Fans don't like to be told how they should behave. That doesn't stop pundits and journalists from lecturing them on it anyway though. Last season there was a massive section of the media - Trevor Hogan, Tony Ward, Gavin Cummiskey - who were very critical of Leinster fans who voiced their displeasure at how the team had devolved under Matt O'Connor.
There was a strange dismissiveness towards such supporters, with accusations that they were spoilt and somehow not real fans because they expressed critical opinions. Hogan was similarly scathing about the small section of Munster fans who booed Ian Keatley.
That was an extreme example but fans should be allowed by critical if it is warranted without being called names or completely dismissed out of hand by influential media voices. Mostly, that sort of reaction just shows journalists or pundits to be tone-deaf towards what supporters are really feeling.
Despite being very successful during the last two years, Ireland have recently taken a bit of criticism from supporters about their style of play. One try in their first two Six Nations games as well as just three points across 80 second half minutes so far in this campaign points to a side that struggles in attack.
Last year's Six Nations championship win saw Ireland employ a strict kicking game to perfection but not everyone was happy with how the results were achieved. There is a section of Irish supporters who would rather see a flair wing like Craig Gilroy in the Ireland squad rather than the more functional Fergus McFadden.
David Walsh touched on this fan dissatisfaction in today's Sunday Times, and like the aforementioned media members, Walsh doesn't seem to like Irish fans complaining on the back of recent success.
"[It's] as if for this little island winning isn't enough. Forget the result, where's the style? Joe Schmidt, they've been saying, isn't taking this team forward. It's an illusion, almost grotesque. Schmidt remains an excellent coach and his team is not performing that badly."
Sport is fickle, and while some fans could put their feelings about the team's style to one side while Ireland were winning, now that results have dipped - this will be the first Six Nations under Schmidt where the team will only win three games or less - they are finding it harder to back Schmidt's tactics.
"In this questioning of the head coach there is the accusation that his Ireland lacks the courage to be audacious and the ambition to put the ball through their hands. As if the coach had banned the offload. If these arguments were offered in jest we could laugh, instead there is the serious assertion that 'Ireland will never beat the All Blacks playing Schmidt's way'. What's happened to realism?"
To criticise Schmidt heavily is excessive, especially since his patchwork 15 gave a very good account of themselves for the majority of the Six Nations opener against Wales. But yesterday's game was a step backwards. We've wrote about how we felt Schmidt hampered Ireland by leaving out players like Stuart McCloskey and Sean Cronin, and the lack of potent attackers like that duo certainly played a part in Ireland failing to cross the tryline in Paris.
Despite these selection issues, Walsh reserves his criticism solely for the naysayers, and delivers a parting line for the 'fools' who are castigating Ireland in the face of so many injuries.
There was a time not long ago, perhaps 15 or 20 years, when Irish supporters same to Paris knowing anything less than a 25-point drubbing was a result. Ireland now have a set-up that doesn't suffer drubbings.
It has, however, to suffer fools.
Whatever about whether these critical fans are fools, we should all agree that whoever wrote this caption certainly is.
What!! pic.twitter.com/4dRtDYyv6S
— Rob Carroll (@thevideoanalyst) February 14, 2016
