“For us, there is no land beyond the Volga!” – Vasily Zaystsev
The above was uttered during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, and became a rallying cry for the desperate defenders of that city. Men and women who stood tall and fought to the last breath to defend their homes. They could have gone “Shoot! Let the Nazis have Stalingrad. We’ll just move on.” But that didn’t happen, and not only did they eventually turn that battle around, they reversed the direction of the entire war.
Ever since I was a little boy, the events of the Soviet Front of the war have had a particular fascination for me. Some argue that Soviet infrastructure was poor, which slowed down German offensives considerably, the Soviets simply kept throwing bodies at the Germans, and Hitler was a rather confused fellow whose insistence on controlling strategic decisions severely undermined the effectiveness of an otherwise superb war machine. What I gathered from numerous accounts of battles on both sides, is that beyond any of these issues, it took an unbelievably incredible spirit for the Soviets to win against all odds, against the most powerful military force in the world. That an army that steamrolled France spent weeks fighting to take a single Soviet outpost speaks volumes about that spirit. At Stalingrad, German troops joked about winning the living room, and still fighting for the kitchen. That, is my definition of commitment.
What, if anything, does this have to do with Arsenal, you may wonder.
We supporters have our backs to the wall, and it isn’t some foreign invader we’re fighting, it’s those who claim to be supporters like us but are actually doing all in their power to undermine and destroy our team that are the enemy. We are witnessing a replacement of supporter commitment by a feeling of entitlement. There is this growing attitude that it is only acceptable to have an atmosphere when we entertain Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, or the Spuds. That cheering the team on when the players are fighting to break down a 10-man Stoke defence has somehow become optional. That it is ok to boo our own players. And the standard response to anyone who points out that such an attitude is not only plain wrong, but goes against the fundamental requirements of being a supporter, is to wave a ticket stub in the air. As far as these morons are concerned, paying to watch Arsenal is the same as buying a ticket to see a movie.
It doesn’t help that this attitude is fed by the lazy and indolent press. Each season, I wearily steel myself for another round of “Arsenal to fall out of Top 4!” and “Wenger must splash cash!” and “Honda F.C. to sign Fabregas!” headlines. That these stories are concocted with absolutely no regard for their veracity or truth simply escapes Doom Mongers or Mongs, and their negativity is amplified. I once told a friend that if Arsenal win the League and Champions League, the summer headlines would still say “Arsenal to drop out of Top 4!”
As far as the Mongs are concerned, Arsene Wenger has lost it, all his players are lightweight, and Arsenal need to sign X or Y player and get rid of Wenger. For the Mongs, if Arsenal wins a game, it’s because the opponents were, quite frankly, shit. If Arsenal lose, it’s because Arsenal’s players are shit. If Arsenal grind out a win, we gave away too many chances, and a better team would have hammered us. If we canter to a win, it’s because we played against crap defenders and a better team would have stifled us. Also, as far as the Mongs are concerned, anyone who doesn’t see things their way is not being realistic, or has his head too far up Arsene Wenger’s bottom to recognise the truth.
The day before our match at Anfield, a blog called “Arsenal Truth” had a post stating that Arsenal would lose, and the author went so far as to say he wasn’t interested in being a “good little supporter”. Now, the funny thing about that site is this: there is a little warning about the bottom of each post stating that you either respect the views of the site and respond in a “civilised” manner, or your IP will be banned and you will be prevented from ever accessing the site again. I had gone on there several times in the past, and read some amazingly negative views about the team, even for games we won, and it required all my restraint not to respond in a decidedly uncivilised manner, but, after reading this guy’s infantile ranting before the Liverpool game, I decided I’d had enough, wrote in and begged him to ban my IP. To my great amusement, he duly obliged.
I won’t sit here and say that I’ve never been angry at a loss, or that I’ve never felt really pissed off at a performance. In fact, that run of lousy performances early last season almost destroyed me. But I was eventually able to put things in perspective, because I reasoned that if you experienced only bright, hot sunlight every day of the year, the odds are pretty good that you’re living in some forsaken desert.
My first Arsenal game was the 1995 Cup Winners’ Cup Final, and just about everyone can remember how that ended. Since then, I have seen a league title delivered in a manner never to be forgotten by history. I have seen two FA Cup Finals which have been seared into my memory. I have witnessed Arsenal playing football which made a Real Madrid supporter gush that the surest way to make anyone love football was to show them an Arsenal game. I have seen great players come and go, but Arsenal still stands. I have seen a new stadium built in a manner so totally fuss-free that the English FA must have been humiliated by any comparism with their comically inept handling of the Wembley project.
I have had my share of what ifs, why nots, and what the fuck was thats. I have seen that my manager does make his share of mistakes, but I have screamed at my computer enough times while playing Football Manager to know the job is beyond difficult. And, in life, you can’t click “Save” before every game.
Supporting Arsenal is not a chore, a task, or an assignment given to you by a difficult and hateful boss. Supporting Arsenal is a choice, and if you’re not ready for all that choice entails, I suggest you stay out of the damn kitchen!
Arsenal is my Stalingrad, and I’m not going anywhere.
Welcome to Pavlov’s House.
The Law
