If this were the first response, 10 pages of "You suck." "No, YOU suck." I would have done something way more constructive with the time I just spent reading it all.
... Come on now. The hardest thing to do is get the first 50. And for that I have much respect to the founding elders. They did a great job. But lets not act like every member of SOBs has gone through some great amount of effort to get this treatment. The SOBs have great leadership. However, there are those of us who might not want to be an SOB for various reasons but are still supporters and care about the team and would like the opportunity.
Do you write chants, organize tifo, have cool mustaches? No? NOT SUPPORTERS. ~metal riff~ No, but really. Start a group. More groups is a good thing. Not everyone fits in the SOB paradigm. That's a-okay. Even if you can't get 150 members, you're positively contributing to match day experience. And that's swell.
Starting a group is, indeed, not easy. But that's sort of the point: it takes a lot of effort to establish and run an effective supporters group which is why they often get special privileges in return for special responsibilities. It's a give and take but being organized is at the core of the process which take a lot of work. Anyhow, if you really are interested in starting a new supporters club, that's great. It'll take leg work on your part, but getting 150 members isn't an impossible task by any means especially if you have a mission statement that would resonate with others who want to be in a supporters group but are leery of the SOBs for whatever reason. Post a thread here on bigsoccer.com, make a facebook page, write a blog, post fliers around the city, etc. It can be done and has been done in plenty of other cities with MLS teams. Personally, I find it kind of surprising/disappointing that no one has stepped up to form another official supporters group for Union. Not that I don't love the SOBs, but I do enjoy having different supporters groups at games which can bring their own "flavor" and can add to the atmosphere. It would be awesome if additional sections in PPL Park were added to the "supporters section" and it became 4000 or 5000 or more strong.
I love how all the SoB's get incredibly upset at the elitist tag and then say stuff like "if you wanna come you can pay to join." First supporter is not defined as a person that is in a supporters group, that is an absurd assertion. I know plenty of people that are supporters that aren't in the River End ("but they aren't supporters if they sit down, blah blah blah" shut up and get over yourself and your wet dreams about old trafford.) I am a charter member of SoB and have seen a MAJOR shift in the attitude over the last year and a half and its upsetting. Not long ago we were begging people to consider going on our website to help bring a team here and now we're scoffing at those same people for not paying us to sing and chant and wanting to be treated equal (just because you don't see it that way doesn't mean they (and their money) don't.) I'm not agreeing with ALL the bitching thats coming out, but the manner of the response to it from (some) SoBs was douchebaggery at its finest. If you don't wanna be seen as elitist, stop with the sarcastic asshole high horse responses to non-members who keep the club running just as much as we do.
I would vote for Al Gore for president of the Sons of Ben if it meant we could have 10 more pages of the internet goodness that this thread has offered so far. Pure gold.
The responses of if you want to be in a supporters club here's what it takes, 150 members or join us were not really meant to inflame. It's just laying out the standards and some valid reasons behind them... To get to 150 members you use the internet and collect signatures and email addresses and do a weekly or monthly email blast. Beyond that, it's a lot of work only if you want it to be. And the SOB's do a lot of work that is beyond just 'requirements' but that does not mean a supporter HAS to do those things. In fact I know I came across as a hostile/ elitist (so what if I have high standards?)_ but I did try to respond to the particular accusations that were false, rather than make invalid assumptions about the poster's loyalty I don't hardly see anyone sitting on their hands at a Union match. These insults are unfounded, just like the original post complaining about "numerous" (2? 2 is a number, yes it's too many but I prefer the word "isolated") incidents with plastic bottles.
SoBs are far from elitist, elitist want to br separate and different and think they’re better. SoBs want members, the more the better, they want other sections not in the river end to join in, they want as many people as possible to come out to tailgates and events. The Sons of Ben is more like a Hippie commune than some elitist Skulls type cult. The SoBs biggest dream is to have the whole stadium united as one. If you go to our thread all we talk about is being united. You think were elitist but no one appreciates the other parts of the stadium more than we do. We appreciate that full stadium more than the FO does! The best part about PPL park is that its packed every night. That’s what makes it a special place, not the river end. Without the rest of the stadium the whole thing would suck, I mean we’d still show up, but we take pride in sell outs and need the rest of the stadium full for us to be happy. Without the support from the rest of the stadium we would for lack of a better word, be SAD. PPL is the best park in the league, not cuz of us but because of the you. You should hear how excited we get when the rest of the park joins in or just gets loud in general. If you think were elitist then your just wrong. I mean that in a nice way. Im not saying some of us don’t come off that way, but that’s just cause we’ve been hearing that for so long were frustrated. And its just not true.
Seriously? No, I do not write chants and have no desire to be a part of the glee club. No, I do not organize tifo as I am not artisitic and I want to actually see the game.I do have what I believe to be some cool facial hair. SUPPORTER, none the less! While I do get the attempt at humor, we all support the team in different ways.
A "spectator's summit" might be a good idea. But the only it would be effective is for the team to randomly choose people from their season ticket holder fanbase. Otherwise, it would attract too many folks who would distract the discussion with topics like promotion/relegation or single table. Of course, this leaves out non-season ticket holders. Maybe an internet survey, covering everyone, would be best. Wait, they already do that.
spectator is practically a curse word for you SoBs, yet you can't figure out why people call you elitist?
I don't sit in the RE, but wouldn't consider myself merely a spectator. I'm positive that those that haven't joined SoB still have valid concerns and questions that could be addressed in such a forum. It's not as if the season ticket holders outside the RE who are not SoBs are a bunch of ignorant rubes.
I completely understand that it was a supporters summit and I am not angry I couldn't go. Would I have liked the chance? Sure, but I wasn't so its not a big deal. If they were to open it up to STH it could be a clusterfu**. Maybe the only way to do it would be to only allow founding members to come (people who had season tickets BEFORE a game was even played), though I don't know how many of us there are. If/when this happens next year maybe the SoBs could try to reach out to non-SoBs to get some input as to what the rest might have questions about. Maybe that will appease those who feel neglected? On a side note we need to take back the top of the table!! C'mon the U!
I'm starting my own supporters group, it's called the "Union Athletic Supporters Sect" or UASS for short. Basically I'm starting this group because I think the whole scarf thing is played out, too unoriginal and way too European for my American ass kicking attitude. I'm mean really scarves in summer? Anyway, instead of scarves we wear athletic supporters on the outside of our clothing to show support. Our logo is a crazy angry skull screaming, this will be emphasized by the spit coming out of its mouth, followed by two vertical stripes of blue and gold with two soccer balls on the bottom. Our name will be on the waist band of course and on the rear two straps (in the buttocks region) it will say "You" on the left and "Suck" on the right. A little tongue in cheek action going on there because we are a little cheeky, it's actually a requirement for membership. Women are allowed to join too, but they will show their "support" by wearing their bras on the outside for obvious reasons. I haven't finalized that design yet, but something along the lines of two Union colored soccer balls. Then when a player from the Union scores, the ladies in the group chant "HEY! __________ SUCK ON MY BALLS!". As a result we changed a negative chant to a positive Union chant. Membership is $100 and that comes with a free supporter and free beer from Yards at tailgates. We are not philanthropic in any way which affords us the opportunity for better beer. Not to mention pumping money into our local breweries is very important. When a Chester brewery opens, we will switch our allegiance there (maybe). Who's with me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sigh. It's all semantics. The term supporter has been used for years as a means to refer to the section of people that stand and sing and don't obstructed views during the game. There is not another term for the other fans in the stadium but spectator in the previous case is being used simply to differentiate the 2 groups. I propose that henceforth, to avoid hurting the egos or feelings of others in the stadium and to avoid any notion that the currently named supporters section thinks it's better than it is, we come up with new names that are nonsensical and have no origin in any real word so there can be no possible preconceived notions about what the groups are for. The formerly referred to supporters can now be called "phopipulists" and the rest of the stadium will be called "sarmolators". Doctor Seuss I'm not but I hope I am making my point. The term "supporters" is not some elitist term used to put down the rest of the stadium. Jesus christ on a cracker.
For some people it might just be the anglophilia that comes with being a soccer fan. But for others, who follow it with "everyone else is only a spectator", it's certainly elitist. All the "sit on your hands" comments demonstrate that quite clearly. Just because some people aren't in to your glee club doesn't make them not supporters of the team. Also, shouldn't you be calling yourself Ultras anyway? Supporter is just the euro way of saying fan, Ultras are the organised groups with the glee club stuff. But no, you really can't understand that when you say "we're supporters and the rest of the stadium are spectators", the message is "we're the only real fans of this team"
I think I see your problem. You can't understand that the SoB is made up of individuals. You think all SoBs share the view of a couple of posters here that call you a hand sitter. You think all SoBs are in a glee club. Based on your post I think all non-SoBs are idiots. And since the rest of the stadium prefers to sit I think you're all lazy too. See, I can label groups of people with labels that don't make sense as well.
But then you have to realize there are different types of fans. Axial, centrifugal, bellows, whole-house, electrostatic ... Everyone will bitch and moan that TRE folks are one kind, and non-TRE are another. This sounds like something from the SATs.
Few questions before I sign up. Are we going to copy all your chants from other supporters groups? Are we expected to blow things out of proportion? Do we get to act elistist? Is there a litmus test and ranking system for members? What types of fantasy role playing games will you be offering at your tailgates? Are we going to spend 20 times more energy on glee club and arts and crafts than we do on watching and analyzing the game? Will you let us hug the puppy so hard that it might die? Do you have supporters in extra large?
- Chants are original unless we steal one and make it better, e.g. the women suck on my balls chant. - The only thing you get to blow out of proportion is asking for your athletic supporter in extra large. - Being an elitist is subjective and dependent on the individual. I'm not an elitist in a soccer sense, I'm an elitist because I think I am just flat out better than everyone else. - No fantasy games, but when we kick a keg, there will be a keg throwing contest. - No puppies will be injured in the making of this supporters group. - Athletic support in XL, see second response. *BTW, everything referring to soccer will be discussed in terms that aren't biting off of the UK. Field instead of pitch, standings instead of table, schedule instead of fixture, etc.