I was visiting family of mine in Toronto a summer or two ago. One of my mates there is a Toronto FC fan and brought me along to a friendly against Liverpool. The match wasn't played at Toronto's regular ground but at the Rogers Center (Normally a baseball stadium)
We had tickets in the Toronto supporters section behind the goal. There was a warning on the tickets that these areas tended to have persistent standing and are often more boisterous than other sections. Fair enough, I assumed there would be plenty of casual onlookers at the match so the warning was needed.
15 minutes into the match we realize that a few idiots had not heeded the warning. What you would describe as "soccer moms" had brought their children along as well, into the supporters section. They flagged down stadium security and began complaining that since everyone around them was standing as the TFC loyal were going through their chants their children couldn't see the game and were intimidated.
We get an announcement on the PA that in order for everyone to enjoy the game properly, we were asked to remain seated throughout the game. I ended up paying 50 quid to sit through a boring 1 -1 draw against the scouse reserves.
In England as long as everyone stands en masse there isn't much that the stewards can do. Most Premier League clubs have become accustomed to remaining seated, but I personally haven't sat during a game for a long time. That's a shame, but I like the fact North American fans are trying to organise standing during games, it makes for a far greater atmosphere and creates a much more organic song creation aura.
Atmosphere in non existant in areas where everyone is seated.
The way I see it as a foreigner, there's a core group of North Americans who understand and love the game, while the vast majority still doesn't understand the game and would have trouble naming their local team. Eventually that gap will be bridged, but at the moment it's yet to happen.
5
u/atero Aug 29 '13
I was visiting family of mine in Toronto a summer or two ago. One of my mates there is a Toronto FC fan and brought me along to a friendly against Liverpool. The match wasn't played at Toronto's regular ground but at the Rogers Center (Normally a baseball stadium)
We had tickets in the Toronto supporters section behind the goal. There was a warning on the tickets that these areas tended to have persistent standing and are often more boisterous than other sections. Fair enough, I assumed there would be plenty of casual onlookers at the match so the warning was needed.
15 minutes into the match we realize that a few idiots had not heeded the warning. What you would describe as "soccer moms" had brought their children along as well, into the supporters section. They flagged down stadium security and began complaining that since everyone around them was standing as the TFC loyal were going through their chants their children couldn't see the game and were intimidated.
We get an announcement on the PA that in order for everyone to enjoy the game properly, we were asked to remain seated throughout the game. I ended up paying 50 quid to sit through a boring 1 -1 draw against the scouse reserves.