Fans meeting at the Amex: making the atmosphere good

[Working class pride]

Sussex men fought and died to Sussex by the sea in World War 1 and 2. But the announcer wants to change it and put it between some naff pop song or a star wars theme tune. It defies belief. Can we have an announcer that has a soul and realises that the pre match is not about him, but about the fans please.Let the crowd sing and just play music before they come out , then susses by the sea and then turn that bloody sound system off please. As for naf flags - well if want to be a laughing stock like chelsea then go ahead, but if not then pack it in will you, next you will be playing something garbage like glad all over. I ask you, where did we get him from? Reading, palace or some other noddy club?

 

[Scotty Mac]

Also the person that said GOSBTS could be strange after building up the atmosphere... Come off it. Ever been to a ground where the club song is belted out properly by everyone in the ground as the teams come out? That is always immense.

nobody has EVER sung along to sussex by the sea though. the one time they tried to have people do it when they printed the words on the back of those card things at home to stockport it was a total cock up

if you want people to belt out the club anthem, it has to be simple to sing and everybody needs to know the words like when you have 35,000 belting out marching on together. how many people going are actually going to know the full and proper words to sussex by the sea?

 

[Captain Haddock]

Personalised songs definately lift players, it goes without saying.

Hope we manage to come up with some more!...I'm struggling for inspiration before you ask.

 

[Working class pride]

nobody has EVER sung along to sussex by the sea though. the one time they tried to have people do it when they printed the words on the back of those card things at home to stockport it was a total cock up

if you want people to belt out the club anthem, it has to be simple to sing and everybody needs to know the words like when you have 35,000 belting out marching on together. how many people going are actually going to know the full and proper words to sussex by the sea?

Eh? Nobody knows the full proper words to god save the queen but despite my wish they would stop singing god save the queen, it doesnt stop people singing the one verse they do know, same goes for the national anthem of Sussex - Good old sussex by the sea. I do wonder where some people get these noddy ideas like star war from. I suppose you either have a soul or you dont, a bit like talent at sport, you either have it your you dont

 

[Billy the Fish]

OK point taken but if it does'nt work or the majority of fans don't like it the club will listen. It was brought up that we will have many new Albion fans at The Amex, some will have probably never set foot in a ground like ours before, many won't know the songs, history or perhaps alot of the players (!) The last thing we want is people sitting on their hands not knowing what to do. All these little things will help (not create) a match day atmosphere, at the end of the day that's down to the people in the stands.

Absolutely the wrong thing to do. Let people do their own thing, people have brains and will go along with the other supporters, they will not just sit on their hands. I don't think all these little things will help, they will only hinder as Trueblue explains below.

It seems fairly obvious to me that the last tune BEFORE the teams come out should be 'Right Here, Right Now' which is a renowned football rabble-rouser and entirely appropriate for us because of the Fatboy connection. Followed by GOSBTS as the ref moves them forward... The fanfare at the start of that was always the cue for the rising roar in the days before big screens could show us the teams in the tunnel. If any new fans don't know that yet, they'll soon learn.

While I said earlier that it's good the club want to foster a fervent atmosphere, they also need to be aware that too much emphasis on creating an atmosphere with loud music actually kills it. It's a vicious circle. Play some loud music to get the fans excited - fans can't even hear the bloke next to them, let alone the away fans - club thinks 'oh, there's no atmosphere.. better turn up the music a bit more'.

I've been lucky enough in the past few years to go to 3 Champions League Finals. In Athens, the best part of the build-up was undoubtedly when the PA had technical problems for a minute or so. Result - Liverpool's fans started singing. The AC Milan fans responded. The noise and the excitement began to ramp up as more and more people were buzzing.. and then they turned the bloody music back on.

Spot on

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

nobody has EVER sung along to sussex by the sea though. the one time they tried to have people do it when they printed the words on the back of those card things at home to stockport it was a total cock up

if you want people to belt out the club anthem, it has to be simple to sing and everybody needs to know the words like when you have 35,000 belting out marching on together. how many people going are actually going to know the full and proper words to sussex by the sea?

But they dont have to sing all four verses, just the first two and the chorus will be fine, then the usual "All together now"......GOSBTS, but not at 100 mph

Sussex By the Sea - The Sussex County's Unofficial Anthem.

 

[DIFFBROOK]

Not sure why people are so het up about the waving of flags etc. Its a personal choice you dont have to wave them. If others get enjoyment out of doing so, then good for them. As for me, I wont. But if the chap next to me enthuses about the Albion and gets pleasure from waving his flag and cheering on the Albion, then good for him. Beats having someone constantly moaning all the time.

As for making it a plastic club - get real. There is a tendency for some of us to be a bit almighty about the Albion. I want as many people to enjoy the Albion experience as possible, having an atmosphere as electric as possible so that they come through the doors time and time again. That means the 12,000 (or whatever) JCls who we will need to keep once the novelty of the first games/season. If that means waving a flag or a giant hand, then so be it. Rather that than 6000 hard core, rambling about.

As for music, I think it depends on how loud it is. If its background music, that still allows chat and fans singing then I have no problem with that. But if its very loud music which is used soley to create an atmosphere, I take people points - no. Loud music is very intrusive and not a personal thing, unless the guy can only hear it through a personal hi fi attached to his seat (ah is that the answer?).

GOSBTS must stay. Its unique to us. Its our history. And players must run out to it - its akin to Liverpool players touching the Anfield sign as they run out.

 

[Working class pride]

Difbrook, you create a false choice. Making the club a plastic clubs turns people away, it does not bring people in. Chelsea were rightly crucified for the naf plastic flags in the champions league. And as for sussex by the sea, then it is an asset to the club that should be celebrated, as millwall do with let em come, or leeds do with marching all together. Simple really, you cant buy a soul, you either have or you dont. The albion has a soul thankfully.

 

[KNC]

Your on the right lines with Fat Boy Slim, his music will definetly feature, not a great fan of dance music personally but it makes sense. Trouble is some other clubs have nicked Right Here, Right Now and others he has done I think. Probably time to reclaim them!

Agreed, it really annoys me that other clubs have 'nicked'. Right Here. It is such a great 'build up' tune.
Maybe Norm will do another version for us.

 

[Return of the Rev]

"1. the management want the fans to forget singing songs and winding up the opposing fans and get behind the team"

People will pooh-pooh this one but I think there is a decent point being made. Abusive songs about the opposition (especially ones that have swearing in) will never catch on and be sung en masse around the ground. Good songs about the Albion and our players sometimes will - so the more of those the better.

Plus I'm sure songs lauding players like last season's Elliott Bennett one do give the team a lift far more than the ones aimed at opposing fans. Ok, it was a bit annoying after a while but with a bit more variety, that type of constant noise on a bigger scale would be fantastic...

I agree that the Goldstone was generally a very quiet ground, certainly from the mid-80s onwards. But this is a fresh start and a chance to establish the culture that Albion = Noisy in the same way that places like Stoke have managed to acheive. It's good the club are actively interested in trying to promote a fervent, football atmosphere.

i think they accept that this might be a bit difficult at one game!

 

[eastlondonseagull]

FCUM didn't need a roof and made Withdean rock. Being 4-0 up didn't prevent singing at Charlton.
Forget the excuses and sing.

THIS, totally. All the excuses. We just need the quiet-as-mice Withdean majority to become a minority.

 

[eastlondonseagull]

Agreed, it really annoys me that other clubs have 'nicked'. Right Here. It is such a great 'build up' tune.
Maybe Norm will do another version for us.

You and dance music?!!

 

[Return of the Rev]

Should be no trouble raising the roof at falmer,plenty of hot air already! The club might be right might be wrong but they want an atmosphere they want to listen to fans how bloomin fantastic is that!
The goldstone had plenty of quiet days walton and hersham at home! I did like the atmo to be different,thats what makes certain games special at withdean even the big games were not much bigger than the rest!I'M lookig forward to the gillingham game first under floodlights and the night games at the goldstone always seemed special! Its got to come from the fans and to be fair thats why the club were asking the fans! On our tour on monday the noise sounded great in the wsu but the north stand was very quiet! also expect a bit from west stand lower south! AND THE FAMILY STAND! Not forgetting the away fans! can't wait!

 

[Ernest]

Some of us like a nice QUIET genteel ATMOSPHERE and too much NOISE interferes with my afternoon NAP

 

[Dave the OAP]

the discussion was not about ' right here right now' it was ' put your hands up for Brighton '

I think people have to accept that football has moved on from cloth caps and jumpers for goalposts. The suggestion at the meeting was that the best atmosphere at withdean came from A) fc united fans who put the " you can't get an atmos at with dean" well and truly to bed and B) the family stand. if by giving the kids flags and clappers etc means they have a great time, then that is what is going to happen.

 

[trueblue]

"nobody has EVER sung along to sussex by the sea though. the one time they tried to have people do it when they printed the words on the back of those card things at home to stockport it was a total cock up"

Big screens can help with this. You don't need to know the words off by heart.

And granny weatherwax's point that football has moved on is true. But not every innovation dreamt up at some point by a middle class marketing man who loves the atmosphere at Twickenham is appropriate to football or necessarily an improvement.

 

[Dave the OAP]

I agree, but thevperception is that the atmos was so poor at withdean, the club need to engage the fans to find out why, and how we can change it at falmer....that is exactly whatbthe meeting was about and apart from Gus, insistence about those people who feel it necessary to boo, he wants us to be the 12th player, which he feels we are not ....Tony b kept going on about Stoke..they must really have impressed him.

 

[trueblue]

Serious question though. Was the atmos at Stoke great

 

[trueblue]

Oops - bloody iPhone. Serious question though. Is the atmosphere at Stoke good because they all have a little plastic flag?

I'm not against the flags too much but getting people to SING is what matters.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Oops - bloody iPhone. Serious question though. Is the atmosphere at Stoke good because they all have a little plastic flag?

I'm not against the flags too much but getting people to SING is what matters.

I think the plastic flag is a red herring actually as it will only be for the opening game......should look really great to be fair, but you are right again...it's all about creating an atmosphere and the way to do that and the way the club are going is loud music, pumping the blood and getting people excited. obviously an anathema to some on this thread, an exciting opportunity to others