Welcome to this week's News Shopper Friday sport opinion column. Read our rant and join the debate by adding your comments.
IT should be a great day for Millwall’s fans tomorrow but why do all of these people only crawl out of the woodwork when their side are involved in a big game?
The Lions play in front of a regular hardcore crowd of 8,000 and there is absolutely no criticism of these people in this rant.
However, the once-in-a-blue-moon brigade who will make up the overwhelming majority of the 40,000-plus Millwall contingent heading to Wembley really do annoy me.
Where the hell are they every Saturday?
Probably sitting at home watching Sky Sports in the comfort of their armchairs as Jeff Stelling keeps them up-to-date with how their beloved Lions are getting on.
The idea they might actually watch them play the likes of Yeovil (6,617 this season) or Oldham (7,369) at The Den for a regular League One game clearly has little or no appeal to the plastic Millwall brigade.
You will no doubt have seen houses and cars decked in Millwall colours and flags this week, just as they were before the club reached the 2004 FA Cup final with Manchester United.
I didn’t bother watching it personally because I was going to Australia the next day and had to do some last-minute shopping in Lewisham, a town with very strong Millwall affiliations.
It was therefore something of a surprise to see so many people out and about wearing Millwall kits at the exact same time their chosen team was involved in the biggest game in the club’s history.
Perhaps they had accepted the inevitability of a heavy defeat that day and thought shopping was a better option.
Millwall’s biggest attendance this year was 17,632 for the derby with Charlton, the largest turnout for a game at The Den since the play-off meeting with Birmingham in 2002.
Of course, Millwall fans will laughably always tell you they don’t care about Charlton as they are more interested in West Ham or Crystal Palace.
The biggest crowd The Den has seen in eight years says otherwise.
Anyway, good luck plastic Millwall fans tomorrow.
I do watch your team play in every home game as a reporter and will be there at Wembley hoping they go up because consistency alone shows they deserve to do so.
It would certainly be more exciting watching them play Championship football next year as opposed to spending another season in League One, although I will still be there regardless of what division they are in.
Will you?
This column is produced by an independent writer and in no way reflects the official position of News Shopper or its parent company.
How do you think Millwall will do tomorrow? Does it annoy you when fair weather fans appear only for big matches? What would help increase match attendances on a regular basis? Add your comments below.
Check News Shopper's website every lunchtime for a new daily opinion column. Monday is back to the Shopper Rant on a topical news story. Tuesday is entertainment day. Wednesday is a reader's rant, and Thursday will cover a moral issue. Be sure to have your say if you agree or disagree with what you read.
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