I have supported the hammers since I met an older, cooler cousin, who had West ham written all over his trainers, I was nine at the time that I pledged my allegiance to the team. That season we won the FA cup and it has been a long time, through relegation, Harry moving on etc that I have stuck with them. My commitment hasn’t really changed, but I no longer have a scarf or write them on my trainers. West Ham or at least my notional commitment to them being my team is a strange constant in my life. We don’t have Sky so I rarely see them on the TV, I will make a point of seeing how they have done at the weekend but couldn’t tell you who they are playing next week. Yet I know they are the team I support. Perhaps its a wishy washy commitment by some standards, but it is a constant and open one to those who ask.