Arsenal fans rank in world’s Top 250 fanbases

Arsenal fans have been ranked as the 67th best fanbase in the world, incorporating sports, music, film, TV and celebrity. Is it right? Are they too high? Are they not high enough? I ask those questions, while also laughing at the painful existence of being a Gooner.

Fandom. What really is it? Whenever I talk about Arsenal or England or the Kansas City Chiefs or any other team that I support in sports, I use the term ‘we’ — I do not use this term when writing. I feel it is unprofessional. But, down at the pub, the formalities slip and the colloquialisms seep in.

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It is something that my mother or sister don’t really understand. Given that they do not have the same fanatical relationship with any organisation, not just sporting team, they question my use of the inclusive pronoun. ‘But you’re not playing’, ‘you didn’t lose’, ‘it wasn’t you who scored.’ And on and on and on.

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And I guess that is the perfect definition of fandom. It is a sense of ‘we’, even if there’s no ‘we’ about it. Because my mum and my sister are right. Technically speaking, I am not a part of the ‘we’ that won or lost. But fandom isn’t technical; it’s relational. That’s where the ‘we’ comes from.

The reason why I talk about this is that FanSided have released their annual rankings of the top 250 fan bases in the world. These incorporate sports, TV, film, celebrities, even brands. Now, and I will be frank here, the list is pretty pointless, at least from an analytical standpoint. There is no way to measure the strength or ferocity or passion of a group of people. And what even is a good fanbase? Size? Intensity? Love for the club? I don’t know.

But as I said, fandom is not analytical; it is not a technical entity that is logical, founded on a rationale of thought. It is the opposite of that, sometimes, especially as an Arsenal fan. And in that respect, this list is a fun, alternative, refreshing way to look at the focus of society’s concupiscence.

Arsenal, for context, rank 67th on this list. I have no clue if that is too high, too low or just about right. And I’m not going to pretend that I do. I’m also not going to pretend that anyone else does. Because they don’t. It is impossible to quantify with any clarity or definition. What is clear, though, is that the Gunners are one of the most watched teams in all of sports, stretching throughout the world. But does size yield a ‘good fanbase’, whatever that may be? I don’t know.

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I do, though, encourage you to have a look at the list. It’s interesting, it’s fun, and it celebrates exactly what we are: Fans. And, I guess, at the end of it all, that’s all that matters.