I’m having my best time as a Tampere United supporter in years. Since some time in 2008 or 2009 I had been worrying about my club. The economical times were challenging, and even before the controversy that ended it all for us in the top flight, there were times that a supporter never wants to live through.

Towards the end of the 2009 season things had gone from bad to worse. After almost two seasons of pretty much everything going to hell on the field, the club found itself in such financial trouble that it had to renegotiate all player contracts to lower wages. Naturally this also meant that the players were given the opportunity to move to another club on a free transfer. Two of arguably our most important players took the opportunity. They were the two starting center backs to boot, so you can understand how shocking it was to lose them. Even with these rather drastic measures, the financial distress was so bad that the whole existence of the club was in jeopardy. Nobody knew if the club would be there the following season.

Today I do not have to worry about anything like that happening beyond my control. I know now that as long as the supporters are interested in the club, it will continue to exist. And if the supporters lose interest, then literally nobody cares, and the club indeed should be gone.

There is of course no sign of that happening. Instead, the supporters feel more connected to the club than they ever did. Last season TamU-K played in a recreational league, and the most important thing I got from it was a confirmation of my belief that the passion does not depend on the level of the league. The experience among the supporters was just like it had always been supporting the club when it played in the top flight. Of course we did not have quite as many supporters and we did not sing quite as frequently, but that is not the point. The point was that winning was as important as it has always been.

And by the way, all the photos in this post are from last season in the recreational league. We played on dirt fields and never had any stands for the supporters, but the passion was the same as can be seen by even just looking at the photos.

This season we are again playing competitive matches, and the only things that make it different from being in the top flight is that the facilities are not as good and the number of spectators is 50-100 instead of the 2000-4000 it used to be in the top flight. Of course even in the supporters’ section the numbers are slightly smaller than they used to be a few years ago, but those who remain really care. There isn’t anybody who does not ”get it” anymore. I can be proud of each and every one there.

And who cares if even this season at times we just stand on the sand by a plastic field? It just makes it feel that much better when there is some kind of a stand, usually bleacher style. A few times a season we even get to be at a proper stadium, and those are truly special times. The atmosphere is always great. Today we sing more than we ever did. We get to use flares and smoke in every match. Goal celebrations are often accentuated with bangers. We also no longer have to drink overpriced, bad and warm beer. Instead, we bring our own, and at least for now the Finnish weather has made sure it remains colder than your average stadium beer in Finland. And sometimes if you are lucky, or organize it yourself, there is sausages for sale too.

Rewinding back to the first real signs of trouble in 2009, that is when this all started. The supporters realized that they had to do something to help the club, and so we started the supporters’ trust to help collect money for the club so that they could get over the immediate cash crisis and beyond. When it became clear that there would not be any other way to have a Tampere United team in 2011, the supporters’ trust reinvented itself as a football club. At the time we founded the supporters’ trust we had no idea that this is what it would come to, but the spirit then was very much the same as it is today: do whatever you can to help your club survive.