Whats our goal for number of supporters?

[the cup]

Hey, I've been thinking lately, what kind of numbers do we need to have a solid supporters group that can make enough noise to be heard and take up enough seats to be noticed on TV?

For example, if you watch a DC United game with the Barra Brava and the Screaming Eagles sitting side by side you can definitely see them and hear them. A recent article on the Barra Brava website says that they had about 135 members at the All-Star game to cheer on Etcheverry. I would guess by the looks of things the Screaming Eagles would have maybe about the same number of people bringing their total number in the neighborhood of 275-300 people. That number of fans jumping and cheering at the same time makes the DC games the best for atmosphere I think.

In contrast, I watched the Metros play the Rapids on TV last night from Colorado. I could hear alittle bit of singing in the background but not enough to take note, plus you couldn't see any real supporters group sitting together. Now maybe they were off camera, I don't know. But that game had alot of quiet going on, not much noise at all.

Now, compare that to last nights game from Los Angeles. The atmosphere was great, but maybe that was just the roof holding the noise in. I could see the Galaxians supporters group sitting down at the one end on the right hand side of the screen, but there didn't seem to be more than 20 of them and they didn't seem to be up and singing any songs. Now, down at the other end of the field there were some great banners saying "The Twelfth Man" and the stands were full down there but they weren't standing at all durring the game and definetly no singing. All I could hear all game were those annoying plastic horns. And where was the LA Riot Squad? Maybe again, they could have been off camera.

All of this makes me wonder how many supporters do we need to try and get organized to make a difference?

50? 100? 125?

If the SLC Roll Call thread is any indication it looks like there are about 25 that actually live here in the state that I would count on being members of the Loyalists.

How many RAF members are there? Any idea if they are planning on being Loyalists also?

I think 50 would be an easy number to get. But 100? What does everyone think?

[Czar Pazzo]

. What does everyone think?

The office has said our section will be opposite the cameras so we'll be visible on television, which is good. As far as numbers go, the more the merrier, obviously. If we can recruit lots of people at the naming ceremony (where the loyalists will have a booth and a sign-up sheet) then we could probably get up to 75 or 100, right? Hopefully that will grow after a few games when fanatics realize that they ought to be in the loyalist section.

[SoccerPrime]

Also remember that not all MLS fans in Utah come to BS (perish the thought!).
There might be one or two more fans that you'll find once the matches start.

[BBBulldog]

Get 50-100 loud people and you're good to start, then work from there. People singing is what's more important - if you have 500 people standing there and only 10 are chanting it'll be no good ;) At some point quality becomes more important than quantity.

[dysko]

Realisticly at this point I would say that we have between 40 and 50 interested parties. If my past experience says anything, this means we will actually see about 25-30 people show when push comes to shove. I would like to see actuall participating numbers of people be in the range of 50 - 75 by opening day. I think that is a realistic goal, but we can grow from that point.

[the cup]

I would like to see actuall participating numbers of people be in the range of 50 - 75 by opening day.

I think 50 would be a good number to start with.

I watched all of todays United vs New England game and it was brutal, I only heard chanting comming from the crowd on a few instances. Wynalda even commented towards the end of the game how the crowd wasn't in to it and how they weren't pushing their team. And they had a big crowd there too.

[Rocket]

All of this makes me wonder how many supporters do we need to try and get organized to make a difference?

50? 100? 125?

I would say 100, though you'd really want to reach 200 to start having a major impact.

50 would be a nice start, but really isn't enough to have much impact in a 20,000 seat stadium.


Has SLC talked about organizing an offical supporters club for your team? I think that would go a long way in helping you reach a good size fan base.

[Jabinho]

As far as being heard on TV, it depends more on where they place the mics and how they do their levels for the broadcast. A group of 500 chanting at the same level as a group of 50 can sound less loud if the smaller group has a nearby mic pointed at them with a healthy level in the mix.
To overcome this "problem" you'll have to get numbers in the thousands if the tv crew isn't helping you. :mad:

I sure hope you guys in SLC can stop the horns before they get started! ;)

[nyrmetros]

In contrast, I watched the Metros play the Rapids on TV last night from Colorado. I could hear alittle bit of singing in the background but not enough to take note, plus you couldn't see any real supporters group sitting together. Now maybe they were off camera, I don't know. But that game had alot of quiet going on, not much noise at all.


The ESC stands in section 101, which is behind the north goal. The tv hardly ever pans over there, and the acoustics just plain suck. The ESC essentially provides the only atmosphere in the stadium. The ESC can get anywhere from 50 - 200 people, depending on the opponent, weather, day, etc..

[nyrmetros]

Has SLC talked about organizing an offical supporters club for your team? I think that would go a long way in helping you reach a good size fan base.
Stay away from being "official", but definately work closely with the front office. The team's usually run an "offical" youth club of some sort.

[Lizzie Bee]

There is already a supporter's group organized w/ cooperation, if not sponsorship, of the front office. Read some of the other threads for more info.

[dysko]

As far as being heard on TV, it depends more on where they place the mics and how they do their levels for the broadcast.

Lets just say I a connection or two with the production community here and getting a mic placed nice and close will be no problem. SLC MLS people are very media savy. A little home work and you find that they almost all have media backgrounds. They are doing a lot to make sure that when they are at home it looks good and sounds good for TV.