Let me offer my unasked-for opinion, which not surprisingly is a combo of what everyone else said. It was a playoff game. More people wanted to come and more wanted to sit in the Barra (since we're GA it's easier to do that). Bummer that the oldbies couldn't sit in their normal seats, true, but HEY, we're GA! That more people thing contributed heavily to the singing problem. It's easy to get a cluster of us on one beat sounding all together at a Thursday game in August. Not so easy to spread it across all the supporter's sections. Just a fact. If I wasn't singing it was because I was in the middle of two competing songs. This is not a handwringing thing as far as I'm concerned, it's just something that happened for this one game. Newbie outreach: love the idea. When bootsy and I first came to the Barra Owen came over and introduced himself and gave us the lowdown, told us where to find the lyrics to the songs online (though quick studies that we are, we got the tricky ones like "dale dale dale oh dale dale dale oh daaaleeeeee dale oh.") Anyway. Just my .02 Free to ignore at will.
Regarding Newbies disrupting the flow: It's unfortunate that the amount the large amount of newbies made the performance below par in some people's opinions, but I think we needed that. Looking towards the future of our supporter's group I think that game was great. A lot of those people were at their first game or maybe they come to 2 or 3 games a year. But I think those same people had a such a great time that they will come to even more games next year. And gradually, they will get into the game more and sing more as they learn songs. Passion CAN be learned. We just need to be patient. Let me tell you the story of a current Barra member. He started coming to games in the Barra with his girlfriend cuz he loved going to sporting events, no matter what sport. He liked soccer, but never played it and didn't know a damn thing about the intricies of the game. He didn't sing much at the games and was pretty much there to be around the atmosphere as opposed to helping create it. He eventually started going to the tailgates and did look at the Barra as a social group more than a supporters group. Time went by and this guy learned the songs and started coming out of his shell as he felt more comfortable in his surroundings. Now, this guy sings, jumps, stands on chiar and starts songs, and bleeds black and red. Now he enjoys and appreciates the actual game of soccer and is going to join his first men's league in the spring. He joined BigSoccer and posts more frequently. He does whatever he can to make the Barra better. He takes hundreds of pictures for the website to help attract members. He made Barra business cards to attract new members. He even sacrifices actually watching the ECF to get video footage for Comcast to help the Barra grow. He goes on many road trips and hits on Crewsers. He had a few people tell him last night how he really took things up a notch this year and really appreciated his efforts. Do you know who that guy was? That's right... Point is, Passion CAN be learned. You can look at last night as growing pains for the future. Imagine if in 3 years a good amount of those people having their first Barra experience turns out like guy from the story. Then imagine the ECF in 2009. Don't know about you, but I'm liking what I'm seeing. Duff
well it said hits on crewsers........ worm? is that you? i wouldnt seen dead doing that........or if i was drunk
Duff's dead right. The Barra as a social club is a gateway drug to becoming a passionate Barra member. The key is all of us gotta make sure we're doing the right things to get these guys involved and get them passionate. I really liked Mary's story of Owen helping her and bootsy when they first joined - it resonated with me because I recognized it. Jay, Owen, Marshall, etc. did the same for me when I first joined.
Frankly, I'm real disappointed some Revolution ********************s were allowed to run around the Barra at the beginning of the 2nd half without getting their shit ruined.
I wouldn't be so unkind to cows. And yeah, I would have never made it into the Barra myself if Bison hadn't dragged me in.
I think we may want to consider how guests are given tickets next year. During the first half amonst the numerous people near the drummers were two teenagers who didn't say a word the entire half. They even refused to pick up a flag sitting right in front of them. During the second half the drummers didn't get back to the exact same seats. Two people I'd never seen before pushed me down off the seat and refused to accomodate anyone else coming in. They also didn't say Sh!t the second half except to act indignant towards Barra members. I would have given him my redskins tickets just to not have him around So now that I am done with the gripping I think there is a big difference between guests that the members bring in (particularly ones that dig up their drums to join in, and take the time to learn the songs before hand) and what seemed like the myriad of random people. I spoke with Barra members 10 rows away after the game and they said they couldn't tell what songs were were singing because it wasn't being carried through by the guests. I wonder if we should restrict first time guests for the playoff games. The few guests I brough had come to earlier games, and were back becasue they wanted to bring the passion and the noise again. Those that didn't weren't invited back. There are at least 16 other opportunities earlier in the year for people to experience the Barra, see if its right for them, and learn the flow and vibe. If fans want to enjoy the Barra, rather than contribute to it, they can do so from the sections behind us (or next to us). That way we can all enjoy the game too the fullest extent, the way we want to. On a side note, and I could be wrong, but I think DCU sold tickets in 137,138,139 to the general public. If that is the case that's probalby not a problem during the season, but it may contribute to the randomness during the playoffs when we expanded. I am not sure I offered much new but thats my 1.5 cents as a relatively newer member. See you guys at the concacaf
If you wouldn't hit on any of these girls then we should maybe change the name of the thread to "Captain's sexuality check." Zing!!!
I know I'm an "extreme-newbie" as yesterday was only my second game in the Barra, but even I could tell that things were off. The RBNY game last week was much louder and intense in comparison, even though I was practically in a Captain Morgan induced coma. Far too often last night I would look around the section and see a high percentage of fans just standing there completely dumbfounded. I tried everything in my power to get others to join in, but apparently not even partial-nudity and captain and coke sharing is enough to motivate some people :-( On another note, I just want to thank Oscar, Srdan, Jay, Rob, Duffman, etc for everything that they do. Even with the result, I'd do another 16hr roundtrip drive in a heartbeat. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the Barra. Alec (the hammered half-naked guy)
well i do like the blondes.....i dont remember that many blondes....oh yeah i was passed out drunk and gettig yelled at by security