[Albion] Fan Advisory Panel Meeting about Amex Atmosphere, Thursday

[Easy 10]

Do you not think that those buying tickets for themselves and kids are already aware of this?

Well if not, then they should be.

Anyone taking a kid to football and NOT expecting to hear some language is, as [MENTION=29779]Whitechapel[/MENTION] rightly said, a bit of a bell. Its not the theatre. As I explained to my lad when I first started taking him at Withdean - there's language at the football, and there's language at home in front of your mum and sister. The two are not the same...

 

[Easy 10]

What's their beef with Jonjo Shelvey?

Genuine LOL

 

[Seaview Seagull]

How about making the whole stand sit/stand where you want? First come first served. Singers will soon find their way together.

Is there a law against that? It makes identification of fans difficult if there is trouble? If there isn't I really think that would help the atmosphere no end.

Safe standing means you have to have a designated place. You can't just choose a spot. .

 

[Weststander]

Genuine LOL

You taught me well

 

[Easy 10]

Safe standing means you have to have a designated place. You can't just choose a spot. .

I think he knows that.

But I agree with his point. Buy a ticket to the stand, not the seat. You turn up and stand/sit where you want. Infinitely preferable.

 

[Swansman]

Don't be a div. He's not suggesting that everyone in the NS should be up off their seats eff-ing and c-ing their way through every game. However (and this is something you'll never have experienced), the main "kop" behind the goal was and is where adults congregate to chant, shout and - yes - indulge in some spicy language at times.

At the age of about 15, I migrated from the East Stand to the North Stand at the Goldstone to join in with the swaying crowd and the fabulous abuse rained down on visiting teams and fans. Had I been 15 years older at that point (and we were still at our grand, shabby old ground), would I have taken my little lad into the North Stand for his BHA baptism ? Absolutely not.

If mums and dads want to take their crotch-goblins into the North Stand at the Amex, then they should be aware that it will be hosting the more boisterous supporters. So there's a good chance Tarquin and Lillibet might hear some rude words and 'unsavoury' chanting from very close quarters. But there's a very simple solution to that.

Its called the family stand.

Why wouldn't I have experienced that? You really think football in England is louder, angrier and more chanting than other places? Ask anyone who has been on football in multiple countries if they agree...

Anyway, its not the swearing in front of kids - or swearing at all for that matter - that I have any comments about. I don't mind it, and unlike some I also don't think the kids need to protected from that shit. But the idea that some bloke yelling obscene stuff at the ref and players (from both teams...) would have some magic impact on the overall atmosphere in any football stadium - nope, not buying it.

 

[Gazwag]

Seems I'm not welcome in the NS, where I have stood since day one, anymore then if I dare to take my neighbours 8 yo son again. Shame because he didn't upset anybody when he came to the Leeds game (which he thoroughly enjoyed and was singing along with the songs throughout the match) and he is well aware what he hears at football stays at football. I'll have to tell him the bad news.

 

[Is it PotG?]

I think he knows that.

But I agree with his point. Buy a ticket to the stand, not the seat. You turn up and stand/sit where you want. Infinitely preferable.

The current trend is, away from home, that the younger and more vocal crowd turn up just before kick-off.
The older generation tend to take their seats earlier, foregoing the chance to spend more time at the bar.
Should this free for all be in place, are you suggesting that current habits and trends will change, and places will be grabbed en mass well over an hour prior to k/o?

 

[Easy 10]

Why wouldn't I have experienced that? You really think football in England is louder, angrier and more chanting than other places? Ask anyone who has been on football in multiple countries if they agree...

Anyway, its not the swearing in front of kids - or swearing at all for that matter - that I have any comments about. I don't mind it, and unlike some I also don't think the kids need to protected from that shit. But the idea that some bloke yelling obscene stuff at the ref and players (from both teams...) would have some magic impact on the overall atmosphere in any football stadium - nope, not buying it.

No, but it was your withering assessment of someone apparently having the mentality of an 8 year old because they dare to shout and swear at football. As you say yourself its hardly unique to England, so I'm not sure why you singled his remark out as if it was immature. Its not - its a fact of life when actually TURNING UP to passionately support a football team.

As for your second point, I would have to disagree. One of the best things about football is generating a poisonous atmosphere, be that towards the ref or the opposition. One of the best games I ever went to was when we lost at home to Burnley after the ref reduced us to 9 (nine) men after about a quarter of an hour. The Amex was absolutely FUMING for the rest of the game, and outside of the Sheff Weds playoff game, it was probably the best atmosphere I've ever experienced there, because it was born out of pure, unadulterated, vitriolic ANGER.

But then, like I say, you really do have to be there for these things.

 

[Gazwag]

The current trend is, away from home, that the younger and more vocal crowd turn up just before kick-off.
The older generation tend to take their seats earlier, foregoing the chance to spend more time at the bar.
Should this free for all be in place, are you suggesting that current habits and trends will change, and places will be grabbed en mass well over an hour prior to k/o?

And quite often creates a complete shitstorm with gangways full of fans who won't move to where the free seats are because they are usually lower down or in a group of 12 who want to stand together despite there only being 3 seats available where they want to go

 

[Easy 10]

The current trend is, away from home, that the younger and more vocal crowd turn up just before kick-off.
The older generation tend to take their seats earlier, foregoing the chance to spend more time at the bar.
Should this free for all be in place, are you suggesting that current habits and trends will change, and places will be grabbed en mass well over an hour prior to k/o?

I doubt it, although away games are a bit of a different animal. "Back in the day", people would routinely meet up with mates and congregate on the terrace for home games. Personally, if they brought in safe standing in the North, then I'd have no objection to that coming back (ie no seat allocations). I think it would definitely help the atmosphere.

 

[Swansman]

Seems I'm not welcome in the NS, where I have stood since day one, anymore then if I dare to take my neighbours 8 yo son again. Shame because he didn't upset anybody when he came to the Leeds game (which he thoroughly enjoyed and was singing along with the songs throughout the match) and he is well aware what he hears at football stays at football. I'll have to tell him the bad news.

Never understood the mentality of protecting the kids from swearing etc...

A lot of kids spend about five hours a day killing each other in some or other video game.
They watch cartoons where a mouse is torturing a cat or where robots are fighting some dystopian war (they still watch Tom & Jerry and Transformers right?)
They'll pick up people talking about war and death.
Some of them even encounter the highly immoral and hideous subjects of sex and even female nudity only a few years after they've started killing each other on a daily basis.

Yet we're supposed to hide a bunch of four letter words from them? Silly. What difference does it do?

 

[Jackthelad]

In my mind, the reason for the lack of atmosphere is because the fan base is too old, too middle class and don’t really support Brighton enough

It wasn't always the way, we had a large working-class fan base in the 80'and 90's. I do think our away support is a good mix of people.

 

[Easy 10]

Seems I'm not welcome in the NS, where I have stood since day one, anymore then if I dare to take my neighbours 8 yo son again. Shame because he didn't upset anybody when he came to the Leeds game (which he thoroughly enjoyed and was singing along with the songs throughout the match) and he is well aware what he hears at football stays at football. I'll have to tell him the bad news.

Nobody is suggesting thats the case. There has just been a couple of remarks about dirty looks from parents off the back of some swearing at the game (which isn't exclusive to the North btw, obvs). The point is, if you're taking a kid along, then make sure they know they'll be hearing some language that is not to be taken home and used. Anyone expecting to take a child to a football match and have everyone around them temper their language and behaviour accordingly is living in la-la-land. If the child is sensitive and liable to be upset by this, then the North Stand probably isn't for them. Thats all.

 

[Easy 10]

Never understood the mentality of protecting the kids from swearing etc...

A lot of kids spend about five hours a day killing each other in some or other video game.
They watch cartoons where a mouse is torturing a cat or where robots are fighting some dystopian war (they still watch Tom & Jerry and Transformers right?)
They'll pick up people talking about war and death.
Some of them even encounter the highly immoral and hideous subjects of sex and even female nudity only a few years after they've started killing each other on a daily basis.

Yet we're supposed to hide a bunch of four letter words from them? Silly. What difference does it do?

Agreed.

To be honest, what I heard in the school playground as a kid was just as bad if not worse than anything I heard at the Goldstone.

These days though

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

Agreed.

To be honest, what I heard in the school playground as a kid was just as bad if not worse than anything I heard at the Goldstone.

These days though

As far as I can tell, about 50% of what any child playing online shooter games hears is the word n*****.

 

[Weststander]

I'm the only swearer in my entire family and the only one who had an education of sorts in the packed Goldstone NS (from age 11).

It could well have come from that, who knows and I'm not bothered. A small price worth paying to have lived those times.

 

[drew]

I think he knows that.

But I agree with his point. Buy a ticket to the stand, not the seat. You turn up and stand/sit where you want. Infinitely preferable.

Not going to happen though is it. In an all seater stadium you get sold a seat to sit at (or stand in front of) and it would be the same with 'safe standing'.

Instead of trying to turn the clock back to the 70s surely you lot can come up with something else? Fact is there has been some great atmospheres at the Amex without what you suggest.

In my view, there are several things that contribute to the atmosphere and the biggest one is what happens on the pitch. Whether that be the ref seemingly against us or the football being fast flowing and exciting. Doesn't matter what atmosphere the crowd are in at the start of the game, if there is nothing happening on the pitch to keep it going it will die a death. It's human nature.

 

[Swansman]

I'm the only swearer in my entire family and the only one who had an education of sorts in the packed Goldstone NS (from age 11).

It could well have come from that, who knows and I'm not bothered. A small price worth paying to have lived those times.

When I went to the "prepare-to-move-to-England" school at Visingsö this spring, I said a naughty word at the first lesson.

We we're doing some roleplaying employment-interview and I was one of the the employers and had to pick one out of three candidates. I told one of the candidates "well, you're a bit of a knob and you're not going to work for me".

At the lunch break the principal asked to talk with me, "Simon, I heard you said a bad word at the lesson today". "Yeah?" "You can't do that in England. Its not the United States." I felt like showing him a random match thread from NSC but just sucked it up and told him I would be a good boy.

Was a little surprised though as I only thought your TV channels were into that puritan attitude.

 

[Weststander]

When I went to the "prepare-to-move-to-England" school at Visingsö this spring, I said a naughty word at the first lesson.

We we're doing some roleplaying employment-interview and I was one of the the employers and had to pick one out of three candidates. I told one of the candidates "well, you're a bit of a knob and you're not going to work for me".

At the lunch break the principal asked to talk with me, "Simon, I heard you said a bad word at the lesson today". "Yeah?" "You can't do that in England. Its not the United States." I felt like showing him a random match thread from NSC but just sucked it up and told him I would be a good boy.

Was a little surprised though as I only thought your TV channels were into that puritan attitude.

The UK’s a sweary country. I work with clients, often from very privileged and posh backgrounds, into rugby or cricket, who swear for England.

The US is a mixed picture. A colleague spent many years working for Coca Cola in London and Atlanta. Their rule was immediate dismissal on hearing blatant swearing …. a Bible Belt thing. I wouldn’t have lasted.