The Roland Harris Column

27th of December, 2000

Do You Call Yourself a Supporter?

You miss the point.

Yeah, you there.

You who flounced out of Valley Parade on 70 minutes after Sunderland gave us a pasting. You Who pushed past my knees on your way out grumbling, you who booed at the end.

You miss the point, you don't understand. Your grasp of English is, how shall I put this, shit.

Bradford City supporter.

Supporter.

Take a look in the dictionary and I don't think you find the word defined as "One who basks in the reflected glory of others but criticises when times are bad.". That's not what it says.

I don't say "One who has the right to pass negative opinion.". That's not there either.

It says that a supporter backs a team through thick and thin. It says that a supporter gets behind the team, that a supporter works with the team, not against it. From the disgraceful display of some people at VP on Boxing Day I'm saying that City do not have as many supporters as we think.

I know what your thinking now. Your thinking I'm either stupid or a suck ass. That I'll follow everything that the club do like a lap dog. Yeah? No. That's not it at all. What it is is this. The club is not an outside thing to me. It is not a thing that I, we can take or leave. It's ours.

Mr BfB Michael Wood said to me once that we are not owners of City, but custodians and that that we takes in the fans, the staff, the players, the officials and the chairman. All of us connect with Bradford City are not in possession of the club, but we are safeguarding it, improving it, passing it on to the next generation. If you are a part of us, a supporter, then booing and flouncing out early is the equivalent of cutting your arms to see the bleeding then cutting someone else. It's abuse.

And I don't want to see my club cut.

Index of column & Biography | Mail