I am still reeling from our awful results over Easter. The feeling that we were getting better and that the team is throwing off the negative baggage of the Roy Keane era has suffered a setback.

I find it difficult to take; losing is never good but losing against our trophy-less friends from up the road is worse. And although we weren’t that bad, Norridge are clearly a far more clinical team than we are and they don’t waste many of the opportunities they get.

Of course, on the face of it, I don’t like them because every Town supporter is supposed to and therefore I should equally dislike their supporters. Sure, a few semi-humorous chants and some blindingly obvious and predictable ritual songs taking the mickey is all part of that but out and out blind hatred? No, not for me.

Deep down, I know that they are football supporters like me; that they like their club and they are enjoying the temporary success of competing for promotion. More or less in the same way we would if we were in any position to do so. Although, at the end of it, let’s face it, they still won’t have won a trophy as they won’t be champions.

Some of the people who sit around me at Portman Road however, do seem to have a completely irrational and possibly pathological hatred of Norridge supporters. For some reason, a couple of middle-aged, non-yellow/green shirt wearing supporters had got themselves amongst us unnoticed.

No problem so far but as I would if the roles were reversed, they 'outed' themselves by jumping up when Norridge scored and celebrating. They just couldn’t help themselves. Sure, with segregation and all that they probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place but they weren’t provoking anybody or abusing our lads or anybody around them; they simply did what every supporter would do when their club scores.

When this happened, a very normal looking, smartly dressed elderly woman sitting in front of me, who by the look of it had come straight from the hairdressers after a granny’s shampoo and set and her middle-aged daughter started shouting foul-mouthed abuse at the two Norridge fans. And not in any way, witty or good humoured banter type abuse; no, it was full-on nasty swearing that I hadn’t heard at any football ground for a long time.

The hatred for the other team’s supporters they demonstrated, reminded me of the worst of sectarian behaviour between Celtic and Rangers. Quite possibly, in earlier times, the nice ladies would have been on the front row of a witch burning or possibly taking part in a good old lynch mob or more recently, shouting abuse at paediatricians.

To be honest, I found their behaviour far more embarrassing than the terrible result on the pitch. It made me feel ashamed to support the same club as they do and makes me wonder how sad their lives must be if their driving force is hatred for another football club and their supporters.

bluesandbooze added 13:59 - Apr 29 There is no doubt about it ,some of our fans are far more uptight about all things Norwich than is good for them. Makes us look like we have an inferiority complex.
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rosseden added 14:45 - Apr 29 agree with some of the sentiment, but lets be realistic, we have crowd segregation for a reason, people are pack animals 99% of the time, and when in tense situatons we return to our animal insticts, thats just basic psychology..... i would question the sanity of anyone sitting in the home end at any football match as an away fan and seriously not expecting some sort of slap, whtether it be verbal or physical..... thats not whats right or wrong, or my personal view that it should be given, its just how it is and its how people react..... if it didnt matter why not just mix all the fans up?!

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adamisablue added 16:54 - Apr 29 im kinda in agrreement over this blog. a friend of mine asked me why i hated nowrich so much and i didnt have a real answer other than "their scum" its not as tho they are close either, we are not even in the same county as them (all beit theres only 4 profeesinal teams in the whole of east anglia) as for crowd segrgation.. i recently crossed the puddle to our orange freinds to watch p.s.v eindhoven and there was no crowd segregation at all. the fans were happily sitting with each other (then again it was top vs bottom, id like to see it when az or ajax are in town) you could even drink beer in the stands and i didnt see one spec of trouble but there was no away atmosphere as everyone was dotted about. its a shame we cant do that over here without trouble

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JimmyJazz added 18:29 - Apr 29 You must have been sitting in the same area I was because I saw the same incident with the same charming ladies involved. So having viewed it first hand I totally agree with you. My guess is they would have reacted the same way whoever we were playing, they just hated away supporters being in their area. I've got no beef with the odd supporter being in the 'wrong' end of the ground as long as they aren't there to cause trouble. I've seen Ipswich away with mates who support the home team and naturally sat in with them. I even got too frustrated at the old Dell one time and shouted abuse at Matt le Tissier as we sank to a 3-1 defeat. I also remember the old days of a 22,000 capacity when Portman Road was often sold out and I had to buy a ticket for the away area or not see the game. In both cases I'm glad I didn't encounter the equivalent of Town's two female fans who decided to take it upon themzselves to be segregation nazis. Pity they didn't show as much passion towards supporting their team

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MBG added 06:26 - Apr 30 I agree entirely. Some of the fans' hatred towards Norwich supporters is over the top. The fact is that the sum of our club's achievements easily surpasses theirs. We should be quietly confident about our stature as a football club and behave in a more dignified way.
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poringlandblue added 11:10 - May 2 ive lived in norwich 25yrs and although i havent tried it im pretty sure i could walk through the city with a town shirt and get out with some piss taking abit of verbal and an awful lot of stares but dont think the same could be said vice versa, i too have listened to some of the hatred directed at norwich fans and thought get a life they support their local team (and a great deal better than we do, full houses and a great atmosphere) who are they supposed to support man u? celebrating in the home end is disrespectful but its a passionate game i was thrown out of the chelsea family seats with my son and grandfather when i stood up when bruce scored hardly a threat but couldnt help myself but then i have to sit on my hands and be gagged at carrow rd because the response from nearby fans would be similar to the women mentioned.im praying for pompey/cardiff double today they get to wembley well have a day out on the lash with my mates and their sons and they lose. its only a game guys and i bet if you came up to norwich for a night out and pulled some drop dead gorgeous norwich supporter that wouldnt stop you wanting to see the "scum" again i dont think so

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TractorRoyNo1 added 10:05 - May 3 having lived and worked in the Blyth and Waveney valley areas for half my life, the south suffolk / north essex Town fans have no idea what it's like to argue with this lot 365 days a year
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sonian_blue added 14:06 - May 4 Some 'Drop dead Narridge supporter' poringland? I doubt it, thay all have webbed feet and 8 fingers on each hand!
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bluesandbooze added 20:41 - May 5 Sonian Blue, Unfortunately you are part of our problem. Stupid comments like yours let us down. I have been on nights out in Ipswich and Norwich , and sad to report nights out in Norwich make Ipswich look like a chav convention.
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blrmy added 21:11 - May 8 I am a 100% Town fan, and as such, view Norwich as "the enemy", but let's keep things in perspective! I went to Colombia for 2 weeks, missed the derby game, and would you believe it, I bumped into a Norwich fan in the hotel pool! What are the odds? To cut a long story short, we had a laugh, joked about our situation and had a few drinks together. He was a "good bloke". So yes, I will always look for the Norwich result after the Town result and smile if they have lost, but do I "hate" them? No, I have no reason to, hatred must stem from a cause. I have stronger feelings against far-worse "fans" I have met and seen such as Leeds, Cardiff and Millwall, because they demonstrate what a football hooligan is. 99% of Norwich fans are just fans of their local club. Long may the friendly banter continue, and long may hooligans and thugs in Norwich and Ipswich be seen for for what they truly are.

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