Prawn sandwich brigade

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Prawn sandwich brigade (PSB) is a derogatory term that describes a group of football fans who support one of the major football clubs in England. They are typically far removed from the geographical location of the club they support and tend to be from a middle class background. Supposed PSB-types are said to typically spend the whole game asking who the players are, and are generally lacking much intrinsic knowledge of the sport and its culture. The prawn sandwich brigade comes from the context of increased middle class interest in football in Britain after BSkyB acquired exclusive live TV rights from the 1992/3 season. While more middle class people embraced the sport and became avid fans, others latched on to the sport as it became increasingly fashionable to do so in the 1990s. It is the latter that are typically on the receiving end of the derogatory term. The more high-profile teams in the FA Premier League such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United tend to attract the most interest from the supposed 'prawn sandwich brigade.'

The term originates from a tirade by Manchester United player Roy Keane against corporate fans who turn up only to enjoy the hospitality rather than cheer on the team. He was supposedly incensed during a training session when an empty prawn sandwich packet blew onto the field from the stands. With Manchester United having lost the last home game, Keane felt that certain sections of the crowd had not been loud enough in their support. The packet almost certainly hailing from one of the more muted sections, the link between the sandwich and the type of fan was forever forged, in Keane's mind at least.

Nick Halling, a broadcaster for Sky Sports' coverage of the NFL, gave the term significance in the context of American Football after implying that British fans of the team the New England Patriots were members of the 'prawn sandwich brigade', for which he has received much criticism from Patriots fans in the UK.