I'm not a Cronulla fan or anything, just browsing through and I didn't read the other posts so sorry if I repeat something already said, but I'll never understand why people think that criticising a team means you do not support it.
It's simple really, for a player, rugby league is a game. They get paid to do it. Obviously most players are very passionate about their work, and it means more to them then just a job. But there are plenty of other professions in which people are very passionate about their work and it means more than just a job. (How do you compare the thrill of winning a grand final to giving a child the gift of being able to read and write?) So while it may mean more than just a pay check it is still a job.
So unlike a player who gets a return from their club and their game, a fan makes an investment in football. They invest their money, quite a bit of it in fact, to support a team. They invest their time, quite a bit of it in fact, to support a team. And they invest their passion in the team.
So while a player recieves a return from each game whether she or he wins or loses, a fan, who has made an investment as a supporter does not.
So given that the fan is investing something as a supporter, while the player is just doing their job, shouldn't the fan be able to criticise the players?
But, I hear people say, the player is doing their job for the benefit of the fan, they're job entertains the fan, why should the fan be upset?
Well let's go back to the teacher comparison. The teacher like the player is doing their job for the benefit of someone else. (The teacher for the student, the player for the fan) Just because they're working for someone elses benefit doesn't mean they should be free from criticism. Teachers work their backsides off for their students but if they aren't working up to standard the teacher is going to be criticised. The player works their backside off for their fans but if they aren't performing they're going to be criticised.
Of course any criticism levelled at players or a club or administration needs to be constructive or justified, other wise there's no point. And it needs to be matched by the proper support when the player or club or administration does things well (Sharks fans have shown they're capable of this by the very healthy home crowd average the Sharks achieved this year)
And of course, this doesn't mean you're only happy when the side wins, and you get angry when it loses. Being a fan is about more than winning and losing. But when a fan makes an investment as a supporter of a club, they expect that the club will reward that investment with a performance that makes them proud. That can easily be achieved even during a flogging, if when the last hit ups of the game is made that players are still running hard and trying their best.
But if a club or player or whatever just drops its bundle for no reason, or doesn't seem to be trying as hard, or something similar, why can't a fan make a constructive criticism. They're the ones making the investment, not the other way around.
