i was talking about the fanscene in north american sports in general... Toronto is decent, Barra Brava i'd say is there too with the Portland Timbers and Montreal Impact shortly behind.
I'd say with the ultra movement it's the same as with issues such as abortion or the death penalty: everyone's got an enormous opinion on it and nobody ever changes their minds based on arguments they hear
In Stuttgart it's easy. I've had a season ticket for many seasons in the section where the ultras are, without being an ultra myself.
See, a seat costs four times as much as a ticket for the terraces, and I want to stand anyway. Usually this isn't a problem, as the terraces are big enough and I keep out of crowded areas anyway. If it's sold out and the only place I can get is in the supporter's section I'll stay there and if some self-declared superfan has a problem with this he's out of luck. I must add, however, that I didn't really have any trouble with this in the past. And yeah, I have no real connection to the fan scene here and never any desire to change this. 90% of the people I hung arround growing up didn't like football, and the other 10 wouldn't go to the stadium .
I'm not sure if Puerto Rico counts for North America but in the USL1, I'd put Puerto Rico solidly into 2nd behind Portland, with Montreal and Carolina close for 3rd. I haven't been to Carolina yet but have been to the other three.
Can you watch the game, or does singing take precedence. In the EPL, the crowd appears to be really into the game, but when I looked at a couple of videos above, it sounds like the singing might take priority. Do ultra's follow the action closely?
Haven't seen any pics or videos, so here we go: FC Koln [YOUTUBE]yY34pokZ7Bo[/YOUTUBE] FC Kaiserslautern [YOUTUBE[o2t9aJx3-0I[/YOUTUBE]
Our Ultras reserve/buys their tickets a year in advance like everyone else...and as we talk season tickets mostly it´s pretty static. 43.935 st-sold, 65 held in reserve for replacement etc = 44.000 Number of Season tickets NOT renewed this season = 201
44.000 Ultras? Abebe, there are even ones who "choreograph" the chants and movements that stand for the whole 90 minutes with the back to the field in front of their fans on the fence. I know it's ...
Haha, no no...say 700 Ultras that got ST for a special section in The Kurve. Unless you are a Ultras member you will find it hard to get a ticket to that particular section. The whole "Kurve" in itself is 16.000 people but they mainly take their cues from the central Ultras section. As for the "choreographers" they do it mainly for kicks I bet...It´s not your average choirboys..
In Stuttgart there's 2 of them(it's been the same two for atleast 5 years now) and each of them spends one half per game doing that.
If it is a long-standing tradition, it's cool I guess, as long as people don't take themselves too seriously. Every fan should want to be on the field playing in my opinion. As long as it feels connected to the game, it would not be too distracting.
i guess everyone is different. my experience, at first i had much trouble following the match closely and doing all the clapping, singing, pogo, jumping, etc. I found i was focused more on the vorsaenger sometimes than the match. Quickly i got used to everything, being able to pay much attention to the match...obviously not like someone just standing there, but you always know what's going on (unless you're the vorsaenger of course, that's the guy leading the chants often facing his back to the play) for me, the atmosphere is half the fun...i love it, you become a totally different person when you're in the Stadion.
That's my opinion as well, Kyle (I know what I'm speaking about, after noticing some negative developments in the Fürth & BMG "Nordkurve"). The worst ones are those who buy a ticket for the supporters area and complain about too much noise or flags in front of them.
Its not size that matters. MSV Duisburg: [youtube]T-jw5j6XOzs[/youtube] After last season the main Ultra groups in Duisburg (Ultras Duisburg 1998, Zebrabane) dissolved and formed one large single group named "Kohorte". All in all there are probably about 200 Supporters in Duisburg the tag "ultra" could be applied to.
America is pathetic, Toronto FC has a good fan scene, especially for being only it's first year. don't lump us in with the yankees, I have season tickets to TFC and it is a very good atmosphere for being owned by the soul-suckers MLSE
Now that's the way to go about an away trip, Union Berlin in Erfurt: http://www.unveu.de/fcunionvsrotweisserfurt7.htm Now the question is - are they Ultras or just fans or both?
Looks like Ultras mixed with other tough guys...Apart from the kid in the wheelchair. They got the choreographer with the megaphone, plenty of flags, banners...All the Ultras paraphernalia. Mind you, it takes a hardcore fan to make a trip to Erfurt..
from now on Uwe (i hate to bring out a yer old joke) but you are my father within the forums and Jadger...to comment about TFC's fanscene yes i think there has been some great things...I tried to give my share in helping out, but i have nothing to do with Toronto...in fact i don't give a damn about this city (even though i was there during the weekend drinking at humber, loved it) but just because they're the Canadian team, don't expect me to follow the bandwagon...god i hate the MLS clearly TFC has the strongest scene in Canada or America....But the lack of organization is terrible, everyone is trying to do their own thing it seems... it's too bad the u-sector didn't have 100% control over the atmosphere... Oh and it has to be said for me...i just REALLY don't like the chants, the french one is a ********in classic...but other than that, not really digging....I'm sure as time goes on, my words will be put to shame...we'll see. i gotta say the coolest fan-scene in Canada for me is the Serbian White Eagles (for their size)...only CSL...But for the bigger matches, their support is incredible...and their chants are top class also.
really? I used to go to Humber, North or Lakeshore Campus? I'm not a bandwagoner, I bought the season tix long time before the season. i'd prefer RPB to lead the fanscene, as they seem to be the strongest. I dont know why MLSE insists on keeping the Tribal Rhythm Nation going, it has already been leaked that: a) they get paid to go to games b) they are only their for MLSE to be POLITICALLY CORRECT in being "multi-cultural" c) everyone hates them because their most inventive cheer is "we want a goal" as for TFC chants, I wanted the "Hey Eintracht Frankfurt" cheer to be adapted to "Hey Toronto FC" but people thought it was too difficult. frickin idiots, 3 words in the whole thing---too difficult.