Good thread toshio... here's hoping it won't turn into another battlefield like the "real fan" thread.
My story goes like this:
It started back in 1998, the year of the World Cup in France. I've previously heard of World Cup 94 which was held in the USA, but I've never really paid any attention to it as football wasn't my main interest (more towards NBA back in primary school days).
WC98 showed me what football is all about. Dennis Bergkamp's magical goal vs Argentina completely bedazzled me, while Zizou's twin headers led France towards a historical victory over favourites Brazil. As one who has always supported underdogs, France was the team that caught my eye the most.
WC98 fever spread like wildfire in our secondary school. We started to take heed of football action, mainly the premier league as it was the most publicised sport in our region. I must admit that the first team that caught my eye was Aston Villa, reason being it had a cool name. Sounds pathetic, I know, but that's the way it is.
MU were the most hyped team back in the 98/99 season as they marched towards the treble. Almost all of my friends who started watching football became MU supporters, reason being it was the "best" team at that time. Not me though, as my penchant for underdogs pushed me towards the main challenger - Arsenal.
And they say, the rest is history.
Supporting a football club is not entirely about results, nor is it totally about the players. It's supporting what the team stands for, and what Arsenal stands for gradually became the main reason for my support.
First up, the ethics, the values, and the traditions. In this modern age, football has regressed from a noble sport into a industry tainted by money and fame. Ownership changed hands faster than the speed of light, as shareholders are willing to sacrifice their team's tradition for quick money. Not Arsenal. Our shareholders simply refused to budge when foreign investors came waving with their big bucks, only David Dein spoiled the gentleman's agreement by selling his shares. I'm pretty glad the board stood by their lockdown agreement and kept Arsenal the way it has always been.
The way the board acts also convinces me to support the club. Everyone in the board room supports Arsene with full trust, and he gets all the resources that he needs to build the team. Unlike teams such as Chelsea and Tottenham who sack their coaches just because their owners don't like them...
Speaking of which, kudos to the club for having the farsight of building our new Emirates stadium. With revenues pouring in at a much higher rate than Highbury, we can survive on our own financial capabilities instead of selling the club to foreign investors which would undoubtedly put the club into more debts.
For this reason alone, I am already impressed.
Another thing is the club's involvement in charity. Arsenal has been supportive of various charity organisations, such as
Childline and the most recent
Treehouse. It may not be a very prominent thing on the pitch, but having the players providing some joy into unfortunate children's lives is indeed heartwarming.
Arsene Wenger.
Without Arsene, we could not have become the Arsenal we were today. When le Prof came over, he brought revolutionary ideas to the club. Gone were the booze parties and crap food. Diets and nutrition along with effective training methods extended the careers of the old guard till their late 30s. He instilled discipline and work ethics into the team, as his methods slowly affected the entire English league. What's more important is Arsene's Midas touch who turned Boring Boring 1-0 to the Arsenal into Blitzkrieg Wengerball. From the early days of Anelka-Bergkamp-Overmars, to the Untouchables' Heny-Bergkamp-Ljungberg-Pires, and now the most recent Fabregas Show; Wengerball at its pinnacle is the most pleasing football you'll ever see.
Arsene's scouting prowess is second to none. He unearths young players like a rough diamond, and polish them into valuable stars for the future. Even for those who don't make it to the Arsenal first team,
Of course, Arsene's stubbornness sometimes makes things frustrating for fans especially when things are not going our way. But that's part and parcel of supporting Arsenal.
Thierry Henry.
There's no reason not to mention our greatest striker whenever we talk about Arsenal. Yes, I'm not only an Arsenal fan, I'm also a Thierry fan. Thierry's name has been synonymous with Arsenal's for the past 8 years that he has been with us. His skills on the pitch are already well known, but I do admire him for his character off the pitch. He never gets into trouble, never go to parties, and used his influence to organise Stand Up, Speak Up campaign to oppose racism in football.
He may have left us, but Thierry will always be the King of Highbury.
I admit that I have soft spots for teams such as Valencia and Sevilla, since they are / used to be challengers of the "big" teams in their respective leagues. Yet Arsenal will always be my team... There's no way to divide the love.
Jan 22 2008, 09:25 PM, updated 18y ago
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And everytime when they play, full of confidence, but was considered as a top10 team that time. So whenever I watch the game, I'll be very nervous.. 
That was before 1990.
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