Fan Violence 8/13

Scholesy · 08-14-2005, 12:15 AM

Here's my take on this.

Throwing things of any sort on the field is not acceptable at any time, no streamers, no paper cups, no mini soccer balls, no drinks, nothing. This is a game were control of the ball is everything, three times tonight I saw a player (twice our own players) trip and miss kick a ball because of streamers. I have always hated them and always will, there is no place in soccer for anything to be thrown on to the pitch to distract from the game, it's just simply an example of the people needing something to make life more exciting for them. Having said that I promise you that after tonight streamers will be banned, no question about it after the conversations I heard after the game. Apart from it being against FIFA rules it obviously has some people thinking that sonce they are allowed and indeed encouraged, to throw things onto the pitch that they can throw anything on to the pitch. I blame RSL for that encouragement and made my opinions clear tonight to management and on air. You can't expect peopel to draw a line, you should be able to expect people to draw a liine, but you simply can't, people aren't always that smart.

The big problem I have with throwing things at the refs, however frustrated we might all be with the refs, is that instead of people focusing on the poor officiating in the 2nd half everyone is now focused on the 'fans' of RSL and our bad behaviour.

I agree with Duece, I see you throw something - anything - I call security. football is a passionate game, but should never be a violent one.

Aerick · 08-14-2005, 12:53 AM

What about having people clean up the streamers? There were a couple of staff workers in the supporters corner that would go out and pick up the streamers while play was happening elsewhere on the field. That would allow the fans to celebrate in an appropriate manner, while also allowing the players to have an clean pitch to play on. I love the streamers because it's a beautiful sight from my vantage point. Throwing other things on the field isn't a good idea - but specifically throwing things at other players is bad news. Perhaps a clearly defined policy regarding what can be thrown on the field and what can't should be stipulated. Even if they decided to ban streamers, that doesn't mean that people can't still throw cups, bottles and ice. :P

Rover · 08-14-2005, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scholesy

Here's my take on this.

Throwing things of any sort on the field is not acceptable at any time, no streamers, no paper cups, no mini soccer balls, no drinks, nothing. This is a game were control of the ball is everything, three times tonight I saw a player (twice our own players) trip and miss kick a ball because of streamers. I have always hated them and always will, there is no place in soccer for anything to be thrown on to the pitch to distract from the game, it's just simply an example of the people needing something to make life more exciting for them. Having said that I promise you that after tonight streamers will be banned, no question about it after the conversations I heard after the game. Apart from it being against FIFA rules it obviously has some people thinking that sonce they are allowed and indeed encouraged, to throw things onto the pitch that they can throw anything on to the pitch. I blame RSL for that encouragement and made my opinions clear tonight to management and on air. You can't expect peopel to draw a line, you should be able to expect people to draw a liine, but you simply can't, people aren't always that smart.

The big problem I have with throwing things at the refs, however frustrated we might all be with the refs, is that instead of people focusing on the poor officiating in the 2nd half everyone is now focused on the 'fans' of RSL and our bad behaviour.

I agree with Duece, I see you throw something - anything - I call security. football is a passionate game, but should never be a violent one.

Well said. We have to police our own, as Deuce has also said. We want to build the best club with the best supporters in the country. Anything that detracts from that--like the behavior of some in the stadium at the KC game--cannot be allowed to continue.

I know some consider the streamers to be a harmless form of fan participation. I don't know if a direct line between streamers and glass bottles can be drawn, but it appears we must take the "throw nothing" position. If we don't get control of this, believe me, flags will be next, and then who knows what.

We all know where the line is--the one fans should not cross. The only way to make sure we hold that line is to police ourselves.

We can very easily ruin a good thing if we let this stuff go. Take control of it now.

El Chalan · 08-14-2005, 01:11 AM

I wasn't able to be at the game so I guess I missed alot. Listened on the internet since there was no video. I have to agree though about not throwing streamers on the field. I think that it just makes it easier to throw other things. I remember when we had a discussion about streamers on a previous thread that someone suggested just throwing them in the stands. I think that could provide a for a nice visual celebration without the negatives of actually throwing something on the field. I would really prefer not throwing anything onto the field. It makes us look bad and really seems like a slippery slope...today it was a bottle!! That is crazy. I like that we are passionate fans but we need to keep it in check.

Scholesy · 08-14-2005, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerick

What about having people clean up the streamers? There were a couple of staff workers in the supporters corner that would go out and pick up the streamers while play was happening elsewhere on the field. That would allow the fans to celebrate in an appropriate manner, while also allowing the players to have an clean pitch to play on. I love the streamers because it's a beautiful sight from my vantage point. Throwing other things on the field isn't a good idea - but specifically throwing things at other players is bad news. Perhaps a clearly defined policy regarding what can be thrown on the field and what can't should be stipulated. Even if they decided to ban streamers, that doesn't mean that people can't still throw cups, bottles and ice. :P

The problem is that it shouldn't need to be disrupted with staff cleaning the pitch all through the game, it just isn't a part of soccer. The line is too fuzzy; seeing the players trip and get frustrated with the streamers is enough for me to hate the stupid things.

Here's the problem: the streamers don't always unravel, hence you have hard balls of streamers on the ground that players can twist ankles on, miss kick balls around, trip on, get tangled on/in, spend time focusing on instead of on the game ... the list goes on. There are so many other ways to celebrate a goal, so many things to do, we don't need to add difficulties to a team that already has focusing issues.

Bottom line is let's make people focus on the fans when they come here, let's make them afraid of the noise, the atmosphere, not that they might trip or lose focus because we're throwing things at them.

Stucki · 08-14-2005, 01:23 AM

I have liked the streamers in the past, and I still like the look of them being thrown onto the pitch, but I am afraid they just outlived their usefulness.

Judging by the reaction we were getting from Wolff 10 minutes into the game, we may already be in the heads of the opposing team. Either that or the RCB heckling players pregame.

I also notice we got Oshonyi's (spelling?) attention with our Stuart Scott chant, you would think he had heard that one before.

Section 37 · 08-14-2005, 02:43 AM

Wolff got way too wound up. He was even shouting things into our secition. It was pretty funny.

Section 37 · 08-14-2005, 03:01 AM

Don't blame the streamers.

It was a frustrating night, but let's stick to reality.

The streamers played no part in the game

Except to engage the crowd, so that makes them worth it.

devNull · 08-14-2005, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scholesy

Here's my take on this.

Throwing things of any sort on the field is not acceptable at any time, no streamers, no paper cups, no mini soccer balls, no drinks, nothing. This is a game were control of the ball is everything, three times tonight I saw a player (twice our own players) trip and miss kick a ball because of streamers. I have always hated them and always will, there is no place in soccer for anything to be thrown on to the pitch to distract from the game, it's just simply an example of the people needing something to make life more exciting for them. Having said that I promise you that after tonight streamers will be banned, no question about it after the conversations I heard after the game. Apart from it being against FIFA rules it obviously has some people thinking that sonce they are allowed and indeed encouraged, to throw things onto the pitch that they can throw anything on to the pitch. I blame RSL for that encouragement and made my opinions clear tonight to management and on air. You can't expect peopel to draw a line, you should be able to expect people to draw a liine, but you simply can't, people aren't always that smart.

The big problem I have with throwing things at the refs, however frustrated we might all be with the refs, is that instead of people focusing on the poor officiating in the 2nd half everyone is now focused on the 'fans' of RSL and our bad behaviour.

I agree with Duece, I see you throw something - anything - I call security. football is a passionate game, but should never be a violent one.

I agree 100% here. I hadn't really gotten into streamer throwing myself much before the last couple of matches. I kind of started to get into it though and even bought my own streamers for this game. I watched Wolff completely lose his dribble due to an unrolled streamer. I realized at that point that if something I threw had caused an RSL player to lose a chance at a goal that is not something I want. I won't be throwing them anymore for that reason alone. I would expect them to be banned from now on as well. The number has been slowing growing and tonight there were so many that the staff just couldn't really clear them off effectively. After the horrible display by the fans tonight I think anything that might possibly make people think it is okay to throw things will be disallowed. The streamer throwing is fun, but I agree w/ Scholesy that having items on the pitch is bad for the game and in some small way allowing people to throw streamers promotes the fans to throw other items. It is a bummer, but I hope they are banned quickly.

the Bardguy · 08-14-2005, 08:41 AM

RE: Crap thrown on the field:

This was posted by me on the RCB forums...

If I see anyone throwing crap onto the field, I will be an ***-hole and I will turn you in. I don't care what you think about me, I don't care if you think if I'm square, I will report to security and identify the people throwing the garbage.

BTW - there were empty Jack Daniels bottles (one of which was picked up and tossed off the pitch by Conrad) thrown from the North end zone.