‘Arsenal/Diósgyőr Till I Die’

A Comparison of English and Hungarian Football Fan Culture Based

on Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch and Anthropological Fieldwork

Németh Máté

Subjects of the analysis

•Comparison of the football fan culture of England and Hungary in general, and the features of the supporters of Arsenal FC and Diósgyőri VTK based on Fever Pitch written by Nick Hornby and on own fieldwork done with fan groups of DVTK

•The examination of the identifying practices and culture-specific characteristics of the two groups

•Analysis of the effect of hooligans and ultras on the atmosphere surrounding football matches

Similarities between the two clubs• Social features of the district of Highbury and region of Miskolc• History and present form of the football teams• Social features and enthusiasm of

the supporters• Status inside their own country

Methods of the research•qualitative and quantitative academic research tehniques:

- Participant observation, structured and semi-structured interviews with supporters

Social movements:• „ultra” groups• ‚hooligan’ groups

England is the home of this subcultural movement

• The two movements cannot be separated in the case of Hungarian football supporters

General features of Arsenal and English supporters between 1968 and 1992• football hooliganism is

extremely popular

• they usually form groups and theseare called firms

• chant fan songs and show their scarves as an identifying practice

• they prefer punk music and wear leatherjackets

General features of DVTK and Hungarian supporters

• hooligan and ultra groups are not separated but clashes are not so common

• creating flags and hangings, planning choreographies are really popular

• fan groups usually call themselves brigades

• fan groups organize the jitter, supporters from other sectors follow them

Spatial situation insidethe stadiumsArsenalNorth Bank: covered terrace, no seatsEast Stand:no seatsmainly younger supporters, moredangerousClock End:usually away fans, who had frequentlybeen attacked by fans from East StandWest Stand:not seated

Spatial situation insidethe stadiumsDVTKA-J: ‘Sunny Side’ The most socially heterogeneous sectorTribune: elder season-ticket holdersX,Y,Z stands: Y used to be the sector of fan groupsU, V, W stands: sector of children and senior citizensN, O, P stands: sectors of away teamsK, L, M: former ‘Bosch sector’I, J, J1: new ‘Bosch sector’

Football hooliganismGolden years in England: 1970s and 1980s

Major catastrophes related to English fans:

–Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium in 1985

–Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, Great Britain in 1989

Hungarian football hooliganism:

–Biggest clashes from the early 1990s to 2004,2005

Famous attacks of Diósgyőr fans:

–FTC, 2011

–Újpest, 2012

Against modern football

• supporters think football has been commercialized and has lost its traditions

• the purpose of the safety measurements is just about making this game more profitable

• they think associations and authorities are against football supporters

Thank You for Your Attention!