Football is an extremely popular sport. Without any discounts, it can be called the most popular in the world - thousands of clubs, millions of players (fans write it there) and billions of fans around the world. A fan, as the name implies, is one who is "sick of the soul", worries about the successes and failures of one or more teams, as well as individual players. Whether he watches matches on TV or goes to the stadium is not so important. We can say that football is one of his hobbies, a hobby that helps to relieve excess emotional stress, explaining in detail to the players and referees who they are and from whom they came from.
Special subspecies
But in the heterogeneous environment of football fans, there is a special kind called football fans . Despite the fact that they seem to an ignorant person similar to each other, like tin soldiers, there is a division within the fan movement, which shows that not every fan is a frostbitten brawler with a naked torso and a scarf around his neck.
Scarpers and Ultras
These two areas are united by active participation in home and away matches, relative safety for others. The following separates them. Scarpers (the name comes from the word "scarf") focus on attributes, in particular a club scarf. Actually, you can see a scarf without a scarf only in the shower or in bed. They are also tied to club things and colors. They come to the stadium to shout, to sing, to drink spiritually - in general, to have a relaxed and fun time, to discharge emotionally.
Ultras are much more organized and active. These football fans hang huge banners at the stadium, carry and throw them on the field, meet teams from away matches with invented songs and songs. They never shut up, cheering their favorites on the field, no matter what score burns on the scoreboard. Another difference from scarfs is a calm attitude to club things. As a rule, they wear ordinary clothes, and even a club scarf is not a mandatory attribute.
As we can see, fans are not only fights and beer, but also culture.
Karlans and Hulsa
They are united by a sincere desire to properly fight. At the same time, Karlan is a sloppy dressed and almost always tipsy young guy who can be dangerous both for fans of another team and for any other fan. It may also go to passers-by. By and large, the Karlans are ordinary hooligans who use football matches and paraphernalia to give their actions at least some sense.
Hulses are completely different. As a rule, these are quite serious guys who are not only ready to start a fight, but also constantly train for this. They are most often combined into groups, which include “wall to wall” against the same huls, but from the camp of another team. For all others, they, with the exception of some cases, are not dangerous. Exceptions include police actions or aggression in their direction - then just hold on!
As we can see, fans are both fights and beer, but in very different ways.
A bit of history
Fights and violence have accompanied football since its inception. Massacres on the football field and beyond in England were the norm of things. But the movement itself, when fans of a football club united in groups (or, as they are called, "firms") refers to the sixties of the twentieth century. First, England, and then Italy, in addition to the army of loyal fans, received one more - youth gangs, the main hobby of which was not football itself, but the surrounding fun - alcohol and fights. Fans of the great football club and second-rate behavior and sobriety could hardly be distinguished.
A fan movement entered the Soviet Union much later, in the seventies. Since the idea itself was clearly “anti-Soviet,” any attempts by fans to imitate Western “hooligans” were harshly suppressed by the police. Most often, after the next action, the entire "team" ended up in the department. But the chicken by the grain ... and in 1977 the “Spartacus” marked the first small trip, the others followed them. In general, fans are like a feat, dissent for that time.
The situation changed radically with the advent of Mikhail Gorbachev to power. The "Iron Curtain" opened, and the "companies" began to be actively replenished with participants - trips of 250-300 people became commonplace. Massive and planned fights between fans became just as common.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in Russia, the fan movement was seriously developed in only two cities - St. Petersburg and Moscow. In other cities, fans are small groups in terms of the number of participants, who cannot be compared to fans from the two capitals.
The most "fanatical" clubs
Surprisingly, the most famous and powerful fan groups are not at all the grandees of world football. In the top of the “firms” there is neither “Real”, nor “Barcelona”, nor “Bavaria” with “Chelsea”. Fans of the great club, as it turned out, are not necessarily the coolest. By the way, the most powerful and organized “brigades” consist of fans of “Red Star”, Zagreb “Dynamo” and German “St. Pauli”. Of the Russian clubs, Yaroslavka supporting CSKA was among the best.
A little interesting "about the fan"
Like almost any subculture, the fan movement over the years of its existence has strongly “overgrown” with special slang, some of which have already gone to the people. Electric trains are “dogs”, instant noodles are “homeless packages” ... what do you think of the nickname of mounted police - “minotaur” !?
One of the hallmarks of some fan groups is white sneakers. This sometimes leads to rather unpleasant situations for fashionistas who put on such shoes out of a desire for a sweat or just out of ignorance.
Not only clubs have golden seasons. The fan is considered to be “golden” the year when he did not miss a single exit.