Shhhh! United Are Playing
Henry Kibirige
It’s being talked about amongst many football fans, especially the older ones. It’s apparently getting so bad that it stops some fans from even bothering to go to games. Is the atmosphere at football really getting quieter and less exciting?
Well, I went to the Wigan game and found myself sat in the East Stand (also known as the K Stand or Scoreboard end). As I got in reasonably early, I had to wait a while to find out the people who would be sitting around me, and after about ten minutes, an elderly couple (not that old though) were sat to my left. Towards my right was a family consisting of a father, a mother and a son of about six who was sat next to me. As I am a very polite and adorable teenager, I greeted my fellow fans with a smile and a slight ‘hi’.
So the teams came out and as the PA guy was reading out the United squad, there was the usual round of cheers for each United player. The elderly couple joined in and added emphatic clapping when Ryan Giggs’ name was called out, but what struck me was the family on my right doing nothing, instead they opted to sit and twiddle on their mobiles.
By the kick-off they had there mobiles down and were watching the game. The Stretford End started the ‘United, United, United’ chant, which was supported by myself and most of the East Stand. The elderly couple did the same, but the family just sat there and instead started to throw dirty looks towards my direction, including the little son. I didn’t turn around and look at them but you can feel when someone doesn’t like your presence near them. Again I was dumfounded, what had I done wrong?
The game continued, and so did the chants. When the whole stadium arose to the ‘Stand up for the Champions’ chant, I was thinking to myself that they can at least stand up for this one. Again, elderly couple joined in, but the family did more drastic actions. When the chant died down, they told the son to swap place with his mum and they all moved one seat away from me. I could also hear the Dad’s terrible attempts of a whisper saying “Are you OK now?”
This angered me. They were obviously not happy with my participation in the chants, but what’s wrong with that? Some people might say that they were protecting their kid, but what are they protecting him from? How can they expect to bring their kid to a football game -especially in the K Stand and not expect the person next to them to chant?
As the game continued, I continued chanting as the East Stand had a sing-off with the Wigan fans ( I wasn’t even a sing-off, about 5 Wigan fans bothered to get off their seats all through the game). I began to care less about what that family thought. If they don’t want to sing, or at least cheer, they don’t have to. But whenever I go to Old Trafford, I sing and I enjoy being loud, that’s the sort of fan I am and I don’t want to change.
If you ask fans of over 40 who went during the 70s and 80s, they’ll tell you that it was very rare for a family to go to football games. If there was, they would be in the seated area.
To some extent it’s quite good that a family can go to the football now these days, as back in the old days, it was considered unsafe for parents and their children to go to the football. These days when you go down, you expect a nice, clean and comfortable visit, and to get home in one piece.
During the 70s, that wasn’t always the case, as most of the grounds were terraced and the hooligan theme was frequent but the atmosphere was considerably louder and more enjoyable.
The 70s, and maybe even earlier introduced a lot about the reputation of many fans and some particular sections of grounds. Stands like the Stretford End and the KOP were regarded as one of the loudest in Britain.
Back in the day at a 3pm kick off at Old Trafford, the turnstiles to the Stretford End would open at 12 noon, where fans would already have been queueing to pay at the gate.
By about 1.30 the stand would be almost full and the constant singing would begin, getting louder and louder as more people got in. It was a cramp though. You wouldn’t have dared to leave your place to go to the toilet or by something to eat as you would not be guaranteed to be in the same spot or see your mates again until the end of the game.
The noise of when United scored would be deafening. Apparently you could hear the stadium’s roar in Oldham on a European night. It was also measured that the roar of the Stretford End was louder than the sound of a jumble jet taking off.
But in 1992, the Taylor report required all clubs in the top flight to have all seated stadiums, making the famous terraced Stretford to have it’s last game in a 2-1 win over Spurs. And more and more people are gradually agreeing that the atmosphere is not how it used to be.
So why is it getting quieter? As ticket prices continue to go through the roof, the ‘hardcore’ supporters are obviously getting priced out, thus allowing the posher people to get the tickets the ordinary can’t afford.
At United with this Automatic Cup Ticket Scheme, more and more season ticket holders are dropping out as they simply can’t afford to get charged for games they don’t want to go to.
And what could also be another reason is the actual idea of all seated grounds. In my opinion, the best way to enjoy a game in when you’re stood up. It might be something scientific with your brain or adrenalin, but standing up is the better way to enjoy a football game. The seated stadium obviously means people sitting down, so when you do stand up, the bloke behind you taps your back saying “Sit down son, I can’t see.”
Now don’t get me wrong, there are some fans who would rather be sat down and enjoy the game quietly, or simply don’t know the chants. This doesn’t make them less of a fan than the louder ones, (to be honest, who am I to judge them) but what I am saying is that you go to the football to enjoy the atmosphere and cheer the lads on, and unless the terraces get reintroduced and prices get cheaper, it will just keep getting quieter and quieter.
(On Oct 8th, 2007 at 9:15 am)
I had exactly the same situation last year. It was the match against Barnet and unfortunately our tickets were for the “family stand”. I was so shocked when i started chanting. The amount of people that just looked at me and gave me “evils” was ridiculous. In the end one little girl that had been watching me as if to say “what are you doing that for?” started singing herself. I was pleased with that but the parents should either join in or expect it to be loud! This is why Old Trafford is so quiet now. Its disappointing. I hate to use the enemy as an example, but imagine if we had 76,000 liverpool fans in there. It would be loud every week. But because of the ticketing scheme, its only loud for big games at OT.