Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p As someone who doesn't have too big of a problem with the vulgarity I agree. You can be creative, and taunt without offending the fans who are paying the same, if not more money than you.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p I'm in the same boat. There are definitely people who are offended by it. I am not one of them, but, how many of these people will stop coming to games because of it? Or stop buying tickets for their kids because of it. Any loss of paying fans is not good for the team.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p I just tell my kids they are yelling "UTAH APPLES!" I think my 9year old might still be buying it. The 14 year old, not so much.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p Actually, it's been exactly the same for several years. At least since we moved into the Riot. It's just louder now because there's more people in the South End. People buy tickets there precisely because of the chants and the atmosphere, vulgarity included. We've had this discussion many times before, and I honestly don't give enough of a shit to do it today. It's not a Jazz game, suck it up.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p Why is it so much to ask to respect other fans in the stadium? I mean it's not like the "you suck asshole" chant is creative, or interesting. I know the SG's like the think they are the best fans in the stadium, but I see the people paying 350-1700 for their season tickets as a much more valuable fan to the club then someone paying 200.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p maybe but SG's tend to buy more gear travel more be longer STH No fan in the stadium is "more important" than another, really.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p On average I don't think a season ticket holder in the SG are buying more gear. They may travel more, but that isn't benefiting the club much from a financial standpoint, and the determent they may be to someone who will spend money to take their family to the game kind of counteracts what they can bring to the table. That's all beside the point though. The point I am making is that I don't understand why it is so difficult to respect other fans whose money is just as valuable as theirs.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p I don't want to stir the pot any more than it already has been, but I'd wager there is a certain Dadof6 who would strongly disagree with your blanket statement. I know several STH that pay a lot more than $200 for their seats, and who drop hundreds, maybe thousands on merchandise and concessions each year. This isn't about who is more important or more valuable. It's about showing respect to other fans. I love the passion of the supporters groups, and I wish that passion would grow amongst the general fans (like the 73rd minute last night). I'm in section 26. I love RSL and I love sharing the passion with my children, but that doesn't mean I want them to hear "R rated" chants in a public place. [off rant]
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p Lurpy, I'm honestly not just trying to be an ass here or say my view of it is 'right' compared to yours. RCB has been around forever - they are a fabric of the team. And I like the fact that the front office lowered prices for you guys and that you are growing - You may be right that the chant has always been the same and is just getting louder - for me it crosses the line when it heads into the 'f- this, f-that, F-U a-hole' directed at anyone. But it does impact me directly so I care, and just telling me to 'suck it up' is lame. And by the way, I'm talking specifically about the organized chants, not just casual conversation. I originally bought my season tickets closer to the supporter's group for the atmosphere. The chanting, the singing, drums, etc. Have always liked that end of the stadium. I have friends, co-workers, etc who we would often invite to games to sit by us. We invited some friends end of last year and they brought younger kids - liked the game but won't be coming back because of the atmosphere. It was because of the more vulgar chant I quoted earlier. And not the first time I was burned by it. It actually made me feel really stupid to be honest - Not judging their values or yours - but I no longer invite friends and co-workers that I know the barrage of 'F-u, F-this, F-that' in the chants would offend. When I bring my kids I'll try to sell my seats or I'll move to another part of the stadium where it's not constantly in your face. And it's not like I sit right next to the supporter's section- I'm a few sections over. So in essence I guess I am sucking it up - but all I'm asking is for more creativity and less 'extreme' vulgarity - I hope you guys continue to grow and keep your passion - but I also wish to some extent you would police yourselves and realize that there are fans with families and young kids all around the south end of the stadium - who have the right to enjoy the game as well without the constant barrage of 'f-u a-hole' constantly being yelled after every goal kick.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p +1 The KFC Colonel's Corner tends to be one of the good recruiting tools for new RSL fans. Being adjacent to the Supporters' Section I'm sure has been a great recruiting tool for the SG's themselves as well. But a large number of the visitors to that section are families. Not exactly the best way to impress new potential fans.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p Seriously. A while back, someone suggested that for next year I get season tickets in the south stands because those tickets are cheaper. But I have young kids, too.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p The friend I went with last night refuses to get Colonel's Corner tickets for that reason.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p I really have to agree with DSTORM on this. I am in no way a prude. The "Hey Hesmer, we all had biblical relations with your lovely grandma" makes me giggle BUT I don't want my kids hearing that. We sit in section 3 and can hear just about every chant. The you suck a-hole is getting quite old. Be creative. Come up with something original that sets RSL SG's apart from the rest of MLS. Come up with something the entire stadium can chant. That would be impressive. To reiterate. If I had my choice I would buy tickets in the South end but as attractive as that sounds sitting by my wife and kids is my first choice.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p Proposed compromise: chant the above verbatim.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p I think it's interesting that people keep saying things along this line. We chant for all 90 minutes (with a few short breaks). The "You Suck, Asshole" chant comes up when there's a goal kick on the South End, maybe four or five times a game, and is about 10-15 seconds long. The rest of the time we're doing something else. Furthermore, not all chants need to be creative. We've got some that are (and we'll have audio up online soon, we recorded them at the Supporter's Social last week and they sound awesome), but sometimes simple chants are good too. Quite a few in this thread have mentioned how great the "Ole, Ole, Ole, RSL" chant sounded, and I agree--that rocked. But that chant contains exactly four words. There's a reason simple chants are louder--they're easier to follow. We're working on getting more people on the complex ones, but minute-long songs are harder for surrounding sections to jump in on than "You Suck Asshole." Not all of our simple chants are offensive, either. "Gooooo, Real Salt Lake" and "R-S-L-Salt Lake" are both done regularly, yet the focus is always on the couple of chants that prominently feature an F-bomb. Dstorm, I appreciate your last post (tried to rep it, but must spread around)--much of the time this topic boils down to "well bad words are bad!" and that's why I tend to be rather flippant about it. As for values systems, I feel like that's up to the parent to define. You may only be offended by the F-word. Others may be offended by "hell" or "damn." Others may be offended by things that aren't technically profanity--personally, I'd be a lot more bothered by someone accusing me of pedophilia than I would by someone yelling that they ********ed my grandma (in fact I find the latter amusing in the way that over-the-top B-movies are amusing; sheer ridiculousness makes me laugh), but nobody ever complains about a chant we have that talks about how "Pablo (Mastroeni) likes little boys." So should we remove everything that someone finds offensive? No. Even posters on here agree that some mystical level of offensiveness seems to be alright. So given that, who gets to make the rule about where the line is? Goobx? Dstorm? Me? 15 to 32? The reality is that it's the job of the parent (in the case of kids) to decide where the line is, and to explain to their children why the line is where it is. There are quite a few people who bring kids to the South Goal, all of whom have at some point (I'm sure) explained to their kids that certain words are okay, certain words are "soccer words" that they shouldn't say anywhere else, and/or that certain words are off-limits for kids or for their family. So why should those people have to toe an arbitrary line set by BigSoccer forum members who have a different standard for offensiveness? I get that some people don't like the language, and believe me, the more people jump in on our complex and creative chants, regardless of content, the happier I am. But when it comes right down to it, you're either a participant in the atmosphere or a spectator. If you're participating, then start your own chants. Get people around you involved. Get your kids chanting. If you're a spectator, then enjoy the atmosphere, but don't complain about it not being exactly what you wanted. Or, just do what goobx does and tell your kids that we're simply extolling the virtues of delicious locally grown produce. Edit: Also, I realize I was lying about not getting involved in this discussion this time. That's because I'm this guy:
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p This was suggested at some point before, but it's tough to figure out a good rhythm.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p The F-bombs need to go... And the "Hey (insert name of keeper), we all f'd your grandma" too... And anything of that effect... It's not acceptable in this culture... In some cultures it is. But not in this one... More people are offended then accept it. It reflects badly on the whole RSL organization (fans, players, staff, etc...)
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p It's good to know you're an expert on the "culture" of everyone in the stadium. And that said culture is apparently completely homogeneous.
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p I figure i'd throw in my 2 cents and ask where the line is drawn.... The chants of the hispanic supporter groups haven't changed at all.. in essence they say "B**CH, Fu** your mom" everytime the goalkeeper kicks the ball and it's played.. Maybe we have a, they can say it, we can say it mentallity? I don't participate in the chants, but I enjoy the game from the Supporters Group section. My folks have season tickets on the east side, and no where else in the stadium can you get the same live or die passion as the SGs. I agree, maybe they can calm it down a little bit, however, I don't expect them to live with the same morals that I do. It's my choice to let the things they say affect me. BEST SOLUTION: gather together with those who're bothered and chant R----S----L in unison, or any other pro-RealSaltLake Chant that can override their cheer in your ears; thus, you and your children don't need to hear the vulgarity and the noise level is increased. I travel from st george to make the games and skip out on my college classes to do so.. I'm pretty sure there are passionate fans throughout the stadium, but the SG's are concentrated. WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!
Re: Leg 2 - Qtr Finals - CONCACAF - RSL v Columbus p/i/p Keep it simple, and it's easy. Everyone knows that cheer. The Real, Real, Real, Real, SALT LAKE one as well. At Blitzz games, people would sit and stare at the RAF wondering what they were doing. When they would do, "If you want another goal; clap your hands", believe it or not, the whole crowd clapped their hands. I think the crowd last night knew it was kind of a turning point in the match, and I think the whole crowd knew what to do when they heard the "Ole" or should I say "Real" start. And it rallied RSL.
Yes I would do something about it. Yes it is perfectly acceptable to throw it at an opposing player at a soccer game. One thing has nothing to do with the other.