Ball games of one form or another have existed in England for centuries. These games created steep rivalries between towns and villages. After the industrial revolution① the football association was set up in 1863 confirming the rules of what we now know as football. The new working class were encouraged to fill their Saturday afternoons with a sport. Factories， local clubs and pubs set up football teams to instill loyalty in their companies. An example is Arsenal who where made from gun makers. First it was just local games done in a friendly manner but then somebody had to ask the question “who is the best in the land？” and the FA cup was set up in 1873.
Now， the country’s tribal② rivalries had an outlet. North vs. South， East vs. West， factory worker vs. office worker， rich vs. poor. The prize improved and the competition to win became fiercer. Thousands avidly watched their town or company try to defeat their rivals. Passion and spite grew in abundance. In 1901 at the FA Cup final， over 110，000 spectators watched Tottenham Hotspur beat Sheffield united. This was a huge blow to the North who reveled in bettering the South. Now the South had the upper hand. Rivalries between North， South ，clubs and towns was heightening. In a country as diverse in culture as England， these rivalries and local loyalties were embedded so deep that they still exist in the same way today.
Choosing a club is a careful decision. Mostly people choose the club nearest to where they live or are from. These are honorable supporters. Then there are blood supporters， those who support a team because their forefathers before them did. Then there are those who support a team for no real reason， they just seem to like them. These supporters are simply strange， for in football with the embedded philosophy of loyalty， you can’t just like a team， you must love them！ But the most frowned upon supporter of them all is the glory hunter. This is a supporter who loves a club because they are top of the league， have lots of money and good looking players. This is considered wrong in English football as it fails the loyalty test. To be loyal you must support your team through the best of times and the worst of times and once you have chosen you can never， ever change. It must be for life. To change is the biggest disgrace③ for any supporter at any time of life. The average age to choose a club is 8 years-old. After that you must love that club until you die； no excuses.
As you get older， the love and loyalty to a club and your attitude to rivals intensify④. In the 1970s football became an escape from the frustrations of unemployment. Clubs became more like brotherhoods for the jobless and fans would do anything for them. Huge riots occurred and many died， but generally people just got beaten up. It’s all the pride， passion， loyalty and rivalry that are in any person that makes a football fan violent. These days despite having less of an unemployment problem there is still a hooligan element in English football， although it is more underground and much smaller than the 70s and 80s. Hooligans are people who relieve the boredom of their dead-end jobs by spending their weekends fighting for something.
To show their love many fans tattoo⑤ the clubs symbol on their arms， name their children after players or even get married in their football kits. This shows that football is more than a fashion. It’s not about who the team at the top is or who has the biggest amount of stars. It’s about passion， loyalty， rivalry， commitment. It allows the release of our most basic emotions—love and hate. It feels great to be able to release the emotions normally harnessed by a civil society， for a 90-minute period， unaccountable and at the expense of no one.
① revolutionn. 革命性剧变，大变革
② tribaladj. 部落的，种族的
③ disgracen. 丢脸的事；丢脸的人
④ intensifyv. 加强，增强；使变激烈
⑤ tattoov. (在人体上)刺(花纹)；刺花纹于
为足球而狂
形式各异的球类运动在英格兰落户已达数世纪之久。这些运动在城镇和乡村之间造成了严峻的竞争局面。工业革命之后，足球协会于1863年成立，确定了现在被我们称之为足球的规则。新兴的工人阶级曾被鼓励用一项运动来充实他们周六下午的时间。为了在他们的团体中灌输忠诚思想，工厂、当地俱乐部和酒馆成立了足球队。由枪支制造商建立起的阿森纳队便是一例。起初，那只是一些以友好方式进行的地方比赛，但后来有人提出了“全国谁最强？”的问题，“足总杯”比赛随之于1873年启动。
至此，国家的种族竞争就找到了一个发泄方式。南北对抗、东西对抗、厂工对职员、穷人对富人。奖金提高了，夺冠竞争随之变得更加激烈。数千人热情地观看他们的城镇或公司奋击对手的比赛。激情与怨恨泛滥开来。在1901年“足总杯”的决赛中，有超过11万名观众观看了托特纳姆热刺队击败谢菲尔德联队的比赛。这对于执着于赶超南方人的北方人来说是一个巨大的打击。既然南方人占据了优势。南方、北方、俱乐部和城镇之间的竞争便在加剧。在一个文化多元性上与英格兰一般无二的国家里，此类竞争和忠于所属地的观念是根深蒂固的，以至于它们在今天仍以同样的方式存在着。
选择俱乐部是一项慎重的决定。人们大都会选择离其住处或家乡最近的俱乐部。这类人是荣誉型支持者。还有血缘型支持者，即那些因其祖辈支持一支队自己便也如此的人。还有那些没什么理由就支持一个队的人，他们看起来就是喜欢他们。这类支持者简直就是莫名其妙，因为在足球上，忠诚观根深蒂固，所以你不能只是喜欢一支队，你必须要热爱他们！但是在所有支持者当中最令人不悦的就是那种沽名者。这是一类因俱乐部冠居联盟之首、拥有大量资金和帅气的队员而热爱他们的支持者。这在英格兰足球文化中被当作是错误的，因为那没有达到忠诚的标准。要做到忠诚，你必须与你的球队风雨与共，一旦你做出了选择，你就绝对不能悔改。这是必须终其一生的。对于处在各个人生阶段的所有支持者来讲，悔改是最大的耻辱。选择俱乐部的一般年龄是在8岁的时候。在那之后你就必须热爱这个俱乐部，死而后已；没有余地可言。
随着你年龄的增长，对于俱乐部的热爱和忠诚以及你对竞争者的态度都会变得强烈起来。在20世纪70年代，足球成为摆脱失业受挫情绪的手段。俱乐部变得更像是失业者协会，球迷愿意为其做任何事情。大规模的骚乱出现了，许多人一命呜呼，不过一般来讲人们只是被暴揍一顿而已。使球迷变得暴力的就是任何人都具有的荣誉感、激情、忠诚感和竞争意识。如今，尽管失业问题好转了，但在英国足球文化当中仍旧存在着一丝流氓习气，即使它变得更为隐秘，规模要远小于70年代和80年代的水平。（足球）流氓就是那些把周末的时间用来为某事争斗以此来缓解自己对永无出头之日的工作所产生的厌烦情绪的人。
为了显示自己的热爱之情，许多球迷会在他们的手臂上刺上俱乐部的徽标，以球员的名字给他们的孩子起名，甚至还会穿着他们的球衣结婚。这说明了足球并非只是时尚。它与谁是顶尖球队或谁拥有的明星最多无关。与其相关的是激情、忠诚、竞争和承诺。它使我们最基本的情感——爱与恨，得以释放出来。在90分钟的时间里，能够将通常被文明社会所压抑的情感以无法无天、不伤及他人的方式渲泄出来，那感觉太棒了。
