Arsenal’s History is Glorious, But We Can Never Go Back
The old maxim “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat,” attributed to George Santayana was originally, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Why this brief history lesson on this quote? Because it seems that whenever things go wrong at Arsenal the ardent old-timers who hate where the game is today remind of us of our history and claim that if we could just go back it would be alright, that all the problems of today would just *poof* go away.
Now, let’s establish something – our history is important, it establishes a foundation for the club. It set’s a certain trajectory and expectation. However, as with all things, living in the past can’t move you with the times, it can only hold you back.
“Should Have Never Moved From Highbury”
The above subhead, was a quote I read on twitter yesterday. The quote continued to say we would still have big players and be one of the best clubs in Europe. However, it ignores the evolution that football has taken in the time since Highbury’s heyday and since it closed.
The quote naturally assumed that players wouldn’t be asking for any more money or other clubs would just sit still and all live in a bygone era. It ignores the influx of big money from all corners and its impact on the game.
No, the error of moving to the Emirates was not in moving to the Emirates itself, it was without a doubt not being transparent with the supporters about what the move would likely mean. The error was not in moving away from our historical home. Sad as it may be, the move was necessary in order to grow the club over time. But the club did fail it never clearly articulated what we should expect, it fed us a story but without context. Had there been context and an idea of what the following years would be like, there might be some acceptance of the steps that were taken to get us to this point.
The Badge Should’ve Never Changed
This is another one we see bandied about. There was a lot of blowback when Arsenal decided to update its badge to allow it issue a copyright and trademark to the crest. The previous badge was a conglomeration of components that the club could not copyright. Therefore they could not protect themselves from someone profiting off their image without their say so or any type of enumeration.
Now say what you will about the “money grubbing” nature of the club but every organization has the right to control its brand. If anyone wants to use the components that make up their brand they should a.) seek permission and b.) offer compensation for said usage.
But with the what we shall call the VCC badge they could not do that. They can’t even do it with the Art Decco A-football-C logo. What were Arsenal to do?
The opted on the unpopular decision to change the badge. Again, the biggest crime at some level seems to be some of the communication regarding the change especially about the latin Victoria Concordia Crescit.
The way that was handled was deplorable and the fact someone thought to call it inconsequential (I’m paraphrasing) was crass and stupid. It made the whole change even worse.
However, the club was looking to move into a new era, the board led by some of its more visionary members saw the forthcoming change in football and was looking to maintain a level of self-control and changing things like the badge and the stadium were their steps to address the tsunami that was coming.
Can you please lower the ticket prices?
Those of us old enough to remember, can look back on times when football was a family affair. When the price of a day at Highbury wouldn’t set you back a month’s wages. We can remember a time when football was affordable.
It is a crime that football and sport in general has become such a money driven entity. And while Arsenal still currently hold the dubious title of highest ticket price in Europe, it won’t be long before it’s joined or even surpassed.
Football is becoming more expensive on all sides. From player and manager salaries to tickets and operating costs running a football club is now a multi-billion pound affair. Yes, some clubs can keep prices low. Manchester City and Chelsea can do it on the wallets of their benefactors. They don’t need match day receipts to operate their club. Manchester United while heavily laden with debt is still miles ahead of everyone in its commercial endeavors than anyone in England.
Remove those benefits and tell me how they would be able to sustain a competitive club without them? They wouldn’t unless they went with higher ticket prices. Liverpool and Tottenham are about to embark on stadia improvements and development. Once those are complete it will be interesting to see how high the prices are.
The fact is the growth of football and the greed in all corners is a pandora’s box that cannot be closed. It is something that was dealt with in the US in the 90’s when all teams in all leagues built new stadia. For me my Flyer’s (NHL) season tickets on the ice in the curve of the rink became non-existent when the team moved the Spectrum to the Bank (called thus due to the many different banks that have owned naming rights on it). Not only was the season ticket price too high but the seating license we were asked to pay was an additional chunk of change that put me out of the running.
The fact is sport is now a big a business. We cannot go back. While Arsenal seem to be emblematic of the problem it won’t be long before other clubs are right there with us. But what about Italy, Germany and Spain ticket prices you ask? They won’t be impervious. Every club in Europe will sooner rather than later start trying to get water from a rock any way they can. Ticket prices will go up across Europe.
History Has It’s Place
One of the reasons we hold on to the history of the club especially certain elements is because those elements make up the time when we came in to contact with the club. We go back to the memories of our first match or the more memorable moments. It’s inextricably linked into our mind and our attachment to the club.
Our history reminds us of who we are. Arsenal are always a club that have led the evolution in football. Be it Chapman or Wenger, a lot of what changes football, has started here at Arsenal.
What history shouldn’t be is a weapon for one supporter to bludgeon another with. There hasn’t been a blog or outlet that has talked about “the definition of a supporter.” Because you happened to see Arsenal back in the 70s or 80s doesn’t make you any more important than someone who may have discovered the club in the 90s or 2000’s. Just like spending money on tickets doesn’t give your voice greater credence than those who can’t get to a match every so often in their lifetime (especially since what some of those people spend just to get to one match is on par with what some spend in a year to go to multiple matches)
Every time I see someone bleat on about our history they seem to lose the context of it’s importance. I am always reminded of Michael Douglas’ line from The American President as the most appropriate response to people like that:
“You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character. And wave an old photo of the President’s girlfriend and you scream about patriotism and you tell them, she’s to blame for their lot in life, and you go on television and you call her a whore.”
It wouldn’t take much altering to that to fit how some attack others with the club’s past. Our past is our past. It makes us who we are and we should be proud of it. However, we can never go back. The club isn’t able to and more importantly football isn’t able to. Let’s remember our history as the impetus to drive us forward.
And for the record, I’d love to see Victoria Concordia Crescit back in our badge, but I know it will never happen.
