lupestripe | Notes From A Small Mindset

On the way home from London on Saturday evening I happened to be sharing a train with a load of England fans making their way home after the national side's 2-2 draw with Switzerland at Wembley.

At the buffet car there were seven boisterous England fans who were singing loud songs about hating Leeds and offering me free Pringles. Of course this was intimidating. However, in every other carriage there were scores of quiet England fans being civil.

Just like the Jade Goody racism scandal in 2007's Celebrity Big Brother, it always seems to be the loudest ones who cause the greater impact. Goody was the loudest but said the least number of racist things out of the three who were goading Shilpa Shetty. However she got the most blame because she was the loudest and the scandal enhanced already held perceptions about her.

Likewise, most football fans are not boisterous drunken thugs but the perception from the train - and general existence - would suggest otherwise unless you spotted the vast swathes of quiet fans minding their own business. And as these people are harder to spot, this perception of thuggery is endemic in society yet this is only a small proportion of the corpus of football supporters. I fit into the quiet camp by the way although in my youth I was something of a singer myself.

*For the record, I dislike everything to do with the England team. The feeling of superiority, the arrogance and the players - who are the worst of the worst when it comes to footballers. Again I have met many and most are nice guys but give me club football over the national side any day.

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