Jump to content

Chants


rob.notenboom

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 65
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I assume Zach is a capo? If so, this is exactly why I'm not a fan of capos. You guys could have just sung it at the game and everybody would have joined in. There is much more room for creative songs with no capo. E.g. QPR to Derby last week: Did you cry at Wem-ba-lee?! And "we saw you cry on the telly, cry on the teeeleee...". No reply. Great stuff!

Creative/witty songs that are one line will catch on. Songs that are 7 lines long will not, unless you have a critical mass. 50 people out of a thousand will not cut it. I wish we would have had more time in the pub to help spread new chant ideas, but unfortunately flag setup went long.

Looking back on the support in Vancouver, the main reason it worked is because the majority of the songs sung were re-purposed Whitecaps chants. People knew them. That is why we were loud. I heard some grumblings about not enough Voyageurs songs. In a way, I agree and I would like this to change in the future. But you have to remember that this was the first mens national team match in Vancouver in 10 years. A lot of people were attending their first ever national team game. We needed to be loud, so we used what we thought would be the most successful. In the end, I think it was.

For Canada matches, when we have so many visiting supporters in the stadium, we can not be passive and wait for spontaneous chants to develop. We need to keep the noise going to both support the team and drown out the opposition. So as long as I have a bit of a say, capos will continue to be a major part of that in Vancouver moving forward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to add a chant. We did a variation on this in Edmonton and it came off not too badly. Apparently the guys also did it in Montreal during WWC but I wasn't there to hear. To the tune of Excursuon Around the Bay by Great Big Sea. 

 

Oh me oh my. 

I heard Honduras cry. 

Oh me oh my. 

I think we're gonna die. 

Oh me oh my. 

I heard Honduras say. 

We never should have taken on the Maple Leaf today. 

Hey!

This is fantastic.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking back on the support in Vancouver, the main reason it worked is because the majority of the songs sung were re-purposed Whitecaps chants. People knew them. That is why we were loud. I heard some grumblings about not enough Voyageurs songs. In a way, I agree and I would like this to change in the future. But you have to remember that this was the first mens national team match in Vancouver in 10 years.

That's funny that you heard grumbling about not enough Vs chants, Mass. I didn't hear any grumbling, although at halftime a couple of guys asked me if there were any that were missed just to add some variety. In my beer and excitement addled state, I couldn't really think of any (and since can think of a half dozen ... of course), but personally I had no problem with the repurposed Caps chants. In fact in my experience it's never really been another way: TFC chants in Toronto, Edmonton chants in Edmonton, and now Caps chants in Vancouver. I've said it elsewhere - that's one of the things I enjoy about going to new cities is that people have local chants and I can learn them and add them to my chant lexicon so to speak. You guys did a fabulous job, and I hope you got many more thanks than complaints. 

I completely agree that to do something new and unique takes a concerted effort from a large number of people. Maybe that should be a goal for the next game: target two or three chants, have a large number of people learn them, bring several handfuls of lyric sheets to pass around, and try the new chants at planned times. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

... one small critique ... when we tried it in Edm we did it faster. 

Mostly we started at that pace to try and teach it by speaking clearly. By the end though the rhythm really worked. It was fist-pounding (or air-punching), stomping giant time. Faster and it would lose it's hard edge and make it harder to understand. The words matter. :)

 

Re: not enough "Voyageur" songs:  We started teaching them in the pub by simply singing them as a small group and people joined in. I know Zach was doing an amazing job with set-up at the stadium but next time we need him to be at the pub, teaching, learning (and drinking). He should not have to do it all!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm afraid not. But it needs to be. 

Are you sure you ain't dat string who keeps comin' around here? :P

I'm a personal fan of songs created on the spot and prefer to let spontaneity lead us into hilarious chants in the moment, but I understand there's a lot of new people who are taking in games and so pre-set song sheets are a bit of a must as the Voyageurs section grows in new stadiums. I've been fortunate to be a part of smaller groups in other Canadian cities for different matches (one-off friendlies, GC). At these ones it's way more fun to let spontaneous things happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

So looking ahead to March. We know the Mexicans will be yelling something every time Milan goes to take a goal kick so I think we should have something planned to try and drown them out or least compete. Whenever Milan takes a goal kick we should have the usual run up of "Oooooooooh" and when he makes contact we scream "Milaaaan!" or " "Borjaaaaan!" Anyway not exactly a chant but a little something we can do to try and get the other Canadian fans into it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

if we end up going down a goal early we could try a few adjusted versus of We're not going to take it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9AbeALNVkk 

this would give the squad a boost...how would it not from a few thousand strong.


edit:

f*ck waiting to see if we concede...we never beat mexico. lets send the msg early and set the tone

...bloody epic @ kickoff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qfRNyFxnWk

couple this with large banner/tifo while simultaneously deploying a confetti dump of the second deck ...next level kickoff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The majority (I dare say vast majority) of people who've bought tickets in our section have not read, and never will read, this thread. I love the idea of complex chants and songs as much as anyone, but the reality is that to have any meaningful impact on match day, whatever's being sung or chanted in the section has to be simple and readily recognizable to as many people as possible.

When there's 30 of us on a road trip to whatever, esoteric stuff works great and creates wonderful memories for those involved. I know, I've been there. But if we're going to make the most out of selling thousands of tickets and creating an environment, then it's not about going super-nerdy for the sake of it. It's about doing things that will attract those thousands of people, not alienate them--and create a wall of sound that can hopefully assist the Canadian team (which is kinda the whole point, right?)

Because if the people in the supporters section (the majority who aren't reading this thread) feel included and have a great time, they might visit the forum and be part of future threads of this sort. But if they feel like it's "just something those people in the first few rows are doing", they won't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone said it years ago on here so I won't try and take credit... But heart of gold by neil young should be the song if there had to be one.  Before the game a la you'll never walk... Or during, whatever.  It's canadian, it's great, a lot of the lyrics can be metaphorically applied to chasing a world cup.  It's alsoa song lots of people know and not hard to learn for those who don't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My buddy came up with this one fro Mexico:

This Ain't Azteca (tune: La Cucaracha)

This ain't Az-tec-ah, this ain't Az-tec-ah,
You're gonna lose to Canada.
This ain't Az-tec-ah, this ain't Az-tec-ah,
You're gonna lose to Canada!

Pretty simple to learn I think.

Re: slightly more complex chants - if we can get 20 people singing on Thursday at the Rendevous, that can be 100 people at the pre-game Rendevous, which can then be 200 by the end of the march and that is enough (with songsheets) to get the whole section going in the stands.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
1 minute ago, Califax said:

Anyone thing of anything good for the next round of games?

Would love to have people humming stuff pregame. 

Been toiling over how to change things up for a long time now.

A lot of it just comes down to will by enough people to do it.

Ottawa SG has a night they call Choir Practice, which is a great name.  

Perhaps we should look into something similar with a lot of beer.....

But mostly I am interested in looking at other ways to lead the section and how to strike a balance between being spontaneous and structured.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Califax said:

Anyone thing of anything good for the next round of games?

Would love to have people humming stuff pregame. 

I posted this one in the Davies thread, to the tune of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe": 

Hey we just met him
And this is crazy 
He's gone to Munich  
Alphonso Davies

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, ESG Shawn said:

I posted this one in the Davies thread, to the tune of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe": 

Hey we just met him
And this is crazy 
He's gone to Munich  
Alphonso Davies

Yeah I mean this is a must,

There was one for the last gold cup that I came up with that was

 

Hey I just met him, and this is crazy

but i'm in love with, Alphonso Davies

And all the goals he scores, f*cking (or, just) amaze me

cause i'm in love with, Alphonso Davies

 

Whatever we land on, this one is a keeper.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Despite what people think about the viking clap or whatever it is called now, Bobby was doing that for TFC and Canada games in the supporters section in 2011, and that is not a claim he invented it. 

There is of course something really powerful to simple things the whole stadium can get behind.

Shedding all pretense of ultra anything, and reliance on the supporters groups going forward I think we are really free now to do whatever the hell we want. 

So this should not just be about songs but the following.

1. Coordination of the section.  Capo, trumpet, smart watches.... I don't care think outside the box.

2. Simple stadium crowd animation they can get behind and how we signal them to do A B C....

3. Things that are completely new.  A gong shaped like a canoe, or a large native drum, whatever... we strike when we score a goal and all yell "sorry".  (think it was Gary O who came up with the sorry idea)

So it should be about creating traditions, animating and coordinating ourselves and how to reach beyond to the rest of the stadium.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...