As someone who has never lived in Southampton and always in Wiltshire I simply love the club. None of my close family support Saints (or even care about football). I wanted a club that wasn’t too far away so that I can go and support them, but aligned to the values that I would support.
Being from near Bath I was invited with school to the centre of excellence at Bath Uni when I was very young. They taught us all about the club and some of the players there. The club was in the third division at the time. I spoke to an uncle of mine who worked on the docks and is a somewhat saints fan.
I simply love the area, the city, the people and the club itself. I will never understand why you wouldn’t want more people supporting the team you love, no matter where they come from. I also don’t understand supporting the team but shitting on the city, makes no sense.
There are some fans online who are trying to ‘gate keep’ Southampton and the club from people from Wiltshire and It’s very strange. Surely if someone loves your club and your city, you’d welcome that?