Don't ask me to sit down

[Cheeta]

an open letter from The Wee Elf

 

"Don't ask me to sit dow.  I'm doing my part.

"Cheering, chanting, jumping. 

"Doing my best to let our ladies know that I am here supporting them, encouraging them, urging them to victory while they represent us in the greatest tournament in the world.

" In MY country, in YOUR country, in THEIR country

"What's wrong with you?  You look healthy enough to me get your ass out of that chair and show our Ladies in Red you care. 

"Stand up for the Girls in Red.

" Montreal fans I challenge you.  I challenge you to show Edmonton fans that a parade is not enough.  Show them that the passion must go with you into the stands.

"Stand up.  Be proud.  Be loud.  This is not the CFL.

"THIS IS FOOTBALL".

 

 

[Cheeta]

Tonnes of love for those who put everything together and those who busted their ass to make the Commonwealth experience a gas but (obviously) she's a bit pissed at some of the so-called fans in the stands who're bothered by supporters doing their supporting bit.  She pissed at the CSA for not being able to organize a two car funeral.  She's pissed at the Edmonton Organizing Committee (or whatever they call themselves) for being wittless. 

 

Trust me, you have no idea.  She's pissed.

 

That's my girl. 

[rkomar]

I got a few surly looks just for clapping too loudly.  These women have come from all over the world just to play in front of us, the least we can do is let them know we care.

[nolando]

I distinctly remember almost getting arrested at Swangard over standing and cheering  along the sidelines in front of some pissed off away supporters who seemed to have the sympathy of the police. I like to think we've come a long way in the country, but maybe I'm being naiive.

[madmonte]

I will never sit anywhere at a Canada game but with the Vs.  ONLY exception is if I were to bring kids or something, through a friend.  Good job to Sport_Shaman for calmly and rationally dealing with the police and security.  At one point there was a mother right beside a cop, and the cop was saying that there are complaints from the fans behind us that they can't see the game.  

 

So what needs to change?  Clearly the advertising on the ticket sales needs to change, to VERY clearly state that you are entering a supporters section?  Or if it WAS advertised, then I am sorry, buyer needed to beware.  There are dozes of other sections to be in.

 

But there was absolutely NO way that our Vs section would have sat down.  If they tried arresting people I would have left before I would have sat and watched the game.  And never went to Commonwealth again.

 

As it was, the police and security ended up being reasonable, especially since our section was pre-arranged to be a special section as always.  Good job on Sport_Shaman and Jamie and whoever helped organize that as well.

 

My recommendation?  If you want to come be loud, make sure to come and sit with the Vs.  We need your voice anyways.

 

Also, yeah, that parade was goofy.  A bunch of real fans, a whole PILE of phonies, and hopefully some converts that will be soccer fans for life!  THAT is the goal, right?  But if you are coming to the parade and chanting with us and cheering with us just to end up at the stadium sitting on your damn hands the whole time?  Shameful.

[red card]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/an-oral-history/article24914992/?from=24951553

 

Globe's Cathal Kelly has an article about London Olympics match with the US. McLeod had two interesting quotes for me. One of which deals with the backwardness of our football culture. And while Edmonton came out in numbers, I rather still have Canada matches in Vancouver, Montreal & Toronto where there is an understanding on what it means to be a Canada football supporter.

 

McLeod: Sometimes Canadian soccer fans can be a bit quiet and, frankly, lame. That (BMO Field vs the US) was the first time I was like, yeah, Canadian soccer fans can be awesome.

 

The other quote of note was that one of the assistants told her to hurry up her kicks at half time. She narrowly interpreted this notice as only applying to goal kicks. So, she was warned but it didn't sink in.

[MattBinYYC]

So just because I was unable to get tickets with the V's and wanted to sit in better seats because the event was super important to me, I shouldn't have been in the parade? I'll have you know I was loud and vocal when people were up for chanting along from across the stadium.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Globe's Cathal Kelly has an article about the London Olympics match with the US.

An amazingly good article.  Why does this guy write like such a trolling dork most of the time when he has the potential to write something as good as this.  I guess you could say the same about Canada playing to their potential.

 

My predictions have been pretty good so far and my feeling for tonight is we'll see a little better offensive effort from Canada along the lines of their pre tourny game vs England.  If not we'll have to do it the hard way like they usually seem to want to do.

[madmonte]

So just because I was unable to get tickets with the V's and wanted to sit in better seats because the event was super important to me, I shouldn't have been in the parade? I'll have you know I was loud and vocal when people were up for chanting along from across the stadium.

aka real fan.  

 

I didn't say you HAD to sit with the Vs.  Just that if you want to continue to be vocal, and are the type of fan that wants to stand and chant, then you probably SHOULD be with the Vs, because other sections were getting asked to sit down, and in fact our section was asked multiple times as well but refused.  (Read the thread title)The fact that you are on this board shows you are a true red fan.  People like you are NOT what I was referring to.  

[-Hammer-]

I got a few surly looks just for clapping too loudly.  These women have come from all over the world just to play in front of us, the least we can do is let them know we care.

 

I get this all the time in Toronto. For Ti-Cat games vs the Argos, at MNT games, at Blue Jays games and I'm told it is magnified tenfold for Maple Leafs games. It's always buy some guy in a suit or dressed in a polo wearing no home team gear, but almost certainly from the area .You are at a sporting event, cheering is expected. If you wanted to hang out and socialize or tweet on your phone the whole game, you should have gone to a cafe and if you think it's rude to show support by cheering, you're the rude one with out much of a stick in the mud you are.

[madmonte]

Well said.

 

You know, I think FIFA and especially the CSA are being a little chickensh!, know why?  I think they are scared to death of some loud supporter having some sort of FHRITP moment, or racist moment, or something. 

 

I think there's a little bit of fear of that from our end too...Never have I seen so many so nervous to chant "We're F^&#ing Dynamite".  Perhaps rightfully so? 

 

Anyway, when you try SO hard to make something come off, usually all that happens is you suck the fun right out of it, and suck the atmosphere right out of it.  They (CSA, FIFA, etc) should be equally worried about THAT.  And again, good on security for allowing us (after some discussion) to continue doing our thing in Edmonton.

[Cheeta]

^
Kids.  Lots of kids.  Don't have a problem keeping that in mind when when getting loud, it wasn't a proper supporters section after all, more a shared space.  Did have a funny with it more than once I thought with the "WE'RE something-something DYNAMITE!".  Casuals around us were laughing anyway.

 

FIFA isn' the problem, CSA is the problem.  To my mind anyway.  At every tourny in every country its all nods and winks from the respective federations and the local organizing committees.  Not here. 

 

No supporter sections at FIFA events?  No standing sections at FIFA events?  "Oh, sure, sure.  Got you.  Yes sir, Mr Blatter."   Then what do you see on the TV?  Whole grandstands doing their thing like its 1974 and some Midlands terrace somewhere.  And the organizers (and FIFA) couldn't be happier.  What an event!  What passion!  But nope, not here.

 

Enough, I feel a rant coming on.  Not that I don't mind a good rant every 5 minutes or so just that it would bore everyone here because its been heard 10,000 times on these forums already.

 

   

[Blue and White Army]

Did the organizing committee who sold the Voyageurs the block of tickets ever actually say/write that standing would be okay?

[Sport Shaman]

^^^ Yes. Multiple EMails back and forth with the Venue Security Manager confirmed that was the plan and would be allowed. In fact, after the complaints came from people in Section FF rows behind the Vs about not being able to see, they had a back up plan in place and offered them tickets in a different section in order to relocate them (the complainers). The confusion with the police arose because the EPS may not have been fully aware of what was arranged. Once the security supervisor was contacted and came over all was resolved in favour of allowing the supporters to remain standing.

 

I have nothing bad to say about the security staff in Commonwealth; they were first class. The miserable people who complained because they bought tickets in the wrong area however, I am not so fond of.

 

This was in stark contrast with Olympic stadium last night where there was a grand total of one flag on a really soft piece of plastic tubing and  their security swooped in and took the tubing away and let the guy keep his flag. No sense of humour with those guys.   

[Blue and White Army]

Interesting.

 

Voyageurs were at the front of a section in Edmonton; how did the venue managers hope to prevent problems with people sitting behind you? They did leave two or three "buffer rows" empty? Or did they sell tickets to "sitters" immediately behind the Vees' section?

 

Have such emails also taken place with the venue managers here in Vancouver?

[red card]

And yet, the Voyageurs are used as media porn. In Montreal, we had numerous social media types from tv networks asking us to pose for pics, photographers dove right into our section for pics and tv cameras were filming in our midst.

 

If weren't for the Voyageurs, it was a pretty lame crowd as McLeod would say. 

[ThatDaveCh]

And yet, the Voyageurs are used as media porn. In Montreal, we had numerous social media types from tv networks asking us to pose for pics, photographers dove right into our section for pics and tv cameras were filming in our midst.

 

If weren't for the Voyageurs, it was a pretty lame crowd as McLeod would say. 

 

This could be said for fixtures in Edmonton too. The crowds around the country are very much hockey crowds, where you get the "ooo's and ahh's," along with the noise when we have possession past half. There's also the generic "Let's Go X" chant that comes up, because the general crowd doesn't know any more than that. 

 

When you get the V's in the stands, it definitely turns heads. We're vital to the energy in the stands, especially considering that the "hockey crowd" won't generate the same excitement and noise given that footy is a slower game that doesn't have as much back and forth action.