Socceroos active support

[Jowel]

I just attended the Socceroos v South Africa game.

 

The Socceroos active support was abysmal. Sure there were a dozen or so fans giving it their all, but overall very sad to see.

 

How many capos were tried out? Some were booed off the capo stand. Fans in the side stands were taking the piss out of the active fans too.

 

How did it come to this?

 

I don't wanna turn this discussion into an anti-FFA bitch fest. I really think issues with your club should be left at the door when it comes to supporting your national team.

 

I'm genuinely heartbroken over how sh1t the atmosphere was. I attended the 2005 WCQ v Uruguay so I know how good the socceroos active support can be.

 

Wish it was better that what I just saw

[Prydzopolis]

We had the Mecican Wave at 38 (which more people paid attention to rather than the game)

We had the beach ball at 49 and a few minutes later we had the light show.... The crowd were just as appalling as the game was!!

 

It seems like the new active supporter group had the right intentions but perhaps didn't realize how hard if was to pull it off on the night.... Also no band or basic drummer never helps..... Did they bother to release some of the chants they were going to use?

[WSW27]

I think this was a huge learning experience which is unfortunate as it comes off very poorly.

Things needed:

1. 1 or 2 capos
2. A large set of chants
3. A core of people who will sing hard and not give up after 3 verses. This will include meeting up, recording songs etc.
4. A band or even a bass drum
5. Scraping garbage 'chants' like aussie oi oi or the Mexican wave.

It's embarrassing for the active support to have gotten like this, the lack of passion is surprising considering the increase in quality of A-League matches

[Guest mickisnot]

I wasn't surprised, dissapointed none the less. It was moments like tonight that show you just how fickle Australian fans really are sometimes.

 

The most embarrassing moment of the night was people leaving at the 80th minute to go home. Regardless of the result, even a 20 - 0 defeat, the whole point of tonight was that this was supposed to be us wishing the Socceroos all the best in their tough group in Brasil.

 

My only solace was that well after the commencement of the match. The squad got together to take a final photo and the announcer said on the PA "give your team one last cheer Sydney", the stadium of maybe 5,000 maximum that stayed, errupted with the sound that was as loud as the 50,000 total that attended.

 

I'd love to blame the FFA, but with fans like I saw tonight the fault lies with them.

[SBW]

Barely heard any chants on tv. The atmosphere looked flat on tv.

[RBB]

I watched it from home, and after the final whistle i was very happy i did

[braad]

As much as i want to bag the FFA or those there for their lack of planning and execution, we all have the ability to change it yet we do nothing.

 

It is now known football needs active support in Australia. The Socceroos do too and it might be time to change our perception on participating. The Asian cup is here next year and with a boisterous and loud active support we could win that.

 

I love Australia and the pride i felt in 2005/6 is a feeling that i miss. Our team might not be the strongest, we might not have the best coach or federation but we should and can be part of the best national sporting fans in the world. All these years of the media dubbing australians as the best sports fans is just because people turn up. We have a serious & realistic opportunity to change the face and structure of our own support.

[WSW27]

As much as i want to bag the FFA or those there for their lack of planning and execution, we all have the ability to change it yet we do nothing.

 

It is now known football needs active support in Australia. The Socceroos do too and it might be time to change our perception on participating. The Asian cup is here next year and with a boisterous and loud active support we could win that.

 

I love Australia and the pride i felt in 2005/6 is a feeling that i miss. Our team might not be the strongest, we might not have the best coach or federation but we should and can be part of the best national sporting fans in the world. All these years of the media dubbing australians as the best sports fans is just because people turn up. We have a serious & realistic opportunity to change the face and structure of our own support.

This is the view I wish people would take, its hard to come in and change the culture of 'boganesque' cricket and NRL crowds yet we have pretty much done so for Wanderers. The definite feeling of pride is not there in many people, myself included, as compared to club teams. This might be because of games not being week in week out.

Either way we all have the ability to do something

[Erebus]

I don't know how people expect to have 10 chants going full on for 90 minutes with multiple bays,  for a team that plays once every 6 months

[1988banana]

What was the silent protest about last night...... The tifo or the crap arse performance the socceroos put out for us to watch...

 

FFA hope you enjoyed last nights game #graveyard

[Pablo]

at this stage, I'm not going to add anything much to this new thread - see my latest comments on active support from last night at

 

 

http://www.westsydneyfootball.com/topic/4412-australian-national-team-squad-matches-and-general-discussion/page-49

[Shogun]

National team active support won't work in this country, plain and simple. Active support in the A-league has grown to a point where club allegiances can't be put aside to come together (which is a good thing IMO, shows how dedicated we are to what we do).

 

The FFA can't seriously believe they'd want me or other Wanderers to work together with fans from Sydney FC or Melbourne Victory. The fact is our respective supporter groups aren't rent a crowds. FFA backed active support provided a graveyard in terms of atmosphere. Repeated Mexican waves and the Aussie Aussie Aussie chants are cringeworthy and wouldn't even sit well at a swimming carnival.

 

The FFA ****s over active fans and expects us to rise to chant for a team that plays every 6 months. Yeah good luck with that.

[Guest Southy]

I just attended the Socceroos v South Africa game.

 

The Socceroos active support was abysmal. Sure there were a dozen or so fans giving it their all, but overall very sad to see.

 

How many capos were tried out? Some were booed off the capo stand. Fans in the side stands were taking the piss out of the active fans too.

 

How did it come to this?

 

I don't wanna turn this discussion into an anti-FFA bitch fest. I really think issues with your club should be left at the door when it comes to supporting your national team.

 

I'm genuinely heartbroken over how sh1t the atmosphere was. I attended the 2005 WCQ v Uruguay so I know how good the socceroos active support can be.

 

Wish it was better that what I just saw

That Uruguay game saw 2000 tickets handed to active support people (for free) which was lead up by a good mate of mine Jimmy 

[Bob]

 

I just attended the Socceroos v South Africa game.

 

The Socceroos active support was abysmal. Sure there were a dozen or so fans giving it their all, but overall very sad to see.

 

How many capos were tried out? Some were booed off the capo stand. Fans in the side stands were taking the piss out of the active fans too.

 

How did it come to this?

 

I don't wanna turn this discussion into an anti-FFA bitch fest. I really think issues with your club should be left at the door when it comes to supporting your national team.

 

I'm genuinely heartbroken over how sh1t the atmosphere was. I attended the 2005 WCQ v Uruguay so I know how good the socceroos active support can be.

 

Wish it was better that what I just saw

That Uruguay game saw 2000 tickets handed to active support people (for free) which was lead up by a good mate of mine Jimmy 

 

Last Socceroos match I went to was 1995 against Columbia. There were only 15,000 there but our active support surprised me at the time and was quite decent. Has the internet ruined organisation rather than helped it? Too many chiefs; not enough Indians. How many old dead websites are still up ( ie, Terrace Australis), causing confusion. Good leadership will get good results.

[Erebus]

National team active support won't work in this country, plain and simple. Active support in the A-league has grown to a point where club allegiances can't be put aside to come together (which is a good thing IMO, shows how dedicated we are to what we do).

 

The FFA can't seriously believe they'd want me or other Wanderers to work together with fans from Sydney FC or Melbourne Victory. The fact is our respective supporter groups aren't rent a crowds. FFA backed active support provided a graveyard in terms of atmosphere. Repeated Mexican waves and the Aussie Aussie Aussie chants are cringeworthy and wouldn't even sit well at a swimming carnival.

 

The FFA ****s over active fans and expects us to rise to chant for a team that plays every 6 months. Yeah good luck with that.

Yep.

 

They do everything they can during the HAL season to stifle Active Support, then come begging for those very same supporters to do it for the national team.

 

You can't have both.

[westofcentre]

Like England and many other  European countries we are getting to the point where support for the domestic league is much bigger then support for the national team.

 

However it is an interesting dynamic. In South America the national teams still have strong support from fans who obviously support different local teams. How do they do it?

In Croatia too - we all know how crazy the ultras are as far as supporting their local team goes - yet they are still able to band together to create a great atmosphere at the national level.

How do they do this? Ie what thought process do they have to put aside differences?

For me, I cannot stomach the thought of been in the same active support as a smurf and his knick knack paddy whack phony English accent dribble. 

[Guest Southy]

 

 

I just attended the Socceroos v South Africa game.

 

The Socceroos active support was abysmal. Sure there were a dozen or so fans giving it their all, but overall very sad to see.

 

How many capos were tried out? Some were booed off the capo stand. Fans in the side stands were taking the piss out of the active fans too.

 

How did it come to this?

 

I don't wanna turn this discussion into an anti-FFA bitch fest. I really think issues with your club should be left at the door when it comes to supporting your national team.

 

I'm genuinely heartbroken over how sh1t the atmosphere was. I attended the 2005 WCQ v Uruguay so I know how good the socceroos active support can be.

 

Wish it was better that what I just saw

That Uruguay game saw 2000 tickets handed to active support people (for free) which was lead up by a good mate of mine Jimmy 

 

Last Socceroos match I went to was 1995 against Columbia. There were only 15,000 there but our active support surprised me at the time and was quite decent. Has the internet ruined organisation rather than helped it? Too many chiefs; not enough Indians. How many old dead websites are still up ( ie, Terrace Australis), causing confusion. Good leadership will get good results.

 

This would have been lead up by the original Bay 23 boys who were socceroos supporters. TA is still up as there is value in the forum if leadership would take to it.

 

I agree leadership is needed and from the right area though how many people would put their hand up for leadership after seeing the backlash towards, GGA, TA and now GT ?  

[ydoow]

I personally would have no issue being in an active support area with smurfs so long as the active support was organised properly and there was a capo we respected. 

[Zakman]

The only thing one can say in defence of the atmosphere last night is that it was a friendly against a country that could barely muster a full squad to bring to Australia. It was billed as a "farewell party" hence the Mexican Waves and beach balls. You can't compare this game to World Cup qualifiers where the team really need us to get them through.

 

On such games I question whether it is better to have an active section or better to have really passionate fans spread out amongst the crowd. Some of the best football atmospheres I have experienced have been past World Cup qualifiers in Sydney and Melbourne where the whole crowd is making noise and urging the team on. At the 2005 qualifier, I sat high up in one of the stand and could barely hear the active section as the supporters in my stand were making their own noise.

 

In those overseas internationals WOC mentioned, there is no active section - the whole crowd gets behind the team. 

[marron]

Like England and many other  European countries we are getting to the point where support for the domestic league is much bigger then support for the national team.

 

However it is an interesting dynamic. In South America the national teams still have strong support from fans who obviously support different local teams. How do they do it?

 

In Croatia too - we all know how crazy the ultras are as far as supporting their local team goes - yet they are still able to band together to create a great atmosphere at the national level.

How do they do this? Ie what thought process do they have to put aside differences?

 

For me, I cannot stomach the thought of been in the same active support as a smurf and his knick knack paddy whack phony English accent dribble.

I think there is a culture in such places exisiting already, which has two important factors - one, the national team being the embodiment of the country, as fully representative of the country - and two, an existing culture of active support. We have neither. In places like that, football songs and so on resonate through the population, so that when you come to the stadium, everyone knows the tunes already and isn't afraid to just stand up and belt them out and make some noise. One of the striking things about WSW has been the way the whole crowd gets involved - why? because we have a little bit of that going on in the west. But applying that to the whole country's football support, when so many only do it every few years and aren't interested in australian football, or even football, otherwise - it doesn't work.

 

Part of it in recent years is as well down to the way the team has gone itself. It's gone from siege mentality, everyone there being true believers and invested in the team because of all the heartache and the history of the game in this country - to one where joe bloggs expects them to perform at the highest level and has been turned off by our declining fortunes and lots of dour football. Doesn't help getting people enthusiastic about it.

 

Then as others have pointed out the rise of the a-league means that a lot of people who are interested in active support are too heavily invested in their club teams to take on organisation of a national group.

[Guest mickisnot]

Like England and many other  European countries we are getting to the point where support for the domestic league is much bigger then support for the national team.

 

However it is an interesting dynamic. In South America the national teams still have strong support from fans who obviously support different local teams. How do they do it?

 

In Croatia too - we all know how crazy the ultras are as far as supporting their local team goes - yet they are still able to band together to create a great atmosphere at the national level.

How do they do this? Ie what thought process do they have to put aside differences?

 

For me, I cannot stomach the thought of been in the same active support as a smurf and his knick knack paddy whack phony English accent dribble. 

 

You're trying to answer the question in football terms. You can't.

 

Don't mix up England and Europe. England is dead weight forget about them. Englands domestic league starts one table below the Barclays Premier League. The EPL as far as I'm concerned is an International league.

 

Unfortunately Australians aren't nationalistic and the ones that are, aren't really people you want to be friends with LOL

[Stevo99]

A few have said to me "why don't people from the RBB go and sing, why don't you go and help out". The thing is, I don't see much of Wanderers games because of being in the RBB. I like the fact that with the socceroos for once I can actually go and watch my team play (except last night, I was stuck at home). If there was an active section that was organised, that had people willing to sing and co-operate, it might be different. But it's not too often we get to see the national team play, I'm sorry, I'm not going to spend those few opportunities missing the game to be one of 10 people singing. 

 

I know that's probably not the most helpful view, but I doubt I'm the only one who feels like that. 

[marron]

The only thing one can say in defence of the atmosphere last night is that it was a friendly against a country that could barely muster a full squad to bring to Australia. It was billed as a "farewell party" hence the Mexican Waves and beach balls. You can't compare this game to World Cup qualifiers where the team really need us to get them through.

 

On such games I question whether it is better to have an active section or better to have really passionate fans spread out amongst the crowd. Some of the best football atmospheres I have experienced have been past World Cup qualifiers in Sydney and Melbourne where the whole crowd is making noise and urging the team on. At the 2005 qualifier, I sat high up in one of the stand and could barely hear the active section as the supporters in my stand were making their own noise.

 

In those overseas internationals WOC mentioned, there is no active section - the whole crowd gets behind the team.

Yep. One of my lasting memories of the Uruguay game is of that swell of noise because everyone was prepared to do what it took. I was high up as well but it didn't make a difference. I remember in the early stages - after the anthems and all that - being amazed at the apparent footballing knowledge around me in terms of how the crowd reacted (remember feeling this at the early WSW games as well). Huge noise for little things like staying calm on the ball and passing it neatly in defence and so on. Anyway - it shows that australians are capable of coming to a game with that mentality - tapping into it is another story.

[marron]

A few have said to me "why don't people from the RBB go and sing, why don't you go and help out". The thing is, I don't see much of Wanderers games because of being in the RBB. I like the fact that with the socceroos for once I can actually go and watch my team play (except last night, I was stuck at home). If there was an active section that was organised, that had people willing to sing and co-operate, it might be different. But it's not too often we get to see the national team play, I'm sorry, I'm not going to spend those few opportunities missing the game to be one of 10 people singing. 

 

I know that's probably not the most helpful view, but I doubt I'm the only one who feels like that.

I'm the same stevo.

 

And on the rbb help out stuff, I don't get it... how about YOU make some noise ffs.

[Neverbloom]

 

A few have said to me "why don't people from the RBB go and sing, why don't you go and help out". The thing is, I don't see much of Wanderers games because of being in the RBB. I like the fact that with the socceroos for once I can actually go and watch my team play (except last night, I was stuck at home). If there was an active section that was organised, that had people willing to sing and co-operate, it might be different. But it's not too often we get to see the national team play, I'm sorry, I'm not going to spend those few opportunities missing the game to be one of 10 people singing. 

 

I know that's probably not the most helpful view, but I doubt I'm the only one who feels like that.

I'm the same stevo.

 

And on the rbb help out stuff, I don't get it... how about YOU make some noise ffs.

 

we would have to modify our chants too much for the socceroos

 

lose or lose we will always follow you......

[marron]

 

 

A few have said to me "why don't people from the RBB go and sing, why don't you go and help out". The thing is, I don't see much of Wanderers games because of being in the RBB. I like the fact that with the socceroos for once I can actually go and watch my team play (except last night, I was stuck at home). If there was an active section that was organised, that had people willing to sing and co-operate, it might be different. But it's not too often we get to see the national team play, I'm sorry, I'm not going to spend those few opportunities missing the game to be one of 10 people singing. 

 

I know that's probably not the most helpful view, but I doubt I'm the only one who feels like that.

I'm the same stevo.

 

And on the rbb help out stuff, I don't get it... how about YOU make some noise ffs.

 

we would have to modify our chants too much for the socceroos

 

lose or lose we will always follow you......

 

Come on goat.

 

We had a draw.

 

It is one of the issues though, finding chants that aren't used by clubs that will still resonate with people.

 

Hey does anyone remember that "song for the socceroos" show back in 2006? I've still got one of them stuck in my head.

socceroos

socceroos

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

socceroos

socceroos

here come the, socceroos

 

[Neverbloom]

 

 

 

A few have said to me "why don't people from the RBB go and sing, why don't you go and help out". The thing is, I don't see much of Wanderers games because of being in the RBB. I like the fact that with the socceroos for once I can actually go and watch my team play (except last night, I was stuck at home). If there was an active section that was organised, that had people willing to sing and co-operate, it might be different. But it's not too often we get to see the national team play, I'm sorry, I'm not going to spend those few opportunities missing the game to be one of 10 people singing. 

 

I know that's probably not the most helpful view, but I doubt I'm the only one who feels like that.

I'm the same stevo.

 

And on the rbb help out stuff, I don't get it... how about YOU make some noise ffs.

 

we would have to modify our chants too much for the socceroos

 

lose or lose we will always follow you......

 

Come on goat.

 

We had a draw.

 

It is one of the issues though, finding chants that aren't used by clubs that will still resonate with people.

 

Hey does anyone remember that "song for the socceroos" show back in 2006? I've still got one of them stuck in my head.

 

lol true, i agree its hard to find chants that are not associated with a club that would be good, how do south american nations do it? if we are going to give this a good try we should take a lot of influence from what they do because obviously they do it very well, i just dont see it happening though

[Stevo99]

 

Come on goat.

 

We had a draw.

 

It is one of the issues though, finding chants that aren't used by clubs that will still resonate with people.

 

Hey does anyone remember that "song for the socceroos" show back in 2006? I've still got one of them stuck in my head.

socceroos

socceroos

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

socceroos

socceroos

here come the, socceroos

 

 

 

"I wanna jump and scream in a stadium, full of Australians" 

[marron]

it's a different culture though goat that's the thing. people sing more. there's no need to carefully select songs or whatever, people just roll with it and sing. listen to how tuneful the chants are in south america compared to what we do... it's inbuilt. it's part of the reason why are most famous sporting chant is "aussie aussie aussie".

 

btw, I just realised that I think that song I have stuck in my head was a rip off of the mouseketeers song.

 

Come on goat.

 

We had a draw.

 

It is one of the issues though, finding chants that aren't used by clubs that will still resonate with people.

 

Hey does anyone remember that "song for the socceroos" show back in 2006? I've still got one of them stuck in my head.

socceroos

socceroos

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

socceroos

socceroos

here come the, socceroos

 

 

"I wanna jump and scream in a stadium, full of Australians" 

 

oh **** i forgot about that one

[westofcentre]

What is interesting is that less then a decade ago (and prior) the old NSL was nationalistic (little involvement from the broader Anglo community), and the Socceroos were predominantly followed by ethnic Australians - as a way of not only promoting football, but re-inforcing their "Australianism" and as a way of identifying with Australian society and their integration within that society.

 

Now you have a situation where the domestic league is followed by people of all backgrounds - Anglo, European, Asian, South American etc (bravo!) but the national team has lost many of those traditional "ethnic" supporters and has become more mainstream white anglo in its supporter make up.

Edited May 27, 2014 by westofcentre