26-10-2018, 16:19
That must be a lovely world that you live in, Dev. I wish I lived there.
In a Utopian world, the idea that a new club born out of the anger and disillusionment of a few of the followers of CFC could co-exist with it in some sort of symbiotic relationship is a lovely, heartwarming idea but I`m afraid it just doesn`t happen. In this country we vrtually have a local civil war if two clubs in the same city suggest just ground-sharing - which would be a glaringly sensible thing to do in a lot of cases, if only on economic grounds. I remember the furore a few years ago when Robert Maxwell wanted to merge Reading and Oxford, I think it was, into a new club. (Thames Valley Royals, I think he wanted to call it.) There was nearly blood on the streets. Off the top of my head the only case I can think of where it did work, and then only briefly, was Rushden & Diamonds - and that was because it was the brainchild of a multi-millionaire who had the financial muscle and the drive to see it through. What`s more, it didn`t come into being in the atmosphere of negativity that we have at the moment. There may be a few others, but I can`t think of any.
I really don`t think that the analogy between your experience at UCCA/PCAS and the merger of 2 football clubs is a fair one. Yours was based on economics and/or logistics, but I have to suggest that the allegiances of football fans are slightly more primal than you would find in academia. For example, let`s all ask ourselves 2 very straightforward questions;
1 How many times in the course of our lives have we changed employer / occupation?
2 How many times have we changed our football allegiance?
In my case, the answers are
1 Several
2 Never
and I suspect that most people would give the same answers, certainly to no 2.
I share your views on Desmond Morris. He`s been a hero of mine as well ever since he made the comment, back in the days when hooliganism was a far bigger problem than it is now, that "I went to watch a fight and a football match broke out in the crowd." Brilliant.
I also agree with you that we don`t NEED to be prey to our base instincts but the sad fact is that we all ARE, to a lesser or greater degree. The fact that we`ve evolved to a level where we can rationalise our instincts and, helped by education, identify them for what they are and suppress them doesn`t mean that they aren`t still there - as Dion Dublin has just found out, to my embarrassment. We can`t help it; as I said, it`s hard-wired into us. I openly admit that I have irrational prejudices and I`m sure that everybody does.
Sorry; I`ve gone on far too long. I`ll be forgetting to organise my ticket for tomorrow.
In a Utopian world, the idea that a new club born out of the anger and disillusionment of a few of the followers of CFC could co-exist with it in some sort of symbiotic relationship is a lovely, heartwarming idea but I`m afraid it just doesn`t happen. In this country we vrtually have a local civil war if two clubs in the same city suggest just ground-sharing - which would be a glaringly sensible thing to do in a lot of cases, if only on economic grounds. I remember the furore a few years ago when Robert Maxwell wanted to merge Reading and Oxford, I think it was, into a new club. (Thames Valley Royals, I think he wanted to call it.) There was nearly blood on the streets. Off the top of my head the only case I can think of where it did work, and then only briefly, was Rushden & Diamonds - and that was because it was the brainchild of a multi-millionaire who had the financial muscle and the drive to see it through. What`s more, it didn`t come into being in the atmosphere of negativity that we have at the moment. There may be a few others, but I can`t think of any.
I really don`t think that the analogy between your experience at UCCA/PCAS and the merger of 2 football clubs is a fair one. Yours was based on economics and/or logistics, but I have to suggest that the allegiances of football fans are slightly more primal than you would find in academia. For example, let`s all ask ourselves 2 very straightforward questions;
1 How many times in the course of our lives have we changed employer / occupation?
2 How many times have we changed our football allegiance?
In my case, the answers are
1 Several
2 Never
and I suspect that most people would give the same answers, certainly to no 2.
I share your views on Desmond Morris. He`s been a hero of mine as well ever since he made the comment, back in the days when hooliganism was a far bigger problem than it is now, that "I went to watch a fight and a football match broke out in the crowd." Brilliant.
I also agree with you that we don`t NEED to be prey to our base instincts but the sad fact is that we all ARE, to a lesser or greater degree. The fact that we`ve evolved to a level where we can rationalise our instincts and, helped by education, identify them for what they are and suppress them doesn`t mean that they aren`t still there - as Dion Dublin has just found out, to my embarrassment. We can`t help it; as I said, it`s hard-wired into us. I openly admit that I have irrational prejudices and I`m sure that everybody does.
Sorry; I`ve gone on far too long. I`ll be forgetting to organise my ticket for tomorrow.