Die-hard Ultras / Hardcore Supporters

albus;38298222 said:

feralwolf16 said:Hardcore Ultras 🤣🤣😍☕

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...05553893_n.jpg

Charles Bishop48;38298222 said:

feralwolf16 said:The Ultras 🤣🤣😍☕

I mean, seriously, what kind of stance is that even??

feralwolf16;38298240 said:

Charles Bishop48 said:Wait, what kind of stances are we even talking about here??

Don't tell me it's those guys from Chicago😕

Michael Gray94;38298250 said:

feralwolf16 said:those guys from Bergamo don't have anything to do with it😕

I mean, seriously, what does that whole crowd have to do with the Black Knights??

feralwolf16;38298266 said:

Michael Gray94 said:Wait, what does that have to do with the Black Knights??

🙄

Honestly, none at all. I totally missed the mark on that one!

feralwolf16 said:what do they even have to do with the Black Knights??

Michael Gray94;38298277 said:

feralwolf16 said:🙄

but honestly, none of it makes sense, I feel like I’m totally losing my mind here.

Man, nothing is clicking for me right now... I seriously thought we were talking about our local crew from back in the 1950s—you know, the oldest one around—but you're telling me they have the Black Knights over there too??

Charles Bishop48 said:Man, I guess the issue is just that some people call themselves Ultras while being part of the Black Knights?? Or maybe they just don't know where they came from.

Elizabeth Mendoza5 said:http://hrhb.info/showthread.php?t=530
Originally posted by 100s
Man, everything this guy Nikša is saying about the Black Knights is basically the whole truth. I’ve known this stuff by heart for ages. "Young fans, kamikazes, throwing themselves into the fray, taking hits, getting back up," all that. Honestly, the title "Mystic Old School Hooligans" is spot on. Back then, it wasn't about having a million photos or flashy graphics; it was just raw stories and legends you can practically feel. When this was happening, I was barely ten years old, and the Black Knights were my absolute heroes—the main reason I even started showing up to games a year or two later. I remember my first match, standing up North with the crew, and man, what a massive spectacle it was against Olympique de Marseille! To some people, those guys were local legends, to others they were like Superman, or legendary bikers, or a father figure, or a big brother, or famous ballplayers. For me, it was all about the rivalry and the Black Knights. All these articles talking about the Black Knights from that Marseille game should be pinned to the front page of every fan site forever, and honestly, nothing else should matter. If you weren't part of that, you aren't truly one of us. It's a damn shame how subsequent generations ended up joining just for the parties, the circus, the drunken festivities, or just because they were from certain rural areas. I could never wrap my head around it or accept it—how a hardcore group like the Black Knights could morph into just some crowd waving thirty-foot banners at every small-town festival. How the number one hooligan and Ultra group in all of Europe turned into a synonym for a cheap party, for some drunk amateur in a jersey shouting at a carnival, or just a way to say "we're here" at a stadium fair. What a massive shift in just ten years. We went from being the "kamikazes" the media tried to smear, with mothers terrified of the "white boys," with the press lynching us, the club being scared of the fallout, while every other fan base in the country deeply respected and admired us... straight down to becoming a traveling circus, using cheap props, getting beat up by the ZG Hooligans, and turning into a pathetic, slippery mess of media-loved mediocrity. And even now, while things are finally starting to swing back toward what they should be, we're still outnumbered by these other types. There are way too many of them. Why? Because if you weren't there for the heavy hitters like the Marseille game, you aren't really a Black Knight!

Copied from the forum, hopefully someone actually gets what the guy is trying to say🙂

quietgull51 said:What the hell is this "Ultras" nonsense... what is even wrong with you people? Seriously, who cares? We’ve been the Black Knights since 1950, which means we were around long before this whole "ultra" movement even became a thing. We’re the blueprint, the original foundation, so why should I give a single damn about some kids' designer sneakers or how someone looks standing by a fence? It’s all just noise. Hajduk is number one, and honestly, screw those Ultras—they’re just getting my blood pressure up.🙂

Elizabeth Mendoza5 said:I was sitting there thinking about how much things have changed lately, just staring at the screen and wondering if we’re all actually seeing the same reality or if we’ve all just drifted into our own little bubbles. It feels like whenever we try to talk about the soul of the game—not just the tactics or the scores, but the actual heartbeat of what makes a club feel like home—we end up circling the drain of these endless, circular arguments that go nowhere. Take the way people view the local supporters, for instance. You have these groups, these true Ultras who live and breathe the colors, and then you have everyone else who just shows up when the weather is nice or the team is winning. There’s this tension there, right? It reminds me of those old neighborhood rivalries back in Philly or Chicago, where the identity of the city is tied so tightly to the team that a loss feels like a personal insult to your family heritage. I was reading some comments earlier—you know, the kind where **feralwolf16** starts diving deep into the history of the club's founding—and it got me thinking about how much we rely on nostalgia to justify our current frustrations. We look back at the "glory days" like they were some sort of lost Eden, forgetting that even then, the administration was probably making mistakes or the fans were arguing about the exact same things. It’s like looking at an old photo of a classic Mustang and ignoring the fact that the engine was leaking oil the whole time. And then you get into the politics of it all. The way the big money moves in, trying to sanitize everything, trying to turn a gritty, passionate community into some polished, corporate product that looks good on a TV broadcast but feels hollow in the stands. It’s similar to what happened when big tech conglomerates started swallowing up local institutions in the Midwest; suddenly, the thing that made the place unique is being sanded down to fit a global brand identity. I don't mean to ramble, I really don't, but it feels like we're at a crossroads. If we lose that raw, unpolished connection between the stands and the pitch, what are we actually left with? Just a bunch of people watching a show? That’s not what this is supposed to be. We aren't just spectators; we're part of the fabric. I truly believe that if we don't protect that essence, we're going to wake up one day and realize the thing we loved has become a ghost of itself.
I guess I’ll start by saying that originally, this was all written by 100s.
Man, everything this Nikša guy says in that article when they ask him about the Black Knights... it just hits home. I’ve known his words by heart for years now. He talks about those young fans, those kamikazes who throw themselves into the fray, falling down only to get right back up again. And honestly, "mystic old school hooligans" is such a perfect title for this topic. Back then, we didn't need flashy photos or high-def videos; it was all just raw stories and shared memories that you can still practically feel if you close your eyes. When this was all happening, I was barely ten years old, and the Black Knights were my absolute heroes—they were the whole reason I started showing up to games a year or two later. I remember my very first match, standing there with my crew in the North Stand, and it was an absolute spectacle from the jump, especially against Olympique de Marseille. People have different versions of what those guys meant to them; to some, they were local legends, to others like Superman, or maybe like those famous biker gangs, or even just a father figure or an older brother. For me, it was the rivalry between the coast teams and the Black Knights. All these articles talking about the Black Knights during that Marseille game should be pinned to the front page of every fan site, and frankly, that's all anyone should ever talk about. If you weren't part of that, you weren't truly one of us. It breaks my heart to see how things changed. Sadly, some generations came along and joined the fold just because it turned into a party, a circus, or a way to celebrate being from a certain region. I could never wrap my head around it, much less accept it—the idea that a group as legendary as the Black Knights once was would turn into nothing more than massive banners carried by every small-town fan in the state. How does the number one hooligan and Ultra group in all of Europe become synonymous with a cheap carnival, or a bunch of random fans drunkenly shouting in their jerseys at a stadium fair, singing "Black Knights are the best"? Think about the journey. In just about ten years, we went from being those kamikazes that journalists tried to smear—those guys whose presence made mothers terrified to let their kids near the "white boys," while the media lynched us and the club itself lived in fear, even as every other fanbase deeply respected and admired us—to this. We went from that era to this mess of festivals, rural caricatures, fighting off groups like the London hooligans, and eventually to this traveling circus of tacky props and pathetic media coverage. And even today, even though things are finally starting to swing back toward the right direction, we are still outnumbered. There are still way too many of these "other" types of fans, easily more than half the crowd. But why? And for how long? Because if you weren't there for the grit of those coastal rivalries or that clash with Marseille, then you aren't really a Black Knight.

I grabbed this copy from an old online forum—hopefully, someone here can actually make sense of what this guy was trying to get at.🙂

Elizabeth Mendoza5 said:http://hrhb.info/showthread.php?t=530
Originally posted by 100s
Everything this guy Nikša says about the Black Knights in the article is spot on. I’ve known this for years. "Young fans, kamikazes, throwing themselves into the fray, falling down, getting back up," and so on... The thread title "mystic old school hooligans" is actually perfect. Back then, there weren't many photos or anything, just stories and recounts you can easily picture. When this happened, I was barely ten, and the Black Knights were my only heroes—the reason I started going to games a year or two later. At my first game, I was with the crew in the North Stand, and what an absolute spectacle it was against Olympique de Marseille! To some, they were local legends; to others, Supermen, or famous bikers, or even a father figure or older brother. For me, it was the rivalry and the Black Knights. All these articles discussing the Black Knights from that Marseille match should be pinned to the front page of every fan site, and honestly, that's all anyone should read. If you don't see it that way, you aren't part of the group. Unfortunately, subsequent generations joined because of the parties, the circus, the folk festivals, being from the coast, etc. I could never wrap my head around that—how a group like the original Black Knights could turn into nothing more than 30-meter banners carried by every small-town fan in the region. How the #1 hooligan and Ultra group in all of Europe became synonymous with a cheap party, where any drunkard in a jersey can scream "Black Knights are the best" at a stadium fair. It’s been a massive journey from those kamikazes whom the media painted as villains—mothers shielding children from the "white boys," journalists lynching them, the club fearing them, while every other fan base deeply respected and admired them... to this era of village fairs, petty nonsense, and mediocre displays. And even now, as things are rapidly returning to how they should be, we are still outnumbered by these others. By far. Why? Because if you weren't there for the big matches against Marseille, you aren't one of us...

A copy from the forum; hopefully, someone will understand what the man was trying to say🙂

under the current laws suggests that:
P.S. I suppose it might only become clear once you truly grasp—if you ever happen to wrap your head around—even a single sentence from this passage. Only then might you, perhaps, begin to understand what "ultra" actually means, and how true fandom is about waving a flag rather than just flexing your muscles.
THE YANKEES ABOVE ALL ELSE!!

quietgull51 said:An outsider will never get what binds Californians together! And it definitely wasn't just about wearing sneakers and black jackets or whatever other crap...
What really ties us together is our love for the Yankees, Mother Nature, and that old-school, raw Raiders Nation energy... there was fighting, sure, but we were always one of a kind, known all over the world... Now when you look at our stands compared to those guys in New York, it’s like there’s no difference at all... Where did all that color and unity go? That strength from the Raiders Nation... where are those good old days...🙄

quietgull51 said:An outsider will never truly grasp the bond that ties Californians together. It was never about the sneakers, the black jackets, or any other superficial nonsense...
What actually binds us is our devotion to the Yankees, the soul of California, and that old-school, primal Raiders Nation. Back then, things were intense—we had our fair share of scraps—but there was an unmistakable identity that was recognized across the entire continent. Now, when you look at our stands compared to those guys in New York, it’s like there’s no distinction left. Where did that vibrant spirit and unity go? Where did the raw power of the Raiders Nation vanish to? I find myself missing those legendary days from back in the era.🙄