Ava Doherty
There’s a TikTok trend doing the rounds where women wearing Pink Floyd T-shirts are interrogated by men demanding they “prove” they’re real fans. This ritual, usually performed by twenty-something pseudo-bohemians, has become a miniature cultural test: demonstrate your knowledge, or be dismissed as an outsider. It’s a behaviour that has long existed in the UK, from indie nights in Bristol to bars in Camden, and even all the way out in Aberystwyth. While quizzing someone’s love of a band is annoying enough, there’s an even more entrenched version of this dynamic in sport, specifically football.