The first one seems to have gone (breaking tha noise, breaking) defunct. The latter two have been "active" on their respective Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/thebridgecrew https://www.facebook.com/pages/El-Banditos-Battalion-Philadelphia-Union-SG/261438163891645 I heard from a little birdie that the SoBs may be heading back to BigSoccer for some of their online activities.
It's official. We're making the push back to BigSoccer. Hopefully the discussions stay on track, somewhat.
If I had an overhang or guy wires to work with, we could probably approximate that. Unfortunately, neither of those things are in place and so we work with what we can. For example the message banner we displayed at the Tickets for Troops Night in July. We're always thinking about different ways we can make our tifo greater, but again, we have to work with our surroundings.
Random thought, and I have no idea how plausible this would be... but would it be possible to utilize the "flag pole holders" behind the riverend seating for a larger upright tifo that would be easier to read? maybe some taller poles could be placed in them and help string up something?
That was actually the plan for the Troops Night. The banner was going to stay up for the whole game. The thing is, though...they aren't "flag pole holders" per se. They're actually lightning rods that we've used to support the checkered flags. When there is lightning in the area, we aren't supposed to use them, as they're there to protect us in TRE. We used the flag poles we give out for the SoB flags for that, and they are about 5' tall, so it should work. It just wasn't doable that night. As you may recall, that was the night we had the lightning delay. The white Eagle flags we made for the occasion were put up there and I was able to collect them just in time before the delay.
Not sure if this is practical/feasible or not. What if we gave the FO the idea of putting actual flag poles (3-4) at the back of TRE? They could also double as lightning rods. This would give the SOB's some rigging for larger, more elaborate Tifo displays, and also a place to fly an American flag, a Join or Die Flag, a Union Team Flag and an SOB Flag during events.
So we actually did discuss this at the beginning of the year with the FO. The issue, outside of costs, revolved around having engineers install the poles, the weight tolerance, possible affects of wind since the back of the River End is open, as well as concerns about people walking on the roof behind the section, etc. It started to become a pretty big project which was ultimately shelved until the off-season. Like Tim said, it'll be something we're going to readdress since we all know we need it.
To the Union vs Seattle/PTFC comparisons, and the Union vs Borussia Dortmund comparison in another thread, I think that TRE SoBs do a very good job vocally. And I think Soccer in America is starting to get away from the goal here. Everyone wants to look good, when IMO sounding good is the most important and I think TRE SoBs have that. I see photos of PTFC/Seattle/Montreal people walking with flares and SJ also has big Tifo displays. But how does that make you any better supporter because you can hold fireworks and and paint banners. True supporters use their voice. The reason I say TRE SoBs because Im SoB elsewhere. I do not want to take credit where its do. Next 2-3 years Im going to be moving over from my club seats.
glad to hear someone outside of TRE thinks we sound good, because from my perspective (towards the back of 137) I feel the chanting has been rather lack-luster the past few years... maybe things are better than I think they are on that front.
I think some nights are not as good as others. But in my honest opinion TRE SoB sounds good. Clear for me at club seats, I cannot speak for other side of field, and clear on TV on the occasional game I cannot make to PPL. Im curious to know what we sound like at NY and at DC. I cannot comment because I am one of the loud ones chanting and standing rather than sitting and focusing hard on the game.
I am a non-TRE SOB, and I'm the one who started the thread about the Seattle tifo. I did not start it to be critical of SOB, but rather appreciative of what is being done elsewhere. I think what is being done in TRE as far as tifo is great for the most part. TRE has a long way to go to get to the level of those western clubs. I was merely suggesting that is what we should be shooting for, and that it is cool that it is happening in the US.
We will get there.. considering those teams have a 30 year head start on us I'm pretty happy with where we are in only a few years. We will only get better with more volunteers, ideas, and enthusiasm.
Yes. Especially for those of us on the end of a row. If you shove ten extra people in the middle of a row, that means someone on the end is going to be standing in an aisle.
I'm a first year SOB and TRE season ticket holder. For the Montreal game I brought my boys who are 7 and 9 and exchanged my tix for seats elsewhere. We ended up in 124 in the front row. From where we were sitting the chants/songs sounded great. It may be hard to tell when sitting in TRE but it certainly gave me a new found perspective on what the rest of the stadium hears from us. I was impressed and really missed the atmosphere. It felt really odd to sit for example. Eric
It definitely depends on where you sit. First couple seasons I had season tickets in Section 133 and being above and behind the Sons Of Ben made it really hard to heard them, which probably means sitting Away Fans up there isn't the best thing for the UNION to do.