I'd be cool with that, with no offense to United Knights because I think they do a great job. Some teams have seperate supporter groups and they usually are at opposite ends of the field, and it works just fine. But they are right in that the different songs and that at the same time gets a little confusing. That would suck for them though, because they won't be able to see the scoreboard.
if that's what they want, then I wish them the best. there are positives and negatives to splitting the group. They've always wanted to have their own strong identity anyway, so this is maybe the best way for them to achieve that goal. I think the other groups might also benefit from the move, forcing them to build better bonds. If we could get two corners rocking and chanting back and forth that could be fun.
I like having them around---the difference in chants is down to poor coordination/laziness on the part of both groups. They definitely bring something fresh to the "clapclapclap" routine, but it would be cool to have two sections singing.
Going *clap clap clap* a million times IS old. And so is chanting *ole ole ole* all day long. I tried to organize the fans but not many seemed to give a shit. Oh well. This is gonna end horribly since they're pissed already with the ruckus that's caused in that corner. Now it'll be two? Well hey, there's a lot of good dudes in that group and I wish them the best, but I hope this doesn't do what I feel it will: Allow the FO to break us down even more than they want to already.
I ran into the dude from UK who was their "leader" last game (don't know his name) yesterday at Best Buy and we chatted for a minute. He said they need to control their UK guys a little more and was pissed about some of the stuff they were doing. He said it should be better next game, more control, more people and more smoke.
Just a quick question for Kyle, as he seems to have been in contact with the FO... are they really that ticked off at us? I can understand it maybe after last match, what with smoke going around the stadium, but before that (I did miss the game on jun 26, btw)? That's kind of ridiculous if they were, because I didn't see anything that egregious. In any case, if they start treating us like their poor relations, well, they can just go screw themselves, and I'll save 12 bucks and sit at home and watch some real football that I've got DVR'ed. Hell, I'd stay home and watch jeremy st. louis prattle on about something if it meant I don't get glared at and herded like a pig.
This stems from 2 things. 1. The lone gestapo staffer at the last game stating, and I quote, "We've tried to be cool with you guys and you screwed it up. That's it. This is over". (If that was his angered personal opinion or Front Office supported viewpoint, I don't know, but that leads me to...) 2. Conversations with a fellow supporter who literally has a friend in the FO and hears quite a lot that won't make supporters happy. So, I'd say right now, expect a clash between fans and staff at the next game. And no, I don't mean a physical fight, I just mean what they may do to control us and what people may do in response. It could get resolved and it could turn ugly. We'll see.
Well, that's just fantastic. Obviously, the smoke on the field is out of bounds, as is taking the smoke to other sections. The outside beverage thing shouldn't be a huge issue, but of course they have every right to take it away if they see you with it (solution: bring in aluminum Bud bottles, of course, or just tailgate before). Beyond that, I'm not sure what the hell is going on. What transgressions have we made against the High Priests of Professional Soccer Decorum? Chanting? Buying season tickets? If they are really planning a clash, that's the most immature and petty thing I've ever heard. It's also terrible for any business to treat any customer (esp. some of us---not me, though---who are season ticket holders) with anything less than courtesy. And the courteous way for the club to handle this situation would be for Cooper/new investor to personally write a letter to the section as a whole, and to the defacto heads of each supporters group. Additionally, Cooper should invite these defacto heads to sit down with him at a meeting to discuss solutions to these issues. That would be very nice, and probably constructive for both parties. However, according to your information, it appears that they want a "Battle of Fenton". Okay, that's hyperbole, but it does seem that the front office wants to assert their authority as the only gun in town. So, what measures are they going to take? Dedicated stewards? Frisking at entry? Immediate ejection of unruly fans? Please, by all means, go ahead. I will either switch sections or simply stay at home. Every single supporter that is showing up is doing the club a favor---really, we're trying to help establish the game in St. Louis. While I certainly have a good time, I could probably have just as good of a time going to a St. Louis Lions game, or a SLU game, or simply hitting some bars with friends.
I hope it doesn't come to anything even resembling a "clash" between ownership and sections 19 & 20, but in the ownership's defense, fans haven't been the saints you're describing. First, the outside drinks: I'm friends with a number of the people bringing them, but if I were the owner of a team having trouble paying the bills, I'd crack down on that, too. Next, the fireworks in the stands: They seem okay with smoke bombs, but they went after the one guy with fireworks very quickly. I can't exactly blame them for that either, as they are potentially dangerous and not even technically legal in St. Louis County. The smoke: When it has moved from the stands to the field/sidelines, there's been an issue. I can understand that. No one should ever throw anything on the field, and the ones along the sidelines can get in the way of the linesman, not to mention trusting drunk people's aim to hit the sideline instead of the field. Finally, the cursing: The only times I've seen the team say anything to anyone was when cursing was done over the megaphone. If you want to curse, and the team asks you to keep it off of the megaphone, I don't think that sounds that harsh.
We've gone over a lot of this already and people aren't changing anything. It's only gotten worse. We've discussed unifying groups. Some wanted it, some didn't. We talked about having a sit down with the FO with reps from the groups. Some said they contacted the FO and never got a response. If that's true, then maybe they just don't care. We talked about throwing shit on the field, and not only does it persist, it became the new trendy thing to do. We talked about cussing on the megaphone, that got worse. We argued with angry fans who feel the groups are bothering their experience, and we said don't sit by us. What did we do? Run down the god damn stadium smoking out the fans. We got into areas that we didn't belong in. I've been the biggest defender of supporters freedom so long as they freedom didn't tread on anyone else, and we violated that. The FO has almost ever right to be pissed now. We had a leg to stand on before, and now I wouldn't be surprised if they came down hard. Will it hurt us? Yes. Will it hurt them? YES. In the end, we all lose. Saturday will tell us just what the results of all of this is. Of course if the park is empty again I wouldn't worry too much about having a team much longer anyway.
Oh, and I don't care if this is AC related or not, but I'm a huge fan of the Lions and have been for some time. Their staff are great people and would love to have the kind of fans AC does at their games, and that club deserves it. But I swear if people decided to go there as a result of this fiasco and still act like a jackass I'll start breaking hands with a sledgehammer.
I agree 100% with Kyle. We can't blame the FO at this point, we've brought it upon ourselves. I'm guilty too. The Whitecaps game was a disaster- alcohol is an explanation but not a valid excuse. Most of us were better behaved at the Carolina game, but we still had individuals crossing the line. That said, this doesn't have to turn into a them vs. us confrontation. We need to police ourselves. I believe that we have the leadership of RCS and Eads here on this forum and I can represent my posse. We need to take control of our own and urge Day Pints, HSC, and UK to do the same. If any of our members steps out of line we have to be willing to stop them. I can't say anything to a member of Eads, but I can say something to other Eads members to control their man, etc. If we put out the fires on our own then I believe the FO will back off. If there are members of our group that consistently break the rules, then we have to be willing to take steps to fix the situation before management has to. I know there are members of the Staff that are very pro-supporter group, but we're not giving them much to work with when we continue to act like idiots. (again, I'm as guilty as everyone else) We can see how it goes this weekend and hope for the best, but if there is more trouble I think we'll have to request a meeting with the FO to discuss the future and how we can make both supporters and the club happy. They need us as much as we need them- there should be a way we can both get what we want.
Seph, not sure how I'm portraying them like saints...I acknowledged that the outside drink issue was valid, as was the smoke outside of the section, as was the smoke on the field. The smoke can ruin the game even for those in sec 20, and should be restricted to the top row or the very last seat in each row (i.e. hold the smoke bomb away from others, out over the asphalt). And Kyle, I don't intend to go to a Lions game and act like a jackass, if that is the implication (which it may or may not be, not sure). I haven't brought in outside beverages to AC games, I've never thrown anything, and I haven't set off fireworks. I'd say that's true for most of the fans at AC games. I do, however, reserve the right to curse. Also, you are spot on when you say the Lions are a class organization.
Just throwing this out there, but HSC (and I am a "founding" member---as silly as that sounds, it only means I was there the night it was thought up) is more of a free association thing with shirts rather than anything organized. Also, two people in HSC shirts at the last game looked positively miffed when one of my friends yelled "ooooooooooooo......You're shit" at Eric Reed during a goal kick/the lead up..........a dark day for the organization when people can't bear to hear the dreaded "s" word.
I'll try to make sure that everyone knows who I am, but if you see something done by an Eads member, please come talk to me. If you see me doing something terrible please yell at me. I feel that outside of the fight one of our members was in, Eads as group has had a good reputation. I want to keep it that way. I will also do my best to better coordinate with the other groups.
and just to be clear, I was just using Eads as an example. Most of us know each other well enough that we should be able to work through any problems with our guys. I really don't know too many members of UK though.
STLSpurs, you're HSC? Well I demand to know who the hell you are then since I figure I know most everyone in that group. DEMAND, I say. And no, I wasn't citing you would act like anything. That was just a broad stroke statement. Wasn't a personal jab at anyone (save for the actual jackasses who throw shit on the field or whatever). I have no doubt Tony and James would be stoked to have a proper group at their games. Anyhoo, about this whole "UK moving to 8" thing, this is my 2 cents: At first I felt against it, but you know what? They do what they do. Honestly, we aren't all in the same boat and don't want the same things. If UK can put on a "show" so to speak of their own and be 100% organized then I say go for it. That's a win for them and a win for the club. The rest of the groups I know were for more behind a unified group as I've brought up before than UK were. So, that may be something to push for again and really bring sections 19 and 20 together and the UK can own section 8. The next step I support is having a sit down with AC staff. If anyone knows a good way to go about trying to put that together keep me informed. As far as I know other attempts went nowhere so I'm not sure of the proper way to go about it at this point.
This is doable. We can talk about it on Saturday pre-game and probably have an answer on Saturday night.
I honestly can't believe the supporters groups can't get along. We only had a little more than 2,000 there last Saturday and our fans can't get along. WHY?? We all need to come together and support this team. So far, the soccer community isn't doing their part. Well we probably won't have to worry about that anymore after October 2nd. Things are not looking good at all.
For one, stop saying "we". "You're" as much an AC fan as Edward is a vampire. Second, no one said fans aren't getting along. Third, kindly f*ck off since it's painfully obvious you haven't a friend in the world and your entire existence revolves around being a troll. Oh, you did bring up attendance. KC is dead last in the league with a whopping 9 thousand average. Just thought I'd remind you of how well your "major league" club is doing. Now go sell some sweet rainbow soccer ball merchandise in traffic, troll.