Wear a Tottenham shirt? I’d rather bath in itching powder in the middle of the LiftEx show floor this October (16-17 London Olympia).
Cheer Spurs on? I’d rather sing aloud every word of COPSULE standing on my head.
Side with the arch-enemy, even for two hours? I’d rather give up evening meals for two years.
As an Arsenal fan, it was unimaginable to me that fellow supporters would abandon their allegiance and get behind our North London rivals back in May, when we supposedly needed them to take points off Manchester City to put our Premier League title destiny back in our hands on the last game of the season.
Anyone who follows English football will remember what happened at the end of that Tottenham versus City match: in the dying minutes, Son Heung-min raced clear with the chance to equalise. Had he scored, it would have meant if Arsenal went on to beat Everton on the last day, the championship would’ve been in our hands. Instead, Son hit the outstretched leg of goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and the chance was gone.
Personally, I abstained from following most of the match; I did switch it on for the last 10 minutes, so was watching when Son closed in on the City goal. But I wouldn’t have had it in me to leap up and punch the air had he buried the chance. On 10 occasions during the league season, we had failed to draw or win a match and, while winning 28 times was impressive, it wasn’t enough. Spurs didn’t stop us winning the league, we did. Or at least City did. Over nine long months.
Some Arsenal fans took to social media even as Son reeled in disappointment, as though we were all Tottenham fans for the evening. Even our manager, (Super) Mikel Arteta, reportedly said he had his head in his hands in that moment: “I was, to be honest,” he told media. I was appalled. Never have I experienced such disloyalty among a community of people I have grown to love over four decades.
As Layth Yousif, editor of the Arsenal fanzine, ‘The Gooner’, posted: ‘Loyalty is not something you trade for a quick result. Nor is swapping a lifelong allegiance a bit of fun.’
Tongue in cheek, he also suggested prior to the match, that any fan supporting Tottenham for the night should remember to wear their half-andhalf scarf for the occasion. (Don’t get me started on those repugnant things.)
Well said, Layth.
HOWES GROWLS
In my younger years, I used to write a column titled, ‘Howes Growls’, for another Arsenal fanzine, called ‘One-Nil Down, Two-One Up’. The editors came up with the tagline, based on the diarystyle short stories I used to submit about what was making me scoff — growl, even — about the team and watching football in the 1990s. In hindsight, I might have been scornful, sometimes; but honest, always.
So, here’s what makes me growl about GLAD: ignorant marketing people posting about their own companies and not celebrating the wider industry. There are too many posts along the lines of, ‘Here’s our catalogue — isn’t it cool? #GLAD2024’.
They’re spoiling the hard work of the majority who are diligently and loyally sharing campaign messages. Putting self-serving, commercial content alongside the event hashtag is like wearing a half-and-half scarf. You’re not all in. You’re in it, as long as it benefits you.
When LEEA moved high quality products, inspection, and training to the front of its GLAD campaign, they didn’t invite you to champion your products, your inspection manual, or your training programme.
Do you not realise that this merchandising content has an adverse effect, on you and the industry? Imagine being on the receiving end of it.
Five years into GLAD, we’ve built some meaningful momentum; we have eyeballs on our work where they never were before. Think about your own personal legacy, and that of your company, along the journey. Do you want to raise the profile of an industry or only increase your own visibility within it?
Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp famously said, ‘I really like Arsenal. But you, do you like Arsenal? Or just Arsenal with trophies?’
Personally, I really like lifting. But you, do you like lifting? Or just lifting with profit?
I heard that Son apologised for his howler of a miss against City. I’m not the tiniest bit interested, frankly. What I am concerned about is the authenticity of our industry when it stands before the world on 18 July. No own goals, please.
Who’s with Team Lifting?
