Guest Post by Tommy86
There has been a lot of recent media talk about “the West Ham way”, and certain pundits have almost been trying to belittle and ridicule it. Claiming to have “no idea what its supposed to be”. Now, there you have it, that’s the point, you aren’t supposed to! The WHW will mean different things to each Hammers fan but ultimately there will be certain similarities.
Now, this got me thinking, what exactly is my interpretation of the West Ham way.
Firstly, how many other fans would applaud their team after defeat because the brand of football mattered? At how many other clubs would the fans boo the team off the field in disgust after a vital victory, when battling relegation (I’m not condoning the boos)?
We all know we’re not a Manchester United or Arsenal, so the one thing we feel we can expect, if not victories every week and trophies, is entertainment. There is nothing wrong with that.
For me, being from the Midlands, the WHW was also about the kid at school (only Hammer there), constantly defending his team, which became a bit of a joke in the end – “What excuse will he come up with this time…. The ref? Injuries? Paolo catching the ball in a fantastic show of sportsmanship?”
But that’s what it’s all about, and even when we were sooo bad, and languishing at the foot of the table, we always had something over a lot of other clubs… That one great player, with flair in abundance. For me that player was Paolo, the greatest Hammer I have ever seen. It wouldn’t be the result I would be talking about on a Monday (unless we won! HA!) , it would be that individual moment of brilliance from my hero! Or that great act of sportsmanship!!
I never criticized Sam’s reign as manager either, and that goes back to the kid, always defending his team, no matter what! Deep down I didn’t like it, I wasn’t excited at the prospect of watching us play every week, but I wouldn’t voice those opinions, I would still find myself at work saying “the football really isn’t as bad as people make out”, when really half the time it was!
So far, our start to the season hasn’t been what we’d hoped for, but I do get this feeling that I have my West Ham back. With Payet looking to be my new Paolo, and I now feel that excitement every time we play.
The WHW is also about the bad and sometimes crazy times. The Tevez saga, the Icelandic banking crisis, XL holidays and being forced into a League Cup replay for fielding an ineligible player.
I truly believe we are a completely unique football club and I’m very proud of that, and accept the good with the bad and the down right strange….
Isn’t that the way?