‘Plastic Fan’ is something we hear frequently nowadays when it comes to the world of football.
The term has a multitude of meanings and is often used to represent a diverse set of people. Commonly, plastic fans are fans who are not very loyal towards a particular club or a national team, and loyalty is considered to be the highest virtue among football lovers all over the world.
A plastic fan is a football fan who either watches football seasonally, especially during the World Cup, UEFA Euros or Copa America when it comes to the perspective of Bangladesh, or is a supporter of more than one club, usually for a player– like many people support both Real Madrid and Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Again, as per social media definitions, a plastic fan can be a violent supporter of a particular club because of a single player and can be more concerned with the form of that player than the club; for instance, many used to support Barcelona for Lionel Messi solely.
Plastic fans are despised in the football communities of Bangladesh. They are generally regarded as ‘glory hunters’ and people who have less knowledge about the aspects of the game.
Regular followers of the game usually have a pretty condescending attitude towards the game.
Talking to the writer, Fahim Priyo, a die-hard fan of Brazil National Football Team and Real Madrid CF indicated some problems with plastic fans.
"It is okay for people to watch and enjoy the game occasionally. What really bothers me the most is their attitude. They would say Neymar is a bad player just because of the fact that he plays for Brazil. Football fans like us, who spend a huge chunk of our time watching and analysing the game, find it pretty hard to swallow."
Although the attitude towards plastic fans is changing nowadays as more and more football fans are accepting that, for many people, football might just be a way to pass their time and it is completely fine.
Shehab Shahriar, a huge fan of FC Barcelona told the writer in this regard, "I personally think the term plastic fan is extremely offensive. Football is a form of entertainment and I believe everyone consumes it differently which is totally okay.”
“As a die-hard fan of football myself, I also think the term plastic fans shows the toxic ego of elitist fans and they should know that following football irregularly doesn't make someone less of a fan," remarked Shehab.
The sentiment against plastic fans is more pronounced in Facebook football groups of Bangladesh, where not knowing tidbits of football often results in extreme bullying and harassment. Many people leave those groups for such harassment, many become inactive and less prone to participate in arguments.
Iftekharul Islam proudly calls himself a plastic fan and was kicked out of a major football group in Bangladesh.
"I was in one of the biggest football groups of Bangladesh. Once, there was an opinion poll about who is a better keeper among Alisson and Oblak. I voted for Alisson and also commented the same. I have no shame in admitting that I didn’t know the name of Oblak that time.”
What followed was nothing short of harassment as Iftekhar continues, “After that, many people were bullying me and I told them I just normally watch football during the World Cup. And the admin said that they cannot keep a plastic fan like me in their group."
"This is not a big issue for me as I find football during the World Cup quite fun because of the festivity associated with it. But I don't like football in general. Hence, I find the attitude of those so-called passionate fans quite toxic."
Mohammad Saiful Islam, another Real Madrid fan, calls for tolerance and flexibility.
“Be a loyal fan of a club or support several clubs, shout for a club for a player or love a player by loving a club–it’s all your choice and nobody should have a say in this.”
However, irregular fans should be respectful towards regular fans, he thinks, although those classifications are often vague and unnecessary.
“If you choose to watch football seasonally or support several clubs for entertainment purposes, simply don’t rush into any football-related arguments you find out there and don’t be salty when regular fans make fun of a club or a player.”
“At the end of the day, you are watching it for fun, so why take it personally?” he remarked.
The stigma regarding plastic fans is fading slowly. With more people being okay with these phenomena, football fandom is becoming more inclusive as time elapses.
