The Birth Of The Fan

“We were sorry to hear the offensive shouts of one ‘Mackintoshed stranger’, which, however, were almost entirely drowned out by the universal supporters of the Druryites.”

In Episode Forty Five we revisit Paul Brown’s ‘The Birth of the Fan’ from Issue Thirteen, which looks back at historical sources to review the birth of football fandom itself.

While our modern proclivities have been passed down from father or grandfather, there was a time when no such familial link existed. From the early 'mob' games between local villages, through the founding of the first works’ teams and the formation of professional football, the role played by the supporter changed as rapidly as the game itself.

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