We Ain’t Got No History is a blog made by Chelsea fans, for Chelsea fans. It is a very passionate blog, but one that is tempered with humor, as seen in the name. The unique name comes from the running joke people make about Chelsea that our club has no history. This stems from the fact that before Roman Abramovich’s cash injection in 2003, Chelsea was not a major team and would lose pretty regularly. After Roman Abramovich’s takeover though, Chelsea has won the Premier League five times and was the last English team to win the Champions League, not to mention the numerous other cups throughout the years. People always joke on the page about how Chelsea was founded in 2003, though it was actually founded in 1905.
Former captain John Terry(left) and
Cesar Azpilicueta(right) holding
2016-2017 Premier League trophy.
So who is this blog for? It caters to all kinds of fans, from the casual to the die hard. The community guidelines are very clear about being a very inclusive community by banning the idea of “plastic fans.” It states, “This community consists of members from all around the globe who follow the club in a variety of different ways. None of us are “better” fans than any others, regardless of how much time or money we spend following the club.” I think that this is one of the key traits that make it such a great blog: it’s respectful of everyone’s opinions and doesn’t judge people for how avidly they follow the team. We Ain’t Got No History is for all Chelsea fans to criticize, revel, laugh, and cry no matter if you’re a season ticket holder or if you’ve never been to a game. While the blog is heavily biased in favor of Chelsea, the blog welcomes people of other fandoms to comment and post to promote fun discussion about the global game. This blog is, however, for people who are already football fans. It doesn’t take time to explain rules of the game and does assume some knowledge about the current Chelsea team’s form and the current standing of the Premier League. That being said, a person with little knowledge looking to dive deeper into the Chelsea community should not feel intimidated when entering the blog, as it is a welcoming community respectful to all fans. An article such as “Zola tries to act as peacemaker between Conte and the Chelsea board” details the rising tensions between the board and current manager Antonio Conte, an ex-player’s attempt to remedy the situation, and a good teaching about a former legend of the team, Gianfranco Zola. I love this article because it offers amazing insight into the inner dynamics of the team, what the fan cannot see on TV, and shows off the passion of our team through the love shown by a former player for his former club in trying to return it to a cohesive unit.
One of my personal favorite sections of this blog is its fanshots section. This is a section that shows highlights, funny moments, quotes by players, and videos of players in training and other situations. I love this section because it is purely Chelsea. It has videos of our players doing funny things on the pitch (such as Willian trying to read a note given to Matic, a former Chelsea player), stunning Chelsea goals and match highlights, and our players doing tricks in training (Alonso makes a pinpoint lobbed pass). This section caters to the fan who loves watching and rewatching the game and seeing our players. It also perfectly complements the sometimes verbose and serious written sections with its humor and adoration of the team.
The blog is a good balance between opinion posts and information about upcoming fixtures and threads during games. Admittedly, it does tend to skew to the latter during game days, but this is nothing that cannot be expected of such a passionate fan page that is excited to see their team play. The blog is not its own domain, but actually is a blog on sb nation, a very famous sports media domain featuring hundreds of teams and sports.
Antonio Conte after conceding to
Manchester City, making it our
fourth consecutive away loss
The website is also not the only way people interact with this blog. The blog has an active Facebook page which links to various posts and has a regular live show with one of the main contributors to the blog (as seen in the picture below). I think the Facebook live vlog is one of the unique and enticing parts of this blog because it allows for fans to interact and ask questions of a passionate fan and writer in real time. These vlogs are usually done directly before and after games and act as a forum for people to discuss their thoughts on the match.
I think that this blog really offers people a community of people who love the same team. The world of football is massive. It’s a sport that draws in billions of viewers every year, and for a lot of fans, it can be difficult to find a community of people who support their team and discuss things they care about. Being able to rejoice and commiserate with fellow fans is one of the most important parts of being a football fan. I think this blog offers people that community, and more than that, I think it allows everyone to be the armchair manager we all are. Every football fan has an opinion about how their team should have shaped up, tactics they should have used and substitutions they should have made. This blog allows that release where we can voice our opinions for everyone to see, praise, and criticize. This is what football is all about – arguing and discussing a problem that has no answer simply because you love talking about your team.
So do I recommend you read this blog? If you’re a Chelsea fan, I’m surprised you finished reading this without checking it out already. If you’re an Arsenal or Tottenham fan, you might get a good kick out of us Chelsea fans discussing our team, maybe even get some insight into the mortal enemy. For all others, I think that this blog can inform you both about the team and about the intricacy of football communities, so I would highly recommend it to all football fans.
