Sports Loyalty

I have come to the conclusion that sports fans and sportsmen have different definitions of loyalty. I mean it is without doubt success breeds loyalty but the problem with success is that can only be one winner. But not being champions doesn’t make the runners up and those below bad. Unless of course if you’re in last place. I’m talking specifically about the English premier League, and the predicament faced by my team, the red half of Merseyside.

It is becoming more apparent now that Liverpool is a two, maybe three man team. Without Torres and Gerrard and possibly Reina, the team is deemed doomed. Every team has their own talisman, key player and Liverpool is no different. Arsenal had Viera and now Fabregas. Man United had Keane, Ronaldo, Schmeichel and now Rooney, Ferdinand. But the difference between Liverpool and them is that their teams had more depth. Other than those three and perhaps Mascherano, Kuyt and Johnson, LFC do not have any other players who could carry the team. To effective survive in the EPL and Cup competitions; a team needs at least 16 players who can play in the first 11. From the looks of it, LFC has only 8-9 who can play in the first 11, the rest are effectively back-up players.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, loyalty amongst most supporters is difficult to shake. This is evident from the fact that teams like Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday are still able to attract large crowds despite playing in the lower divisions. Supporters, once affiliated, are willing to risk all for their teams. The incidence of supporters deserting their teams, I’m guessing, is probably low.

On the other hand, players do not seem to have the same sense of loyalty. No doubt, everyone wants to play in a winning team but making threats like ‘I’ll ask for a transfer if the team doesn’t make it to the champion’s league’ or a get out clause if the team gets relegated is an obvious sign of disloyalty.

Let’s take Michael Owen for example. When he left for the Barnabeu, he must have thought that it increased his chances of winning the Champion’s league. The very next season, Liverpool was crowned champions of Europe. He came back and played occasionally at Newcastle but (I’m guessing) if he had stayed on Merseyside, he could have helped Liverpool become champions of England for the 19th time, seeing how impressive they were last season. His skills and goals could have helped especially in the absence of Torres.

Good players like Gerrard should display some form of loyalty to the club that nurtured him and to the supporters who have backed him for so long. Instead of deserting the team if it is not strong enough to challenge for honours, he should say “I’ll stay and make sure the team wins honours”.

That’s loyalty.