Painful Acceptance

[Tomphil2]

Great to read stories from such long standing supporters we need more of it on here it might break up the angst and bickering a bit.

Saw a post on Facebook the other day from Rovers at Spurs i think it was the FA cup run up to the 1960 final ?

Must've been half a dozen different people talking about the games then that they were at including that one and it made such a contrast to the normal crap you read on there.

[oneandycrawford]

Having started watching in 74 I'm of the generation who grew up in the darkest times the club had known up until that point. 3rd division for the first time in the clubs history, low crowds and no money. 

And yet there was always the knowledge that the people running the club cared, even if we didn't always agree with their decisions!

There were several flirtations with the top flight along with a brief return to the 3rd division. Some memorable Cup moments as well.

It was all so different to today. The key thing was there always a sense of ambition - Duncan McKenzie and Howard Kendall, wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, engaging with the town and fans.

Now it just feels like supporting an empty shell. I live in Bath and couldn't work up the enthusiasm to go to the Bristol and Portsmouth away matches. Haven't been to Ewood since before COVID.

I still care about the club and pray Venkys fuck off soon but I worry that I'll never get that sense of belonging back.

[wilsdenrover]

47 minutes ago, oneandycrawford said:

Having started watching in 74 I'm of the generation who grew up in the darkest times the club had known up until that point. 3rd division for the first time in the clubs history, low crowds and no money. 

And yet there was always the knowledge that the people running the club cared, even if we didn't always agree with their decisions!

There were several flirtations with the top flight along with a brief return to the 3rd division. Some memorable Cup moments as well.

It was all so different to today. The key thing was there always a sense of ambition - Duncan McKenzie and Howard Kendall, wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, engaging with the town and fans.

Now it just feels like supporting an empty shell. I live in Bath and couldn't work up the enthusiasm to go to the Bristol and Portsmouth away matches. Haven't been to Ewood since before COVID.

I still care about the club and pray Venkys fuck off soon but I worry that I'll never get that sense of belonging back.

With new (and half decent owners) I reckon that feeling would return in an instant.

 

[waynerovers]

Totally understand. The destruction they caused in the early 2010's caused me to not only check out from Rovers, but from football completely for over a decade. It took Englands performances in the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020 to finally bring me back to watching football regularly. I watched no league or European football at all between 2011 and 2021. When I did start watching again I made an agreement with myself that I wouldn't allow myself to get so emotionally invested in it again like I was before to the point it ruins your weekend if your team loses. I now try to view football through the lens of entertainment, hence why I find myself watching United vs City today rather than the Ipswich game.

[AvRover]

It's a very sad state of affairs I'm afraid. We do have to remember Venkys won't last forever. Things don't go on forever, but things often go on longer than they ought.

I was told my Great-Grandfather bought a season ticket at Ewood in the 1920s. I heard the stories of the "dark days of the Third Division" in the 1970s and the fairytale of the 1995. I was there in the 2000s for FA Cup Semis, beating Burnley at Ewood in 2009.

I have now taken the decision to boycott until the regime falls. It's simply depressing and not fun - that's simply what it should be and why people went through the turnstiles every other Saturday. We live in hope that one day someone will see the value of a small town club in East Lancashire with a proud history and want to make a better future.

Sadly, I am falling out of love with football. I can recite tales from throughout football history and I'm passionate about the game. However, the silent decline and fall of Blackburn Rovers is simply how the smaller clubs are being purged, there's no next gen fans who drift off to spend £150pp at Man City. Look at the state of VAR and the state of FIFA. PSR rules designed to entrench teams at the top and kill 'the dream' Rovers once lived.

With a heavy heart - Rover and out.

[Waggy76]

5 minutes ago, AvRover said:

It's a very sad state of affairs I'm afraid. We do have to remember Venkys won't last forever. Things don't go on forever, but things often go on longer than they ought.

I was told my Great-Grandfather bought a season ticket at Ewood in the 1920s. I heard the stories of the "dark days of the Third Division" in the 1970s and the fairytale of the 1995. I was there in the 2000s for FA Cup Semis, beating Burnley at Ewood in 2009.

I have now taken the decision to boycott until the regime falls. It's simply depressing and not fun - that's simply what it should be and why people went through the turnstiles every other Saturday. We live in hope that one day someone will see the value of a small town club in East Lancashire with a proud history and want to make a better future.

Sadly, I am falling out of love with football. I can recite tales from throughout football history and I'm passionate about the game. However, the silent decline and fall of Blackburn Rovers is simply how the smaller clubs are being purged, there's no next gen fans who drift off to spend £150pp at Man City. Look at the state of VAR and the state of FIFA. PSR rules designed to entrench teams at the top and kill 'the dream' Rovers once lived.

With a heavy heart - Rover and out.

The dark days of the 3rd Division were infinitely  better than this deliberate destruction of the football club.

At least we had hope and the fans , were united !

[RoverDom]

5 hours ago, waynerovers said:

hence why I find myself watching United vs City today rather than the Ipswich game

I also did this and im much happier for it

[Bbrovers2288]

Great original post and one I can resonate with. I grew up in a wee place just outside of Glasgow where I just so happened to live next door to the sister of a certain jack walker. When her husband heard I was into football he would give me signed strips and balls, then tickets, then taking me to jacks office, and I loved it being a young boy, especially with the squad featuring a lot of Scot’s at the time and dalgleish being the manager, I loved being the kid at school that didn’t support rangers or Celtic and would proudly say I was a Blackburn fan. Everyone knew me as the Blackburn fan and would then take an interest in their results/signins knowing I would be invested in all things rovers. 
I would make the trip down to ewood 3/4 times a season and it was always so exciting to go, I would look forward to it for weeks. 
sadly jack passed and I moved away from my neighbours , learning of their passing in later years but my link to the club was now deep in my blood , I was obsessed with the club, my weekends hinged on our result. 
Fast forward to now, I have moved even further away from ewood to the north of Scotland due to work. I haven’t been to ewood this season, my visits became less and less frequent to the point I can’t justify it. I now have 2 boys and I can’t bring myself to pass on my club to them. I used to defend the club to the hilt, I now can’t, I am embarrassed to say it’s who I support. I watch less and less football every season and I blame Blackburn for me losing love of the game. Everything is so flat and bleak with the club it’s just tiring. I’m tired. I’m frustrated. I’m apethetic and lost with the club. My only slight consolation is this forum and having those with similar feelings. I hope that one day we can have a revival but I think there is further falling and despair before that can happen. I will always support the club but from afar these days. When the green shoots arrive, I will return