I'm now torn. You make good points.And what about all the Mitoma fans and other internationals who don’t have English as their first language and need a visual prompt?.And Steve and others like him who can’t learn/remember the words because of age or any other such reason but wants to sing along anyway? Or the thousands of kids that still need the words?
I thought the Club was more inclusive and cosmopolitan in its outlook than that.
I can’t see what harm it does it do having the words on the screen apart from making maybe a minority of ‘hardcore fans’ feel like it makes them not as Ultra as they want to look in front of opposition fans because their Club has to provide words on a screen to the Club anthem?
Maybe the PA can be turned off/down once we start the song to achieve the atmosphere we want? Or the words can just run in the big letters along the electronic advertising hoardings that are pitch-side if for some fans the big screens are too much like an OHP-guided seminar for the mentally challenged?
However 20,000 people singing in unison is far more atmospheric than everyone singing different lines at different times which happens in large outdoor spaces when the acoustics are not good and when the PA is not audible to lead them.
When I was a kid and went to church, St Nicholas' in Portslade had a rather traditional vicar, Reverend Hellaby (crazy name, crazy guy) and there was a longish bit where he warbled something and we warbled something in reply, and so on. Luckily, there was a little book with all the lyrics so I could mumble in the right places.
And yet.....there were actual Christians in the audience (I think they call it a congregation) who probably found my efforts annoying. Unless of course they were hoping that by recounting the lyrics they would own my soul. Not sure how it all works.
So it boils down to whether we should post the GOSBTS lyrics on a screen, or print them in the programme.
At the end of the day, the singing sounded great in West Upper yesterday. And until the words were first shown some years ago none of us ever sung anything other than going up to win the cup for Sussex by the sea. So people have made the effort to learn the lyrics. I certainly did - but maybe only 5 years ago. But just because I can do it......
Mmmmm......nnnnnnn.........put the lyrics back. Anybody objecting perhps needs to think about how it was before the words were shown. We didn't sing them. I had actually forgotten that.
Good old sausage by the sea
Good old sausage by the sea
And we're going up to win the cup
For sausage by the sea.
That was it. All of it.
