Blues - Waterford United FC Programme v Shelbourne Friday 9th May 2014 | Page 16

Fanning The Flames Of Success
By Brendan White
A lot can be said about the support that League of
Ireland teams bring to matches. Whether the type of
fan that gets out to games whenever they can, the
fan that attends all the home matches, and ventures
to the odd away game each season, or the fan who
never misses any match, rain or shine, the importance
of all of that support cannot be understated in the
slightest.
No matter which kind of fan you are, the
importance ranks just as high. Fans make clubs what
they are. Fans stick with clubs through promotion and
relegation, through the good times and the not-sogood times.
But they already know their importance. Up and
down the country in the League of Ireland we hear
how great supporters are. Whether you are a fan in
a crowd of 5,000, or just 500, that
dedication is what drives players
to success. The one shout of encouragement from the stands can be
the difference; that one bang of
the drum to get the crowd going
again; that one chant that gets the
team playing again – this is what
fans can do.

away matches. Home matches have seen a fantastic
atmosphere for their entirety.
While a ‘thank you’ is not always remembered in the
heat of battle, the clubs around the country always
appreciate the fans. So many readily undertaking
an eight hour bus journey to Donegal on the first
a weekend of the season tells a lot about the dedicated
support that Waterford United has. The fans have been
nothing short of brilliant.
But while these fans have been exceptional, it’s
trying to get new fans to the RSC that is the
hardest part. The last home match had just over 400
people and that’s where Waterford needs to step
up and get behind their soccer team. The anniversary
of the Blues’ last FAI Cup win passed a small while
ago and those are the days that we all strive to get
back to, but without the Waterford
public getting behind the team it is
unlikely to happen.
Each season comes with the hope
that more and more people
may come out to the RSC every
fortnight to see the Blues in action.
For years we have heard the cries
of ‘we need a more local side’,
and ‘I’d go and watch them if there
were more local players’. This is
now the case.

The trouble with supporters is a
simple one – there aren’t enough
sometimes. But the fans who do
attend League of Ireland
football in the various towns all over
Seven of the starting eleven last
Ireland are magnificent, and Blues The Blues fans have been exceptional Monday are local players, with
again this season, home and away more coming off the bench over
fans certainly fit that bill.
photo: Ian Clancy