Clubs playing songs after they score

[Gromit]

The home fans spent much of their time abusing the away support (whose only crime, it seemed, was to turn up),

I fail to see your point. A bit of spirited verbal banter is hardly violence.

I really enjoyed the trip to Southampton because they were having a good old go at us. Made it more exciting.

It was almost a gentlemanly joust and we were applauding each other when a particualrly good verbal barb was delivered. Clubs with a bit of omph respect each other a whole lot more than clubs whose grounds are like a library (e.g. Highbury, my god where was the passion? The fans were completely absent).

 

[Jazzz]

It's grown men acting like children. Yep, I was enjoying it to an extent too, but it is far from mature. Why can't people just enjoy the game? And while there may not have been any violence, there is certainly the prospect of it, as is shown by the significant police presence at any match.

And this is why the away fans were strictly segregated - a kind of footballing apartheid! Does that happen in any other sport? I wonder.

 

[Jazzz]

My housemate got tickets to see Spurs last Wednesday and took along a hot date, who was a rabid Spurs fan. Sneakily, I pinned my Arsenal badge to her coat. It went unnoticed, until she was stopped by security outside the ground. "You aren't coming in with that on". "What, my brooch?". "No, THAT"

her date recoiled in horror

She got me back though, by pretending to phone up from the hospital

 

[christonabike]

Most folks support teams who are shit so we go to the game for a laugh, a shout, a sing, a beer

You don't understand Jazzz

 

[editor]

No, you were, but then you started rabbiting on about hockey. Hockey is off topic to the thread you started, and i attempted to steer it back on track.

It wasn't me that brought up hockey, fool.

But it's certainly you who has added nothing remotely on topic to this thread.
Now go away.

 

[editor]

II went to a Spurs game recently (vs Blackburn), as an Arsenal fan. An interesting experience. The home fans spent much of their time abusing the away support (whose only crime, it seemed, was to turn up), and indeed abusing Arsenal, who weren't even present, apart from me of course, but they wouldn't have known that.

There's a world of difference between verbally abusing/taking the piss out of away fans and indulging in the kind of mass crowd violence that JC is cluelessly wibbling on about.

Taunting and teasing and shouting at the opposition's fans is part of the fun of the terraces. If you don't like it, go and support basketball or something.

I'd hate to support a team that had quiet, polite support.

 

[editor]

Most folks support teams who are shit so we go to the game for a laugh, a shout, a sing, a beer

Yep. That sums it up for me.

 

[Maurice Picarda]

I went to a Spurs game recently (vs Blackburn), as an Arsenal fan. An interesting experience. The home fans spent much of their time abusing the away support (whose only crime, it seemed, was to turn up), and indeed abusing Arsenal, who weren't even present, apart from me of course, but they wouldn't have known that.
:

Ahh, how you must have pined for the cultured silence of the Emirates, where the crowd have the manners to let the players concentrate.

 

[editor]

Ahh, how you must have pined for the cultured silence of the Emirates, where the crowd have the manners to let the players concentrate.

Indeed. It was most obliging of the Arsenal fans to remain silent throughout Cardiff City's visit, letting our songs be heard to full effect, uninterrupted.

 

[christonabike]

Arsenal fans have weird shaped heads

That's a fucking fact, fact fans

 

[London_Calling]

Taunting and teasing and shouting at the opposition's fans is part of the fun of the terraces. If you don't like it, go and support basketball or something.

Generally I agree with your points here, but this is not correct.

The person you were responding to was talking about someone wearing an Arsenal badge at a Spurs home game. Doing that would most likely not result in "taunting and teasing and shouting" which is why she was instructed to take the badge off before going in. It might be the extreme end of the spectrum but there are very good reasons why it's not allowed.

 

[chieftain]

Only the middle classes are offended by footy banter... in which case fuck off back to the rugby

 

[Jazzz]

Indeed. It was most obliging of the Arsenal fans to remain silent throughout Cardiff City's visit, letting our songs be heard to full effect, uninterrupted.

Who won?

 

[editor]

Who won?

Who do you think?

Ar$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$enal or Cardiff?

In fact, if you're such a fan, why don't you know the result?

But we won the singing. Trounced you useless lot, in fact.

 

[stupid kid]

Maybe no actual fighting broke out, but there were certainly plenty of police present, and I wonder if we might like to include the policing costs of various sports in our assessments.

Outside the ground I bought an Arsenal badge from a street vendor. As I started pinning in onto my top the woman looked horrified and said "you aren't going to wear it?"

I think the football clubs have to pay for the cost of policing and have done so for a few seasons.

 

[chieftain]

I went to a Spurs game recently (vs Blackburn), as an Arsenal fan. An interesting experience. The home fans spent much of their time abusing the away support (whose only crime, it seemed, was to turn up), and indeed abusing Arsenal, who weren't even present, apart from me of course, but they wouldn't have known that.

You haven't got a clue have you mate?

Half the fun of football is banter and a good sing/shout/chant along... If it gets edgy then fair play, makes it more exciting

of course being a Gooner you wouldn't know about any of that, you may have an excellent team to watch but you're home crowds pathetic in terms of atmosphere (which is what it half the experience is about)

 

[Balbi]

I enjoy being on away days for the terrace banter.

Wigan fans, lacking any excitement on the pitch, were hostilely hilarious a couple of weeks ago.

Shame a couple of Wigan lasses turned up and plonked themselves in the middle of the 'hardcore' Wiganers, and then took off their coats to reveal.......









their Liverpool shirts

5000 Pompey fans killed themselves laughing.

 

[Augie March]

http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1660884,00.html

Very interesting article.

Brings back to mind a few years back when I attended a Red Sox/Yankees baseball game in New York. Pity the few brave Sox fans who decided to openly wear their jersey in the stands. They'd be subjected to a barrage of abuse (some of which personal, worse if the poor fella had decided to drag his partner along with him) and missles from certain sections of Yankee fans.

There was also a rather large scuffle that occured in one part of the stadium during the game, with all manner of stewards descending on the situation. Looked like it ended up with a certain group of punters having to be escorted from the stadium.

Fan violence exists in all sports, it is not something that can be uniquely associated with just the beautiful game IMO.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

You're right that there's definitely more fan violence associated with football than with hockey though, but I reckon a lot of that is down to the fact that North America's too big for large numbers of fans to follow their team around like they can in the UK - if there was a large contingent of travelling Canadiens fans there every time they played the Leafs I think there'd be a few fights breaking out.

I don't think so. At our football games, for instance, there are large representations of the visiting team's fans present. They wear the appropriate team jersey, so they're identifiable; but there are no real feelings of animosity toward people who are cheering for the other team. The fans will often express anger etc against members of the visiting teams themselves, especially with hockey where you have enforcers etc on the teams, but that doesn't carry over into the stands.

p.s. Events like the Stanley Cup riot are infrequent, but they are just that - riots. It isn't members of different groups fighting each other, it's the crowd fighting the police, and breaking windows etc.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I like the atmosphere at NHL games, and definitely haven't been bored at one - were you watching one of those new teams like Anaheim or Columbus or something?

Also you HAVE TO follow the play at an NHL game, because there's the everpresent risk of the puck being fired into the stands, in which case you want to know it's coming, so you can duck or get your hands in front of your face. Fans have been known to lose their teeth and worse as a result of puck/face contact.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

So, in recent years, how many major incidents of violence can you refer me to at England games? There was one seven years ago in Euro 2000, a fair stretch I'm sure you'll agree, there was some trouble at france 98. Nothing much at the last two world cups,though.

Of course there has, in the past, been trouble at England football games, but the way you make it sound like the reason that the MAJORITY of people in Britain attend sport is just pathetic, typical lazy north american wankery. It's not even the reason the majority of people attend England games, never mind football as a whole (or even sport as a whole - the last cricket-related violent incident, anyone?

Well, at least you didn't swear at me this time.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Interesting, so if the 'perception' is that black people are prone to mugging, on the basis that a few muggings were committed by black people, that means that the truth is that black people are prone to mugging too, does it? Cos that's where your logic leads.

I said it was the peception. If you can point out where I said that the perception is synonymous with the truth, I'd be interested in seeing it, because I can't recall saying it.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

You obviously have not been in the cheap seats at Madison Square Gardens to watch the New York Rangers play the Boston Bruins. Although New York v Boston at any sport is the nearest North America has to the type of rivalry seen in football.

But that'd be mostly Irish-Americans, innit.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

There's all sorts of unpleasant and inaccurate generalisations that pass for 'the truth' amongst the tabloid-fed, but I would have thought you'd have the intelligence to research the facts before blindly repeating them here.].

When I said 'truth', I meant that truly, that is the perception.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

There's all sorts of unpleasant and inaccurate generalisations that pass for 'the truth' amongst the tabloid-fed, but I would have thought you'd have the intelligence to research the facts before blindly repeating them here.

Seeing as you refuse to do the research yourself and want to kep on wallowing in ignorance, here's the facts:

So that's an average of just over one fan arrested per match.

Kind of makes your claims about "whole sections of the crowd... preoccupied with beating the crap out of one another" look more than a little stupid and ignorant, doesn't it?

Sure, British football has had serious problems with hooliganism in the past and some still goes on now, but it's always been a minority of fuckwits doing the fighting.

But hey! That can happen in all sports from time to time. Even boring baseball.

From what I've read, it sounds like things are improving, but it also sounds like some of the problem has simply moved to the streets outside the stadiums.

 

[editor]

From what I've read, it sounds like things are improving, but it also sounds like some of the problem has simply moved to the streets outside the stadiums.

So are you now saying that "whole sections" of football crowds aren't "preoccupied with beating the crap out of one another" any more?

*cue sound of goalposts being moved around again

I've no idea what sensationalist rag it is you're getting your clueless bollocks from, but I suggest you research the facts properly using credible sources. Or ask people here who actually go to football games and know something about the subject.

Yes, some fights do go on away from the stadium, but those involved make up a near-microscopic percentage of people attending games and as copliker pointed out with his link to the Guardian article, similar (or worse) violence takes place in other sports in other countries, but is far less reported on.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1660884,00.html

That article is mostly overblown bullshit, written by a british guy, in a british paper, for english readers, to help them convince themselves that Americans are worse than them in every way, even when it comes to sports hooliganism.


Sorry, it just ain't so.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

I said it was the peception. If you can point out where I said that the perception is synonymous with the truth, I'd be interested in seeing it, because I can't recall saying it.

Um, you said "The perception is the truth".

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

That article is mostly overblown bullshit, written by a british guy, in a british paper, for english readers, to help them convince themselves that Americans are worse than them in every way, even when it comes to sports hooliganism.

Sorry, it just ain't so.

No more overblown than your claim that most sections of crowds at football games in britain were devoted to people beating the crap out of each other.

 

[editor]

That article is mostly overblown bullshit, written by a british guy, in a british paper, for english readers, to help them convince themselves that Americans are worse than them in every way, even when it comes to sports hooliganism.

British readers, Johnny.