Why are Tottenham Hotspur supporters called yids?

Answer by  handini (73)

London rival Arsenal fans use the term toward Tottenham fans because of the large Jewish population in the Haringey/Stamford Hill area. The Tottenham fans made the nickname a badge of honour by calling themselves the YIDS.

Answer by  cresandsuzanne (115)

Tottenham fans were largely stereotyped as being Jewish. In the 1980s Arsenal fans, as rivals of Tottenham, created a term of abuse to jeer at games in the Haringey/Stamford Hill area. Spurs fans claimed the term as their own and began calling themselves YIDS. Yids is short for Yiddish-the native language in most Jewish households.

Answer by  ringneck (394)

The term has to do with the large Jewish population living near the area where Tottenham Hotspur play their matches. The term is based on the support of the Jewish or Yiddish speaking people for the team. The club supporters adopted yids as a nickname so opposing fans would not use it in a derogatory manner.

Answer by  Emr (698)

Tottenham (and to a slighter degree, Arsenal) had a good number of Jewish supporters in their fan base. Detractors of the team would use the word "Yid" to describe them as a slur. The Tottenham supporters decided to claim the term Yid to describe themselves, thus defusing the derogatory aspect of the term and making it a term of pride.

Answer by  basicfundys (6)

They are called yids because a large portion of the area in London that Tottenham plays in has a large Jewish population.

Answer by  ellie61 (478)

A "yid" is a term used [controversially] by some to describe people of Jewish faith. The area of Tottenham has a large Jewish population, and particularly at the time the name originated, a large Jewish fanbase. They are also known as "yiddos" or the "yid army". Some consider this name offensive, whereas others take pride in the name.

Answer by  project76 (31)

Due to a number of Jewish fans, and board members, this racist insult was used in the 1980s through to 2003. Some Jewish fans have embraced the term nowadays.