Having been part of the Adelaide United Red Army for five years, I’ve seen involvement in active support, as well as general attendance, ebb and flow.
As the football chant goes, “You only sing when you’re winning”, sadly for club administrations and the players; the same seems to go for attendance.
So I was very interested to read Mike Tuckerman’s article on attitudes towards active support.
Tuckerman claims in his article that authoritarianism runs strong in Australian social culture.
I’m of the opinion that he’s generally correct, but attaching it to the A-League is perhaps misguided.
Sport in Australia is, and has always been, an immersive experience, particularly in South Australia.
Look at the clashes and the rivalry at the Showdown with the fans shouting at players and coaches, or the unique social experience of ‘The Hill’ at Adelaide Oval.
In my view, the authoritarianism is displayed by those who avoid the game itself; and to a lesser extent, those without families in the east/west Bays.
Not so much in adherence to social codes of politeness and respect, but in recognising and avoiding the consequences of breaking the law, or being perceived to be acting improperly.
This is where the damaging concept of the ‘football hooligan’ comes into play. Aside from news stations airing 30 seconds of games footage, the video images portrayed often convey danger.
Flares going off portray imagery of smoke and fire.
Police presence indicates potential, or even ‘expected’ criminality, and images of supporters marching with flags ties in to an authoritarian-based suspicion of those who protest.
I’m not a particularly big bloke, and upon hearing that I sit in the active support areas I’m often asked by family, ‘But, isn’t it dangerous?’
My response continues to be, “No, it’s not.”
My experience with the Adelaide WESLO security group has been positive.
Most of the time the security have been friendly and keen to assist in allowing for functional crowd control. Even in the case of a flare, their actions demonstrate a commitment to safety.
Of course there’s the occasional guard who attempts to stamp his authority with an imposing glare and crossed arms, but honestly, they’re just doing their job.
Their presence is certainly better for the fans than police circling the support areas, which creates a horrible atmosphere of confinement. The Adelaide United crew have got it right with bringing in private security.
In a game that can be bogged down in defensive passing with no goals, active support brings an energy to the game, and the dancing and jumping and singing brings a bit of the global experience to little old Australia.
Tuckerman is absolutely correct. The very element that differentiates A-League from other sports is a key part of its appeal.
Football is still new, and treated with suspicion, but with time and some promotion it will eventually become part of Australia’s sporting fabric.
The Red Army, and other active support groups live by a code, “Cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance… Well, they’re no friends of mine.”
As a fan of Taylor Swift and having attended her concerts, as well as being a huge fan of Adelaide United, I can tell you that dancing and singing to the beat of the drums is an expression of passion across the entertainment spectrum.
Active support will only continue to grow as an element of Australia’s participation in the world game.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I was just trying to keep up with the cool kids!
Matthew Harbinson
Roar Rookie
There's really not much love for Taylor here is there?? Haters gon' hate. Anyway, blame Tuckerman, he referenced her first :p
Stevo
Guest
Agree with this. The FFA is trying to walk a fine between using the active support as a marketing PLUS while recognising that some of the behaviour can potentially be a turnoff. And therein lies the issue of security and wanting to keep a lid on things.
Matthew Skellett
Roar Rookie
Me too Bondy :-(
Arto
Guest
+1 Although, as the old saying goes: 'one man's mead, is a another man's poison'! I'd actually give him credit for making such a public admission of such perceived feminine interest for a male. :-)
Bondy
Guest
Matt I was looking for that in the programme guide couldn't find it, I'm filthy ..
Matthew Skellett
Roar Rookie
Hey everybody just found out "Thursday FC" has been officially canned -sad to see it go really :-(
apaway
Roar Guru
I'm in a lot of pain at the moment so my concentration isn't what it should be... but where was the AFL bashing?
fadida
Guest
Was thinking the same thing. Taylor Swift? Good god man
Australian Rules
Guest
Simple - it's much easier to blame the "AFL Media" bogeyman for everything, than to acknowledge we can do some things better.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Well I have been to just about every game WSW have played at Parra Stadium. I know quite a number of people who sit in the south end near the away fans. Just like you've complained about our fans throwing things at them, they've said the same about yours and other visiting fans. It's a shame things are thrown at sporting events. But using it as a criticism for a group of supporters is something i would expect from mainstream media. It's far too wide spread for that.
wisey_9
Roar Guru
Excellent post Middy.
wisey_9
Roar Guru
I don't have a problem at all if a fan gets a life ban if they are found guilty of anti-social behavior. There is a problem, I think, with the process as it stands now, because the accused have no right to reply. But, on face value. removing that 1% that ruin it for the rest of us will only improve the game as a whole. And what's with the AFL bashing?
Suburban boy
Guest
After years of sitting as far away as possible from active supporters I sat right next to them at last Saturday's ACL match in Geelong. And you know it's not rocket science why non football people, media included, have concerns about them, they tick so many of the "threat to society" boxes. Not that I think they are any sort of a threat, but they can come across to the non football person as scary. Lets see- Young - most between 17 and 30l, bias towards younger end. of that group I think Male - I counted 4 females out of maybe 1000 actives Loud - The chanting, both inside and outside the ground, was very loud. Aggressive sounding - chants that include phrases such as "F*ck off" and "no surrender" Organised - group chanting, all wear similar "uniforms" As well a flare was lit just before the start of game. I think many people would be wary of groups of young men who presented this image, irrespective of whether they are linked to football or any other activity. . I'm reminded of the A League Grand Final at Etihad a few years ago when Sydney FC beat Victory on penalties - much as it pains me to remember. As we were entering the ground The Cove came marching up,we got inside and looked back at them lined up outside chanting "F*ck off Melb", all with their banners and scarves. It was intimidating, it really was and my wife, who's from a football background ,said it reminded her of a medieval army laying siege to a walled city, I think many non football people have a similar reaction, justified or not.
melbourneterrace
Guest
No just the games with Melbourne involved, however i would think that there would be similar mentality from the home fans for games like the derby.
HarryHP
Guest
Like I said, crowd segregation is the least of their problems. Posting links to isolated incidents does nothing to help your cause. In fact, its a little rich for you to be claiming the moral high ground when it comes to crowd and fan violence. For every article you post, I could post 10 but that will get us nowhere.
Midfielder
Guest
Matthew I think you have gone close to what is needed ... For me [as in most things] there are two or more sides to every story. Lets start at the beginning ... * Any trouble at an A-League match will result in Headlines... * FFA do not want or need negative media to scare new people from coming. * Sometimes HE folk do so very very silly stuff, eg while not reported a MV fan at Bluetounge last match the club promoted a walk on the pitch and meet player, so a very very clever MN fan kept stabbing the sponsors sauce bottle until it burst, could have a major affect on whether we can do it agian. THIS IS WHERE the Bills AND WAGES NEED TO BE EARNED. FFA and club management along with stadium management and security need to do two things, first meet with the HE's and layout clearly where the boarders are ... second and even more important is to communicate this to the media so what is reported as bad behaviour can be said to be normal and agree ... a third point could be FFA sponsor some training vids of HE to assist in training teh security staff. The next thing is the HE's themselves need to accept some responsibility for actions like the sauce bottle and broken chairs etc.. Just as an aside SBS cheering on the HE's aside from violence for me anyway is a cope out ... as the voice of Football they should be offering reasonable solutions rather than the constant ... the club owners are all hopeless no nothings ... just a tho...
ciudadmarron
Guest
Cheers for replying Matt! Agree with your sentiments in the article for the most part. The second part of that sentence - about bringing the globe to Aus - is one of the things I enjoy about it; the RBB has a very international flavour in what it does. There's a fair few things which will help it grow - and as an "active supporter" myself, I like that it is growing and changing slowly to be more appreciated - but I recognise it's not the be all and end all and not necessarily an ultimate aim either. If the league is well supported in whatever way it is supported that's the main thing!
Matt Harbinson
Guest
Hi Kasey, You're right, it's the security staff from AEC now. I've advised the editors, so hopefully that will be changed soon. I must've had a mental blank because I knew it was AEC, the improvement has been huge since they ditched weslo.
Matt Harbinson
Guest
Cheers for your comments, mate. The article has been edited slightly by the staff, initially it was titled, 'ALeague Active Support - We'll Be Comin' Down the Road' - which I reckon expressed that audience participation is still growing, but also that supporters aren't going to disappear. Reading back over the article, I actually cringed at the same section that you mentioned. I agree 100%, the tension that builds is part of the game's appeal, I wrote that part poorly. I should've said that the singing etc was actually a way to both relieve the stress that builds, and encourage the players and audience to be more vocal. Unfortunately I can't make edits now that it's published.