Loyal football supporters know the deal when they sign up: success and entertainment are not guaranteed.
They travel in hope, not expectation, and are the masters of making the best of a bad lot - hence some of the best chants are born in the throes of a depressing defeat.
But that doesn't mean that clubs can take away fans for granted.
At Norwich City, large and loyal travelling support is a given: there are few more impressive groups of away fans in the UK. Unfortunately, this season there is another given - dreadful performances by the Canaries.
The 3-0 defeat at Huddersfield was bad, maybe not the worst - but I think it was an 'enough is enough' moment.
Many City fans feel dislocated from the club that they love at the moment. There is a leadership vacuum, into which has poured a succession of dreadful performances from players who look lost.
The result is that the supporters are being let down - particularly the away fans. They are being let down by poor communication from the board and lack of commitment on the pitch.
To me, the fans who are enduring so much, yet still making the long away trips and paying out their hard-earned money, deserve to be rewarded.
At Bristol City, the players are refunding the cost of the tickets bought by the 312 fans who travelled to watch their 5-0 loss at Preston on Tuesday.
I certainly think City's players should do likewise for those who made the depressing trip to Huddersfield on Wednesday evening.
But I'd go further. I think the club should cover the cost of travel and tickets for the final two away matches at Preston and Leeds.
It'll cost a few pennies, but it might buy back some goodwill from supporters who are feeling disillusioned and let down.
In case the board has forgotten, supporters are the lifeblood of a football club. If things don't improve, they couldn't blamed for trickling away.
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