RFC to become family club of the year?

[brendywendy]

Huge, passionate vocal support does not have to equate to violence or be physically intimidating. I've been to games where there has been superb support but the atmosphere has been enjoyable.

I know we don't need seats flying from each stand and batton charges by riot police.
But it's also pretty hard sometimes to keep on vocally supporting if you're surrounded by this new type of fan who look at you like you're a Gorrila that's escaped from the zoo and never join in.
So a fan like me, who has put a hell of alot more money into the club than the newbies should start acting completely different, which in turn ruins my enjoyment of a match day?

you dont need to tell me that


if you look, i said i got told off for being too loud the other day, that the players cant hear us, so its pointless
i mentioned a family i once saw who brought a picanic and some wine and a RUG!!
i often lose the will to live at games because its just me and the three blokes behind me singing.
the only way to get them to join in, is to keep singing, so they learn the songs, and gradually feel able to join in.

id blame the way society has become so shy, and retiring, and obssessed with looking cool and not bovvered, for the fact that less people start or join in with chants these days than more familys coming to the game

[Thaumagurist*]

I know plenty of people who think that football crowds are all about swearing, drinking and violence/pack mentality and are put off by it.

What's wrong with drinking and swearing?

Well, drinking can make some people a bit more violent/uncontrollable than they would be normally if they indulge too much and swearing offends some people.

If they're so timid, maybe they shouldn't leave home at all.

[brendywendy]

therefore RFC gain a few weasel families and lose one moron.

LOL @ talking as if I'm a Football hooligan.

apologies-i went all condescending without noticing

im just trying to make the point that as a demographic goes, teen to 30s working class man is a pretty tiny one, and will probably just have to put up with all the changes it doesnt really like

as upsetting as that is, even to me

[cmonurz]

'Lads' don't want an atmosphere where kids and families and the like are singing and joining in. They don't want to turn around and see a woman or a kid smiling and joining in, they want to see another beered up teen frothing at the mouth.

That's the issue. boy1985 alluded to it when he accused me of wanting an 'U21 game atmosphere', which isn't true at all.

[who are ya?]

i mentioned a family i once saw who brought a picanic and some wine and a RUG!!
i often lose the will to live at games because its just me and the three blokes behind me singing.

Well we obviously both dislike the new age Football "atmosphere" but you can obviously keep a hell of alot cooler about the whole situation than I can. I just see it as ruin the game I love and cannot look at it from the other side.

[who are ya?]

they want to see another beered up teen frothing at the mouth.

Seriously, what is it with people and tagging people who like a beer and a good atmosphere to raging pisshead hooligans straight off the 1970's terraces. Sad really.

[brendywendy]

What's wrong with drinking and swearing?

Well, drinking can make some people a bit more violent/uncontrollable than they would be normally if they indulge too much and swearing offends some people.

If they're so timid, maybe they shouldn't leave home at all.

maybe i shouldnt be surprised that a deaf man canot understand that shouting and swearing does intimidate a large proportion of people who dont fit into footballs old demographic

but that doesnt change the fact that it does.

perhaps if you likened it to something that scared or intimidated you

perhaps, if someone ran at you flailing their fists out of the blue, it could simulate the effect that loud aggressive men can have on other non loud agressive men type people

[Sarah Star]

they want to see another beered up teen frothing at the mouth.

Seriously, what is it with people and tagging people who like a beer and a good atmosphere to raging pisshead hooligans straight off the 1970's terraces. Sad really.

Maybe you've hit the nail on the head there and it's an image the club would like to distance itself from too.

[Sun Tzu]

So a fan like me, who has put a hell of alot more money into the club than the newbies should start acting completely different, which in turn ruins my enjoyment of a match day?

No, don't really think there should be a need for that as long as what you enjoy doing isn't so ridiculous as to be over the top.

In years gone by going to football was (for many people) about fighting, rascist chants, standoffs with the police etc etc etc. Some people might have complained that they paid their money and if that's how they wanted to enjoy themselves then that was fair enough. Times do move on though.

I think most 'new' fans (and bear in mind you and I were 'new' once) would really enjoy a lively, supportive atmosphere. What they wouldn't enjoy is the sort of stuff we saw against Cardiff or have seen from some other clubs in the past. We've had games where the atmosphere has been superb but not a hint of threat. Which kind of proves it is possible. I've always thought that if those who complain put as much effort into just supporting the team there would be no problems.

[cmonurz]

they want to see another beered up teen frothing at the mouth.

Seriously, what is it with people and tagging people who like a beer and a good atmosphere to raging pisshead hooligans straight off the 1970's terraces. Sad really.

Perhaps it stems from people essentially claiming that the atmosphere can't be any good with the current crowd demographic, implying that they just don't want certain types of people at football matches?

[brendywendy]

i mentioned a family i once saw who brought a picanic and some wine and a RUG!!
i often lose the will to live at games because its just me and the three blokes behind me singing.

Well we obviously both dislike the new age Football "atmosphere" but you can obviously keep a hell of alot cooler about the whole situation than I can. I just see it as ruin the game I love and cannot look at it from the other side.

cos i dont care what other people are doing, i dont need the rest of the crowd to sing along with me to validate my actions
ill happily sing a daft song that no one knows, and that sounds silly, at the top of my voice, regardless
and while i do cringe sometimes during the long silences, mostly i just carry on regardless.

its sad, i am upset myself by it, but times change, and thats the end of it, you cant go backwards.
if we all followed your thinking there would be little over 8 thousand of us still in elm park

and whilst id enjoy it, i realise that its probably not the best thing for the club that i love

[brendywendy]

they want to see another beered up teen frothing at the mouth.

Seriously, what is it with people and tagging people who like a beer and a good atmosphere to raging pisshead hooligans straight off the 1970's terraces. Sad really.

we all like beer and good atmsphere.
but why cant you see that swearing in a shouty agressive voice probably isnt going to make many people feel very comfortable

[Thaumagurist*]

they want to see another beered up teen frothing at the mouth.

Seriously, what is it with people and tagging people who like a beer and a good atmosphere to raging pisshead hooligans straight off the 1970's terraces. Sad really.

we all like beer and good atmsphere.
but why cant you see that swearing in a shouty agressive voice probably isnt going to make many people feel very comfortable

But what if it was aimed at the opposition/referee? Surely not all of aggression is going to be aimed at their poor little heads.

[who are ya?]

they want to see another beered up teen frothing at the mouth.

Seriously, what is it with people and tagging people who like a beer and a good atmosphere to raging pisshead hooligans straight off the 1970's terraces. Sad really.

Perhaps it stems from people essentially claiming that the atmosphere can't be any good with the current crowd demographic, implying that they just don't want certain types of people at football matches?

The atmosphere wouldn't be any good if times change even more and every end of the ground was full of West Stand mentality (being the most family friendly stand).
It's not just "lads" that can ruin a persons enjoyment of a Football match. I went to an England match a few years back and one of my mates was sat next to a Dad with a newborn baby laying in his arms, basically preventing my mate from showing any form of passion, knowing right next to his arm is a babies head. You can't get more family friendly than that but it's hardly fair either is it?

[Thaumagurist*]

Oh and don't forget that in the days before the late 80's, there was no segregation. So the fans don't really mix and therefore there is little chance of violence, unless you have away fans attempting to sneak in with a home ticket...

[Tommy Youlden's Ears]

When I take my son, I sit in he west. I don't want too much swearing and aggression.

When I go on my own, I get as far East-South as I can, cos I like swearing and chanting and abusing the ref.

Apart from the fact that my son is hacked off with the fact that he and I are the only ones chanting, this works fine.

So what's the problem - there's somewhere for everyone.

['lista]

I am really hoping we win the "Sky Digital Media Best Media Communication" award, though, I confess, I have no idea what this means.

[Sun Tzu]

I am really hoping we win the "Sky Digital Media Best Media Communication" award, though, I confess, I have no idea what this means.

From the nominations it looks like 'best pre match slide show' !!

[PEARCEY]

What image should this club go for then? Being seen as a family club or otherwise won't stop the stadium being a morgue on matchday.

Affordable.

Just got a ticket for my 6 year old to go with me to the Forest game for £5.50...thats affordable and family orientated. Its what its all about for me. Father/son...going down through the generations.If the club do more of this ticket reduction stuff for young uns it will attract families. I dont see anything wrong with that as I want to take my lad to a game within a safe environment.I want to watch the football and not some thugs kicking lumps out of each other.

[Rex]

My daughter occasionally goes to away games. Not so much this year as she did in the last season of the premier. She's been caught out swearing and singing along to the swear chants and i only allow her to swear only inside the ground. For the home games she's polite as pie.

The only thing ghey about this club is the piss poor level of away support, but that is another dynamic that has been dicussed to death on other threads.

Taking kids to football is not a real issue as long as the parents taking them understand the culture of football and what could be encountered. Hopefully they are the future as long as parents are willing to absorb the costs until self sufficiency kicks in.