barriers and barely being able to see the other side of the pitch.
I graduated to standing on the old Southbank and enduring the tough days of the mid eighties when my beloved club was on its knees. I felt the joy when Graham Turner, Stevie Bull and OUR Sir Jack breathed life back into the mighty Wolves including one of the greatest days of my life, The Sherpa Van trophy final in 1988.
Up until 2002, many matches from division four to two rebadged the championship then followed, Sheff Utd with Deane and Agana to secure promotion still sticking in my addled brain.
Fast forward to 2002 and life changed, marriage and kids took me to Newcastle upon Tyne and also brought the massive financial responsibility that cuts leisure funds to a minimum however…
Every matchday still brings the adrenalin through Wolves Twitter and soccer Saturday, I still shout and scream with every goal and the rest of the family leave the room when sky deem to screen our game as the living room becomes my Southbank.
I have even ran into the street celebrating a Wolves goal, none more so than the one against Blackburn that saved our premier league status and relegated the Bluenoses, I think the neighbours nearly sent for the men in the white coats.
So tell me, are you a better Wolves fan than me? Should this even matter? Surely whether you can attend or not (and if you can luck you) isn’t important, surely all that matters is that WE ARE WOLVES. 🐺
Thanks Hank, great post.
From across the pond here in Detroit, Michigan; as someone that lives and dies each Saturday morning from 10 AM until noon, following on ANY blog that I can….WE ARE WOLVES.
Great words,like djpbut, I am an exile, though since end of god 70’s and in South Wales, only get to see had odd … often very odd… game at Swansea or Warnock City
But still Old Gold born and bred and will always be……
Let’s enjoy the hood times and we do all want that P
Never above you, never below you, always with you. Together Wolves are we.
Very well said Hank…
I’ve lived with the “noose” of an ST7 post code all my life, never lived in Wolvo, and been surrounded by Joke Shity fans trying to take the piss, but I didn’t, and still don’t give a shit.
My Dad was from Newport Shrops, he watched the original Honved game, he could refer to Mr Stan Cullis as a friend, he took me to my first game when I was 7, and I’ve had a season ticket since I was 12, so for the best part of 42 years.
My Dad sadly passed away 9 years ago, but our family pack still grows, my son, my cousins (in Bristol) their kids all support the Wolves, and always will.
I might only go to a couple of away games every season, but I don’t feel any less of a fan than those who go to every away game. Nor do I think any more of a fan than those who only go to a couple of home games.
We go when we can cos “We are Wolves”
Weem Wolves ay we?
Ar,all on us!
Well said ahk.
Nice one. Every supporter is most welcome in my opinion. Old and new. Obviously we’ll get more interest as we get better. That’s just the nature of sport.
We’re all the same and we’re all different.
All I will say is that old loyalty should be rewarded in the allocating of tickets. We may well need a bigger ground to satisfy the demand and we may need room to attract the young fans who are the future of our club.
Truth
Nice post. I must say that I like that, because Molineux still has maintained the same geometry (a rectangle with N, E, S & W) from years gone by, we therefore have areas of the grounds with distinct personalities.
Go to some of the more “bowl like” grounds like the Emirates and there is no sense of place within the ground. You could be anywhere and have an identical experience.
Another reason that we are club with personality.