How I miss the late 90s/early 2000s!
by Jonbo
I love watching football at any point in time. Even if it isn’t Arsenal. It’s great watching other clubs, other styles of football, and who doesn’t love two or three games a day during international tournaments, even if your country isn’t represented!
However, for me, nothing compares to the late 90s/early 2000s. Not just because Arsenal were playing successful competitive football, and we had the huge Arsenal vs Man Utd games, but the game felt different back then. Those were simpler times.
There was no Twitter, where people go into an absolute meltdown after EVERY game…even when you win! It’s amazing how many negatives can be found after a victory. No online abuse, or racial slurs aimed at a player or fan after a game, or even before a game. It’s not to say unsavoury things were not shouted from the stands before the birth of online opinion, but at least it was more or less contained to a match day.
Back then, not EVERYTHING was politicised as it is now. No doubt we all have different opinions on such things as BLM (Black Lives Matter), but we should not be having players taking the knee before every game, almost like a pledge of allegiance for what is clearly a political organisation. Even if one disagrees on the political side of it, no one can deny how violent and destructive BLM are. Players should not be forced/shamed into supporting such things. It should be a personal choice.
Then we get onto the vaccines. I did not want to get into this subject, as it opens a HUGE can of worms (I apologise Admin), but it would be impossible to write this article without touching on the most emotive, and divisive subject of our times. Similar to the BLM issue, but far more intense, we now see public shaming at an inhuman level for those who have not taken the shot, or four, as it is the case in some countries now. A player’s likability can now be interlinked to their medical procedures, which legally, should be private by the way! Again, this should be a personal choice.
In the old days, it seemed far easier to have a difference of opinion. Now those days are gone! Just look at the Wenger IN/OUT debate, which raged for years. I love a difference of opinion, it makes life interesting, but that one got nasty. I saw Arsenal fans fighting amongst themselves at games, and even spitting at each other. Whatever happened to civil discourse?
Too much money has also had a negative effect on the game. Players getting paid insane amounts, and clubs essentially buying trophy success, whilst also lobbying with the likes of UEFA and the Premier League for preferential treatment. We, as fans, now often judge a player on their pay packet above anything else.
I also feel with all these apps, 24 hour news, online influencers, that we’ve become overly saturated with football. Too much of a good thing can be bad.
I miss the days when a football match was what it said on the tin – a game of football. Where we discussed football and that was it. There is not really an overall point to my article, other than I miss the old days. I feel the turn of the century had just about the right balance of everything we enjoy about football, but now it’s morphed into this politically correct, business enterprise… like everything else I guess.
Jonbo
Nice article
You miss less political times, yet go on a rant about politics.
I’m all for a bit of nostalgia, but your disdain for an organisation that promotes equality is startling and bewildering. How was this article published?
You’ve scored a worldie of an own goal here, justarsenal.
I disagree, it is an opinion of an Arsenal fan. If you want to reply then send me your opinion. It is just as valid.
They “promote it” on face value yes james but can you provide an example of them actually practicing equality? One example of them spending any of the hundreds of millions of dollars donated to actually help black communities? Other than patrisse cullors (a BLM founder who has nowsevered ties) buying 4 luxurious house in predominantly white neighbourhood’s I cant find a single thing they have spent money on.
Even amazon has suspended them from there charity list because they wont disclose where 60 million dollars in donations went. Total sham.
@James
Your opening line makes no sense? You’re implying that if someone doesn’t like something, that means they cannot talk about it? And politics was just a small part of my article, which was hardly a rant. I was more talking out loud I guess.
In regards to equality, I am all for that, and in spades! Equal opportunity should be something we all strive for, but that’s just one aspect of BLM.
They are anti capitalists and anti white (meaning racist), yet take millions off white capitalists. They want equity (equality of outcome, which is a terrible social idea). They are violent, destroy public and private property, and hate any opinions that differ from their own. They are openly fascist, and with ANTIFA, go shut down speech a lot at college level in America. And huge question marks over their accounts, which I don’t think have been made public yet, although I could be wrong on that.
My overall point is that if you want to support something like, then that is up to you. I wouldn’t recommend it, but I believe in freedom of choice, and speech, etc. What I do not believe in is forcing people to support an organisation, political party, religion, etc, and then shaming them when if they dare to refuse.
You might be setting up a bit of a straw man here. Jonbo. While I understand that kneeling began at around same time as the BLM protests, to my memory it was never promoted as a BLM symbol but aligned to the Kick it Out campaign and more recently linked to discrimination of any sort. Perhaps football authorities could have done a better job in communicating the intent – to be honest I can’t remember that far back…
While I appreciate you may see it different, to me it’s a simple statement that racism, anti-semitism, Islamophobia, misogyny and discrimination in all its forms should have no place in football – which sadly it still does as football reflects society.
Colin Kaepernick first took the knee as a peaceful protest against police brutality and racial inequality. His high profile opponents twisted that into accusations that he was, among other things, anti-American, anti-democratic and denigrating veterans. It would be a shame if the same thing happened in this country.
I asked myself the same question”how was it allowed to be posted?”I know PAT said it was a fan opinion, that’s not the problem but the fact he didn’t stick to football and went on a political rant is though!I personally do not care or wants to know about his political views,am I the only one??
I did actually consider this article before posting, especially anyone’s views on Covid have caused arguments in the past, but as the writer was pointing out the differences between the 90s and now, then i didn’t feel right censoring his thoughts…
Valid explanation!
Those were the days! What I would give to re-live just one of those games!
No I don’t miss the “old”days. My old days are the 60’s and 70’s and they were cr#p compared to the 2020’s which are luxurious and enlightened compared to the much poorer 90
‘S when prejudice and ignorance were rife. Interactive online discussion is great. Why are you using social media if you don’t like social media? Vaccinations saved the health system saving thousand of lives and preventing a complete breakdown in society. Football stadiums and pitches were garbage till the 2000’s. The football was usually garbage until the European and Africans brought flair and skill to the mostly clumsy white English game (Arsene Wengers words).It really is bizarre that some fans still yearn for the days of racism sexism homophobia anti Semitism fans smoking urinating and fighting on the terraces while hoof ball was the order of the day on the field . Good old days my foot.
FF, MAYBE A TOUCH OVERSTATED IN PARTS,BUT ESSENTIALLY ALMOST THE PLAIN TRUTH . WELL SAID!
Cool stuff there Johnbo.
Sadly not just in football, but basically in anything, everywhere under the sun.
There’s this meme –
“30+ years ago, the owner’s manual of a car showed you how to adjust the valves. Today it warns you not to drink the contents of the battery.”
– joke or not, it literally tells you just about the crazy generation we’re in, what the world is, and where it’s heading. A world where everyone claims to know/have it all, with so much tech and info at our disposal, yet clouded in some very high degree of cluelessness, gullibility, half-baked journalism, selfishness, corruption, religious/political trash, etc.
Worse off, it’s all what’s celebrated.
@do2
I bought a pack of smoked salmon the other day, and I cannot remember the exact wording on the package, but it was either “this product may contain fish” or “this product contains fish”. Unbelievable!
Yep I agree with everything you’ve said. Chuck in men now competing in women’s sport, and those in charge saying the males have no physical advantage. Says it all!
Haha. It’s crazy, at least to some of us, honestly.
Reminiscing about our glorious past is great for our indulgence, but not really helpful for our future. That was the time when the competition was much easier for Man United and Arsenal, before the highly ambitious billionaires came to invest in 100+ M players
EPL is way more competitive now, with VAR and other technological advancement. Gone are the days of Fergie time, Calciopoli and other hanky-panky stuff, that were difficult to catch with the old system and technology
Arsenal and their fans can choose whether they want to be dinosaurs or keep moving forward
I don’t know who chose it but the picture is just about my worst memory of the “Invincibles” season, when Mr Keown on his first and only start of the season nearly messed the whole thing up before it really got going
Surely there were better representations of a period where not only were we successful but great to watch
NOSTALGIA……for me it’s sitting at the bar with friends and watching Henry and co razzle dazzle…..good old days when everything was quality…..the idea that we could in the future be eating 3D printed meat..we will miss the good old days….
where does one even start when critiquing this passive aggressive political blather…no wonder you crave a “simpler” time
I understand where you are coming from but the good old days really depends on where you sit and what you look like. They weren’t so good for a lot of people.
I realize that there is a range of opinion on this subject (political action and such in sport) and that is fine – I really support these initiatives.
Now, I am sure that we can agree on really strong teams playing heated and skilled matches for trophies is a great thing!
Good article, in one way, about the old days.
Personally, I long, (though uselessly) for a return to the days before cheating divers took over the game and wrestling at all freekicks near goal and corners too, which disfigure the modern game.
I long for the days when fans asked refs where their specs were but refrained from openly and slanderously calling them “cheats”.
SHAME THOUGH THAT YOU CHOSE TO PUT YOUR OWN RATHER LEFTFIELD POLITICAL VIEWS ON IT THOUGH, WHILE ASKING FOR “CIVIL DISCOURSE”! You surely must have known that those odd and, mercifully, minority views of yours would incite passionate rebuttals on JA?
To be clear, I do and always have believed that we are all entitled to our own views on life matters being heard.
BUT, when you are argue for a return to the days before social media and outspoken opinions, BUT THEN CHOOSE to do precisely what you are arguing against, you lose my support. You cannot have it both ways!
Either accept life has moved on and that we are now more easily heard through social media OR cease arguing against it, while AT THE SAME TIME putting your own, IMO rather odd and daft social views out there for all to read.
One OR the other but NOT BOTH.
To what leftfield political views are you referring to?
In regards to BLM, all I said is that people should not be forced/shamed into supporting violent, racist, fascist organisation. Not sure about yourself, but I am proud to say I am against violence, racism and fascism…are you not?
I am happy to change. If you can prove to me that BLM are not violent, do not destroy public and private property, do not intimidate students, professors, politicians, members of the public who’s opinions are different, are not racist, are not fascist, do not call for the murder of police officers, then accept I got it wrong.
Also, if you could show me how they have distributed the hundreds of millions they have received in donations, to help the oppressed people/communities, they are supposedly fighting for, that would be great!
I should prefix this with I am pro vaccine for those who need it, and I have that exact approach to ALL medicines and medical procedures. It’s called risk/benefit analysis. In regards to vaccines, and I can talk with some authority on this as I have spent years working in health. I can see a case for vaccine mandates in an absolute extreme situation, but the criteria for that has not been met. Not even close!
Especially now that countries are starting to release official governmental statistics of total deaths, and Covid deaths from the last two years. We can now see how much governments are the media have been lying about the numbers.
Individualised care is the only way of getting the best health outcomes for the individual, not the one size fits all vaccinate everyone approach which has been used, and to huge detriment to healthy people who were not even at risk from the virus. To ignore individualised care is not even allowed anymore when putting together a care plan for an individual.
And one CAN have it both ways! I don’t mind social media, online debate, my point was that civil discourse is dead. Why cannot we debate topical issues without all the vile, aggressive words thrown at each other? Why cannot people change their opinion when faced with factual evidence which refutes their arguments?
See, I think so far we have shown to others that although we clearly disagree on certain topics, we can be civil. These are the days I miss!!
Jonbo, at least you had the decency to remove just enough of your sheep’s clothing so that you could no longer hide behind your supposed “best” of intentions…being just smart enough to be dangerous is a dime a dozen side gig in the new world order, so save me your cherry-picked assessments of both mandated vaccinations and the supposed one-sided covid-related media manipulation, not to mention your highly divisive and rather callous description of a social justice movement that deserves to be defined by more than it’s most radical edges…good day kind sir
I hear people say the 60s were great, I hear people say the 70s
For me i grew up in the 70s and 80s as a young person
No mobiles and only red phone boxes to call , no cctv, no mobile phone cameras. Cars you could fix your self and free milk at school
Phone books and yellow pages to find names and places and I loved those days.
What I don’t miss as a person of colour is going to grounds where racial abuse was dished out like it was the norm
Even standing at the back of the North Bank taking abuse at times from ignorant people
Things have moved on in society for the better in term’s of that and if taking the knee helps in more awareness for racial equality or sexual equality ect then I am all for it.
Life is always better when you are winning things and we won a heck in those glory decade and I do keep my fingers crossed that I may sample a fraction of that success again before I close my eyes permanently
Onwards and upwards