Hi, everyone.
I'm a student in Shanghai, China. Because of Gerrard, Owen and profound history, Liverpool for me is undoubtedly a great club. Nice to be here.
At present I'm working on a research related to Liverpool, and there is a series of questions I would like to ask.
Is there any political reason that Liverpool man hates Everton, MU and the northern team like Sunderland, Newcastle and Middlesborough(not sure about this)?
Football generally in the UK as a whole ( including Scotland) is a highly tribal affair, to an extent your football team is your clan. Which teams are in competition with which other clans historically is a deeper question. Liverpool vs Everton, that's simply because both teams play in the same city a stones throw away from each other, entire families in Liverpool can be split down the middle, some blue some red etc... it is purely local bragging rights and pride.
Liverpool vs Man U is down to both the cities being northern industrial powerhouses and history associated with that ranging from the ship canal to generally wanting your team to be the best in the region let alone the country. The fact that both teams have considerably better records than the others across the country means it is very much a bragging rights affair.
Similar patterns apply elsewhere, Newcastle vs Sunderland for example, although Middlesbrough in the North of Yorkshire also get involved in local (ish) rivalry.
Other good rivalries...
Rangers vs Celtic ( religious and political warfare)
West Brom vs Villa, they can't stand each other.
Villa with Birmingham really don't get on
Wolves and Stoke, Wolves with West Brom...
It is tribal.
Big London rivalries, the biggest rivalry down there is Arsenal vs Spurs but there are lots of teams in London and many of them do not like each other.
It is a strange thing but it still applies for many fans, very very few people would have a "second" team and it is almost unheard of for a fan to change allegiance.... once you have your team that is your team for life. I don't understand the social science behind it at all, why is it not always a friendly thing and just fun etc... primarily because football never really used to be a family occasion, it was a game watched and played by men and men often fight for the pride of being the best I suppose.
It is not always a simple thing, and it can change due to occurrences and even though it is a wider tribal thing it can also be affected personally held nuance, such as I personally cannot stand Leeds, the area, the city, the fans etc but one thing I do appreciate about them is that they also really hate Mancs... maybe one day they will return to the top flight.
I am sure there have been lots and lots of books written by more highly educated eloquent people than myself, it is tribal. Now the watching has spread worldwide you seem some distinctly weird stuff online, the other day I was watching some Emirati fan channel watching us beat Roma at home and there the chap was cheering for a Liverpool goal wearing a Man U shirt.... he clearly doesn't actually understand the tribal aspect of the game... strange...
