Maybe its me but I cant stand the current pre game intro anymore, the walking in side by side holding a kids hand, standing in a line, shaking each others hands, all that. F that. I dont know if it has to happen by FIFA rules or whatnot but f it. Imagine Red Bull-NYCFC in a few years if thierry henry and tim cahill come in like NFL players pumping everyone up. Make it more like that.
I kind of agree, this whole "gentlemen's game played by hooligans" thing is a bit stuffy. Build some animosity in the pregame.
I like it that soccer players still have some sportsmanship before and after the game. If you want a Rome coliseum go watch the NFL and those barbarians.
They aren't warriors going into battle, they aren't enemies looking to beat the other team. They're grown men, professionals, doing a job. The guys in the other colored shirts are the opposition, they're colleagues, they're not the enemy. I want my soccer players to act like men. I want them to act like professionals.
I was going to post something to this extent but you pretty much summed it up neatly right here. It would be incredibly weird to see (let's use one of OPs examples) Henry run out of the tunnel and skip around the field, flapping his arms about to "pump up" the crowd. Let the supporter sections do their jobs.
There are a lot of legitimate concerns of things MLS can do to better itself. How they walk out onto the field isn't one of them.
I know it's an American tradition but the anthem before every game is weak sauce. Most renditions are really poor and just cheapens the whole experience for me. It also has sort of a Soviet Russia blind nationalism to it where it's done out of habit more than anything. If it were me I'd keep the anthem for holidays and major games like finals that have a national scope.
Totally agree on that one. It always seemed a bit creepy and nationalistic to play the national anthem before club games.
I think that is one thing that NBSC has done well by including the players entry to the field. I agree, the national anthem should be saved for when the National Teams are playing. And while we are at it, no singers, just play the US Marine version and let the fans sing it. As for league games, we now have a league anthem, that is all we need for MLS games. That should be played as teams walk out. After that, let the fans and supporters sing and chant etc. - By the way, what are the lyrics to the song RSL fans are singing when they come on field or when they score? Was it made up by the team, the supporters or just organically grew ?
Took me about 5 seconds to find these. Are any of this what you're talking about? http://www.roguecavaliers.com/Rogue_Cavaliers_Brigade/Chants.html
It was written by the drummer for the punk band Rancid who is a Salt Lake supporter. Here are the lyrics ( my apologies if I mess up a word or two): If you believe then just stand up on your feet and shout it out Real. We're here at the Riot the battle hymns begun. We're here for RSL. I just think its cool that the whole stadium sings that for entrances and goals instead of piping it through the speaker systems. Also there's a pretty sweet entrance video to go along with it from 2012, pretty sure its on YouTube.
I have a personal tradition when watching games by myself. When the national anthem starts playing, I grab the remote. The first time the singer makes a clever note substitution, I hit mute. I don't mind hearing the national anthem. It's been a sports tradition dating back to baseball during WWII, if I know my history. I do mind listening to the anthem as re-interpreted by some flavor-of-the-month music star who wants to make the thing about him or herself. ------RM
The Galaxy "singers" are among the worse. The only good one is a mens choir group that seems to pop up once a year or so. I like Colorado as I believe they have the same guy all the time. ( do other teams?) Another thought instead of the national anthem, go with America the Beatifull or God Bless America- both shorter and easier for the singer, or preferable the crowd to sign.
The Rapids from time to time use the same guy who does Avs (and maybe Nuggets?) games, and he seems to be well liked by local sports fans. We have our share of singers trying to make their mark though, along with the various school choirs who don't do anything fancy (which tend to be my preference).
At PPL Park, the Sons of Ben and the rest of the fans sing the National Anthem. It has become a nice tradition, although I'm pretty sure that this evolved out of just being cheap.
It seems particularly silly to play the National Anthem before games where most of the players aren't US citizens - not just in MLS, but also in MLB, and especially the NHL. I like our national anthem, but when I went to a CONCACAF Champions League game a few years ago, they didn't play the anthem and I didn't miss it. That said, the playing of the National Anthem and the crowd signing along enthusiastically before a USMNT game is one of the best parts of the USMNT game experience.
How about this ? MLS games- Just the MLS anthem as the players walk in. Shake hands and game on. CCL- Fifa anthem , (unless CC has one ?) WCQ National Anthems of both teams.