Has the enjoyment gone

Maybe one way to get some of the excitement back could be that, everyone on here and your mates e.t.c arranges at the start of every season a couple of non high profile games are selected away from home where every bugger goes, has a good alcohol fuelled day of it and surprise the premier league wigan haters, Games like Fulham and Sunderland, Pack the away ends out. Just a thought like, Problem is getting it promoted and people interested.

……………and skilly, kick out can,murps,matchbox rugby, taplatch and bulldog. ;)

James,

Not being funny now, but you are only about 21 years of age, which means you were born in about 1989. ( I remember you saying how old you are.)

That means that you were only 10 when we left Springfield. Do you really remember that much from back then? I doubt it, to be honest. I bet you can’t remember that much from the ‘Three Amigo’s’ days.

You are part of the generation that has been ‘spoilt’ by our success. You probably also buy into the theory that the Premiership is the ‘best league in the world’, when it isn’t even the best league in Europe. Truly, it is badly overrated, and each season we have spent in it, the quality has declined.
Through no fault of your own, you won’t recall the Swain days, and before that our relegation to the bottom tier. But when you live through those bad times, only can you actually start to appreciate what we have done in the past 10 years. And I DO appreciate what we have achieved, but I still feel that it would be better off if we went down now.

Why? Because I’m bored sick of us winning only a handful of games in a season, getting battered several times a season, heavily, and most of all, the fact that we hardly score any goals. (19 at home all last season)
I’m also tired of the media slating us, and the scant dis-respect shown to us.

Whatever, I think this might be the season we go down.

Its a difficult one this coz I guess as someone who still considers himself a Latics fan but doesn’t go to anymore than a handful of games a season there are reasons behind this

I’ve followed Latics since 1987 & was there when we got relegated to the 4th division & there (when I wasn’t at Uni) during the Swain season when I thought that a) we were going bust & b) we were probably gonna get relegated to the Conference. It didn’t matter back then that we were awful & we got some regular kickings (ones from Shrewsbury & Torquay at home stick in my mind) I still enjoyed it & my weekends revolved around travelling to, watching & coming home from the games and I looked forward to it even though I expected us to get beat most weeks

This enjoyment & dedication on my part continued all through the leagues when expectations were higher & we were in our new ground.

Did I enjoy it as much towards the back end of my season ticket days & do I enjoy it as much on the rare occasions I get to a game these days? No.
Why? Probably a few reasons: 1) changing circumstances such as getting married & having kids means my priorities shifted. Combined with mates who were going through the same thing or who started to have work committments which affected their ability to get to games it meant the whole matchday experience became less fun & less & less of the focal point of the week 2) the premier league itself – I don’t mind Latics getting beat, I’ve got used to it over the years & my passion for the team didn’t diminish but even in that 2nd season back down in the 4th division when I thought we were doomed you always had the hope that you’d be able to achieve somet & the club was always striving to achieve more. Now, along with probably 8-10 other teams our sole ambition is to stay up & that’s it. It means most teams come to stifle the game & hope to nick somet & it makes for some dull stuff at times 3) the nature of the lower leagues – I only started to watch Latics in the year the play offs were introduced so have no experience of life in the lower leagues without them but (IMO) they’ve made virtually every game in those divisions meaningful. I can only remember 3 or 4 seasons in the last 24 where we haven’t had some chance of making the play offs with 6 or so weeks to spare. Even in our first season back up in the 3rd division with John Deehan in charge where it was a struggle at times going in to an away game at bristol Rovers at easter we still had a mathematical shout of getting in to the play offs 4) I’ll be completely honest & say (as i said at the time) that I found the whole situation around January 2009 a real kick in the guts. We had a good side & looked like we could really kick on & make an attempt at that next level. I understand that Latics will always need to sell to survive in this league but I couldn’t (and still can’t) see the logic of stripping that side when they did & I found Whelan’s comments “we’re safe now so its job done & time to rebuild for next season” as I say a real kick in the guts. It meant that any ambition (however unrealistic) I had of Latics pushing on in this division was gone forever (as long as Whelan remains in charge) & for the first time since i started watching football in the very early 80’s the team i supported was saying “we no longer have any ambition other than staying where we are” & it doesn’t feel right. It also means that for all of Bobby’s regular talk about wanting to get us to the next level & look towards Europe its all a load of rubbish coz we all know that as soon as he has assembled a half decent side & we’re pushing on (in his dreams!!) that anyone half decent will be sold mid-season as long as we’re safe & then the rebuilding process will have to start again

Well that’s all rather long winded but a short answer to the original question would be – Yes it has, for me & for a variety of reasons anyway. I am however (& always will be) Latics & I don’t want to see us get relegated from whatever division we’re in at the time