| Something Positive about QPR 17:04 - Dec 22 with 8153 views | daveB |
As things are all a bit depressing on the pitch I thought it was worth pointing out something the club are doing rather well. Apologies for the length of this post, this is the cut down version, you can read a longer version in AKUTRS next week.
I’ll start with a bit of background, I’ve got a 7 year old son and trying to get him into QPR is not an easy thing when we’re crap most weeks.
When I was a kid seeing Clive Allen and Simon Stainrod smashing goals in as we roared to another easy win made me assume it was always going to be like this. Once I got hooked watching Bannister, Byrne and Fenwick it was too late to go anywhere else and by the time it all fell apart in the late 90’s I was already in my 20’s and signed up for life.
It’s a been a bit different for my son Freddie. His first game was a 1-0 home defeat against Newcastle as they won the league and we had Tamas Priskin up front, he’s seen us relegated twice, was bored senseless during most of the promotion campaign and the the last season and a half have hardly been exciting.
I’ve written before about my sons problem with loud noises which go back to him being born with a cleft lip and palate which in turn lead to problems with his hearing. It initially made going to games at QPR a real problem as loud noises affected him badly and made enjoying the game impossible for him. That kind of turned around a little in the 2013/14 season when he started to realise that the loud noise usually meant we’d scored a goal so was time to celebrate and he began to cheer and shout as loud as he could. We’ve been lucky in a way that QPR have been so bad in recent years that loud noises celebrating goals hasn’t really been a problem, he’s even managed a good sleep during some of the games.
His confidence has grown in recent years, last season we decided to sit in the front row for the last few minutes of the first half. I can’t remember which game it was but it was a pretty dull one and we were losing, I know that doesn’t narrow it down. Freddie decided to shout and get Rob Green’s attention. “Oi Greeno” he kept shouting and as the ball went out of play Rob Green very kindly turned and gave a thumbs up to Freddie who on cue shouted out “You’re rubbish Greeno” and the look on the poor keepers face almost made me feel sorry for him after I’d stopped laughing.
Now I know it is not a good thing for him to abuse our own players which I explained to him afterwards but his response of “But Dad everyone else is shouting it” was a difficult one to argue with.
The key thing you need to get a kid wanting to support QPR rather than just going because his Dad tells him to is to create heroes for them, players they can look upto and games they can remember forever. For me it was a 6-1 win over Middlesbrough in 1983 when my name appeared on the scoreboard wishing me a Happy Birthday and the team were fantastic. I had a 5-5 against Newcastle where I learnt to never give up the team and so many others.
He has had a a few heroes, he loved Charlie Austin until he inevitably left and despite the stick he gave Rob Green he was a big fan of his too for a while. His favourite now is Polter mainly due to his song being rude rather than him being any good so when there is so little to enjoy on the pitch it helps to have something off it to entice him.
Now he has turned seven and is playing for a football team himself it’s been obvious in recent months that being a QPR fan is not something he wants to admit. He’s not very subtle about it either refusing to wear a QPR shirt to football training as in his words “My friends will laugh at me” which lead me to buy him an England kit, trust me to buy him the kit of the one team who turned out to be even worse than QPR.
He’s spoken recently about wanting to support Man City when he’s older, partly to wind me up and partly as they are quite good so keeping him interested in QPR is no easy task at the moment. It’s not been made easier by the number of fixtures being changed, he started this season loving going to games but since September we’ve had just two Saturday games and he had to miss one of those. It’s hard enough getting him into QPR without the television companies ensuring he’s only seen one live football match in the last three months, and as things stand we only have six more Saturday 3pm games this season.
So I’ve looked for other ways to get him interested and this is where the club have been a massive help.
You may be aware of a Family Zone at Play Football which is run before home games, I’d heard of it last season but went for the first time before the Norwich game and was shocked at how good it was. It’s organised by the brilliant Community Trust and involves various football games, mini archery, table tennis and tons more.
Freddie had a whale of a time trying all the games and he got to meet Andy Sinton, which I was probably more excited about than he was. A current first team player usually attends, on the day we went it was Jake Bidwell. I don’t know what this costs the club, I doubt it’s very much but this small gesture of letting kids feel involved, meet their heroes and get active is a fantastic move by the club and really helps make the day feel special.
The club also run a holiday football school which does a bit of coaching and lets the kids basically play football all day. Freddie attended one in October which he enjoyed so we booked him in for one this week which was held at Loftus Road. Due to the cold weather they split the day into two parts for the kids, a few hours football in the afternoon and a few different games and activities in the lower loft bar. The kind of thing I expect most clubs offer but the people involved really do seem to go the extra mile.
When Freddie left home on the first day his head was down and he was worried people would laugh at him for wearing a QPR shirt, a few hours later he was back home singing Come on You R’s around the house and talking with enthusiasm about QPR players of the past wanting to know more about them.
The staff involved gave away goodies which had probably been hanging around for years collecting dust and if given to you or me would be met with complete indifference but to Freddie winning a 2012 boot bag for coming second in an archery competition was like winning the lottery.
He got to go on a tour of the stadium and came home excitedly telling me facts about the club he’s never been interested in before but was now buzzing about, although he did say the trophy room wasn’t quite as big as the one at Barcelona.
Yesterday the staff announced that they would pick three kids to attend the Junior R’s Christmas Party where they could meet several members of the first team. I arrived to pick him up as they announced this and I could see Freddie sat on the floor hands together praying that he would win this. He had a similar look of hope and despair that I had at the playoff final. He did manage to win a ticket and jumped in the air shouting get in there, and dancing around with his own version of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket
Today he attended the party with his Mum and what the club put on was sensational. The kids went on a scavenger hunt around the stadium with clues to a location and then they found the location a different player was waiting for them each time.
Sandro, Caulker, Washington, Shodipo, Ingram and Yenni were all there, all of them chatted with the kids, took photos and were brilliant ambassadors for the club. The kids also got presents as well as food and drink, honestly I just spoke to him on the phone and he couldn’t be happier or prouder to support QPR.
So when he goes back to school and his mates go on about seeing their team on TV and winning leagues Freddie can now say he not only gets to see games live but he supports a club who let him go behind the scenes into the dressing room and the dugout, he’s got to meet real footballers who are happy to chat to him and he supports a club that are doing all they can to make coming to QPR special.
Of course his mates may well see their club's win more trophies on television in the decades to come but they’ll never get such special memories and be allowed to get so close to their football club as Freddie and so many other young QPR fans are being allowed to at the moment.
At a time where there is much to be depressed about at QPR, it’s worth celebrating what QPR are getting very right at the moment in making it a place kids want to go to and be a club they want to support.
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| Something Positive about QPR on 17:39 - Dec 22 with 7225 views | Kensal_Ranger |
Brilliant, great read.
He didn't find a striker while he was there, did he? |  | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 17:41 - Dec 22 with 7218 views | daveB |
| Something Positive about QPR on 17:39 - Dec 22 by Kensal_Ranger |
Brilliant, great read.
He didn't find a striker while he was there, did he? |
No, he's still looking for one of those | | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 17:46 - Dec 22 with 7200 views | 2Thomas2Bowles |
Nice one. |  |
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| Something Positive about QPR on 18:05 - Dec 22 with 7147 views | PunteR |
Brilliant. Well done dave, you sound like a top dad as well.
Its not easy trying to get the kids to support QPR when all their mates support Chelsea, Arsenal, Man U etc. But its worth that extra bit of effort .
Well done QPR as well. |  |
| Occasional providers of half decent House music. |
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| Something Positive about QPR on 18:55 - Dec 22 with 7068 views | LongsufferingR |
Excellent read Dave. My little boy is 5 and is probably a bit young to go to games yet as I haven't managed to get him to watch more than 2 minutes of football yet. When he's ready to go, that Family Zone sounds like a must. He's got the new kit and wears it to football after school but he came home the other day and said that none of the other boys knew what team his shirt was, so I told him it's good to be a bit different and he should be proud to wear it.
Long struggle ahead to get him involved but sounds like you're having a great time with your boy, so long may that continue. |  | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 19:36 - Dec 22 with 7027 views | OldPedro |
My son is 9 and he loves Rangers. We live in Yorkshire, so we don't get to many home games but do try to get to the local away games. He gets lots of stick from his school friends and team mates (particularly when we lost to Huddersfield) but still wants a new kit every year for his birthday and always wears it to football training.
The thing that got him interested was going to a couple of home games during the last promotion season - whenever we go to a game, he always wants to be in his seat early to watch the players warm up. Hoping to get down for a home match next month and try out the Family Zone too. |  |
| Extra mature cheddar......a simple cheese for a simple man |
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| Something Positive about QPR on 19:42 - Dec 22 with 7001 views | danehoop |
daveB,
that was a lovely post and reminded me just how well the club looked after us when I took autistic Danehoop Junior to his first few games. The family zone is really good as is the whole set up for the kids. Will try to my son along again this year now as you just reminded me how special the whole experience can be. |  |
| Never knowingly understood |
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| Something Positive about QPR on 20:19 - Dec 22 with 6952 views | Dorse |
Brilliant read Dave. |  |
| 'What do we want? We don't know! When do we want it? Now!' |
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| Something Positive about QPR on 20:27 - Dec 22 with 6923 views | Hunterhoop |
Great post, Dave. Thanks for sharing.
Evil Les! How dare bring his old mates like Sinton to the club who care about QPR. How dare he focus heavily on an ethos and code of conduct for the playing staff, which sees first team players in a children's fun day.
I'm a grown man and we've lost again and all I care about is the here and now results wise. To hell with this nonsense. What we need is a Big Sam/ 'Arry type who do a few deals and not worry about the long term future of the club or retaining QPR's old entity as a genuine community club.
*sarcasm klaxon* for some
*take a joke klaxon* for others. |  | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 20:43 - Dec 22 with 6801 views | YorkRanger |
Such a good post Dave |  | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 21:07 - Dec 22 with 6645 views | Clay_Burton |
I was slightly worried where this post was heading when I first began reading it. But Dave you built it up really well and finished it on a feel good high note. Well written and well done. I hope you and Freddie have a fantastic Christmas. |  | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 21:26 - Dec 22 with 6549 views | Brightonhoop |
Lovely piece Dave.
Some friends here went to Real a couple of weeks ago and said the ground was two thirds empty, camera angles dont show that on the telly obviously. These are the kind of initiatives that will keep future generations coming to LR. |  | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 21:28 - Dec 22 with 6544 views | hook_hoops |
That is a fantastic read Dave. Results are shit at the moment but your post reminds me why QPR makes me proud. |  | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 22:52 - Dec 22 with 6279 views | AgedR |
Lovely piece Dave, I really enjoyed reading it.
We're about the same vintage, and you're spot on about it being easier to support a team with Allen, Currie and Ian Stewart than it is with Boswinger and Samba.
Like Danehoop, I take my son who is on the autism spectrum. I'm so pleased that he's taken to the club. He revels in our haphazard failure intermingled with occasional glory (Wembley took some beating).
High point of our going together was Fulham away this year, when my son asked if he was allowed to swear with the crowd. Only when in reference to Chelsea was our compromise. It's really in his blood now; poor little sod.
I think off the pitch the club is fantastic and we really are lucky.
On the pitch we're shite, but, you can't have everything. |  |
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| Something Positive about QPR on 00:08 - Dec 23 with 6129 views | Hadders |
Great post, DaveB! My contribution may be a touch more controversial, but I'd like to add to the positive tone of this thread. In spite of recent results and our current position in the table, somehow I feel there's plenty to be positive about. Off the top of my head:
1. Fernandes has stuck by the club in spite of everything and has clearly tried to learn lessons. His greatest fault may be listening to supporters too much- hardly the greatest sin in an owner. If picking managers was easy, everyone would win the Premier League.
2. Lee Hoos. Brilliant in every way, and someone who understands how the business of football depends on listening to supporters.
3. In Ferdinand, Sinton and now Holloway and Bircham, we have a group of men with a deep personal connection to the club, something which might rub off on current players. Isn't this what many supporters have been demanding for ages?
4. After listening to fans, the symbols of our identity were sorted. That naff faux-medieval badge is gone forever, and proper thick hoops go all the way around.
5. Every half-time sees an interview on the pitch with a couple of old blokes who mean so much to us, who often seem really moved to be back. We may not have won much, but involving these men in our club gives us substance.
6. The club organised a lovely day for Alec Stock to address that stain on our history. And we now regularly honour Stanley and support his family with his illness.
7. Clive Whittingham is one of our own. LFW is utterly brilliant and proves that football fans are not ALL narrow-minded, tribalistic, racist, sexist divs. Clive and Konk's posts alone prove that. Oh, and the podcast is ace, too.
I could go on... as a liberal Guardian-reading type, I loved that the club even did something to support refugees recently. Call me a happy clapper or worse, but why not recognise and celebrate all of the above, plus the great things mentioned by DaveB? I don't think we will get relegated, but even if we do, I will remain happy to support a club that has got its soul back in the last year couple of years. [Post edited 23 Dec 2016 9:34]
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| Something Positive about QPR on 00:36 - Dec 23 with 6065 views | FredManRave |
A lovely story in a great post there Dave. Thanks for sharing.
Definitely a close call between Dave and Freddie as to who is the happiest with these recent events! |  |
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| Something Positive about QPR on 06:13 - Dec 23 with 5877 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
A football club should always greater than the sum of it's results. Otherwise we'd just be a shell like United or C******.
Great stuff. [Post edited 23 Dec 2016 6:19]
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| Something Positive about QPR on 08:55 - Dec 23 with 5608 views | WokingR |
Great story Dave |  | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 09:11 - Dec 23 with 5542 views | mikeygunn |
Really nice read that Dave, thanks for sharing. My 4 year old girl is a QPR fan, all my wife's family are Man City fans, its going to be a hard task to keep her a super hoop!! |  | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 09:29 - Dec 23 with 5475 views | terryb |
| Something Positive about QPR on 22:52 - Dec 22 by AgedR |
Lovely piece Dave, I really enjoyed reading it.
We're about the same vintage, and you're spot on about it being easier to support a team with Allen, Currie and Ian Stewart than it is with Boswinger and Samba.
Like Danehoop, I take my son who is on the autism spectrum. I'm so pleased that he's taken to the club. He revels in our haphazard failure intermingled with occasional glory (Wembley took some beating).
High point of our going together was Fulham away this year, when my son asked if he was allowed to swear with the crowd. Only when in reference to Chelsea was our compromise. It's really in his blood now; poor little sod.
I think off the pitch the club is fantastic and we really are lucky.
On the pitch we're shite, but, you can't have everything. |
"I think off the pitch the club is fantastic and we really are lucky.
On the pitch we're shite, but, you can't have everything. "
Of course, I would like to win every match, but for me this is far more important. I support a club, not a team. Long may the community side reign!
Thank you Daveb. A superb post. | | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 09:44 - Dec 23 with 5416 views | BrianMcCarthy |
That's a fantastic story, Dave, and beautifully told.
Freddie sounds like a great lad and he's got a great Dad.
Thanks for that - makes a fella proud to be a Ranger! |  |
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| Something Positive about QPR on 09:58 - Dec 23 with 5385 views | PinnerPaul |
Good read Dave and a must for "Post of the Year" for me.
I think a lot of kids follow the teams they see and hear about all the time, but really there is no substitute for going to game, even the poor ones and all the stuff the club does sounds absolutely spot on.
My son flirted with supporting Man U, but once I had taken hi to a live game - we were in League 1 at the time, he was hooked.
Hillsborough, Wembley, Wigan & Oldham play off semis at LR are some of the best times we have spent together.
Cheers Dave and Merry Christmas. | | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 10:33 - Dec 23 with 5327 views | Konk |
Great read that, Dave. Clubs outside the wealthy few need to do everything they can to encourage youngsters to follow their local/family team, and it sounds like Rangers are putting a lot of thought into how they go about doing that. Once your son's a bit older he'll realise that no matter how good or crap your team are, nothing beats going along to games. And he'll have kudos for supporting Rangers as well as being able to say to 99% of the pis s-takers, "how many times have you seen your team?". I went to school with a Sheffield Utd fan who went to 20+ games a season with his Dad - those of us that went to football respected him massively whilst the glory hunters took the mick - nothing changes. |  |
| Fulham FC: It's the taking part that counts |
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| Something Positive about QPR on 11:11 - Dec 23 with 5218 views | Harbour |
What an uplifting Post well done to you both. The club is fantastic off the pitch let's hope Freddie and us all have more to cheer about on the Pitch in 2017. COYRs | | | |
| Something Positive about QPR on 13:06 - Dec 23 with 5040 views | 2Thomas2Bowles |
Some photos on twitter
 [Post edited 23 Dec 2016 13:07]
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