As a former “active supporter” in the SANFL (South Australian National Football League), I felt it is worth providing insight into what that term really means in the context of Aussie Rules football compared to its round ball cousin.
Speaking from some experience, then, here’s the back story.
In the mid 2000s, Central Districts were in the middle of their ‘Decade of dominance’. Having gone 39 years without winning a premiership, they would go on to feature in 13 Grand Finals in a row, nine of which they won. I was in my teens, and was part of the unofficial Centrals cheer squad known as the ‘End-to-enders’. The name came from the fact that we would always stand behind the goals our side was kicking towards.
I’ll start with the good aspects of having that designated area.
It was great fun being part of that group. We had flags, banners, a mix of Australian, English and French fans (Red/White/Royal Blue are teams colours) and witty slogans to stand under. We would sing, chant, yell and carry on within acceptable limits, and would have some great banter with the opposition players and supporters.
Most of us knew the security guards who were assigned to monitoring us, who would give us a polite “pull your heads in” if we were getting too rowdy.
A key part of being able to do what we did owed to the fact we were the unofficial cheer squad. This is a surprisingly important little caveat, which I will explore in a moment.
I later became an official one, and can answer some questions about our support in that group. Yes, the players could hear us, and I could tell you which person it was from 150m away. And yes, it does put them off. David Warner mentioned in an interview he loves a bit of banter on the pitch. For some players, they excelled with us “encouraging” them. Others felt like we put them off.
Now to address my why active supporters areas won’t work in the AFL.
Firstly, the end-to-enders was organic. There were no committees, and no heads organising anything. The most ‘organised’ part was that a couple of people were lead chant starters.
Politics immediately follow on from making it organised. If someone is in charge, and makes decisions on what you can or can’t say and wear, it’s likely going to step on people’s toes, and they will lose interest as the group loses its authenticity.
Once it becomes official, the cheer squad is the responsibility of the club. Any actions by cheer squad are directly related to the club, and the club becomes liable.
If someone is doing something illegal, a child is injured or flares or other objects are thrown, not only are the cheer squad in trouble, but the club is too.
Also, you can be told where you can and cannot be located when you’re official. There was a great argument after a game against the Eagles at Adelaide Oval, when the end-to-enders were physically locked out of going behind the goals at the southern end. Children were locked out from getting to their parents.
An official cheer squad can be directed to sit where they want.
The last point I wanted to make is that Aussie Rules is a different game to other codes of football.
Most clubs have cheer squads that have banners and flags behind the goals, and are pretty loud and passionate already. Geelong fans spring to mind, and there are still big pockets of diehard Saints and Richmond fans who cheer on their sides.
A previous poster on The Roar mentioned that active supporters needs to be organic, and I can’t agree more.
The best part of the whole exercise was the mateship, and that can’t be regulated and controlled.
If the AFL really wants to encourage the fans to be active, lower the ticket prices to something families and grassroots fans can afford and they will go every week and create it themselves.
Ben
Guest
Good read
Josh
Guest
That proves it's working then Epiquin.
John
Guest
I have been a supporter of CDFC for many years. In the early 70's, as a teenager, I was a part of the active supporter group which was great fun but we always paid attention to the game in play. On returning from interstate in the late 80's I once again met up with the supporter group but as time had passed, we tended to stay near the centre of the ground near the coaches box while the active supporter group still moved end to end. This resulted in chants and comments from both areas and a very good atmosphere. I feel there are 2 problems with trying active support for AFL games and its continuance in SANFL. The first has already been covered (ie. ticketed seating for AFL) however the 2nd I believe is political correctness. Over the years there have been many chants which were very funny, taken in jest by the 'targets' and generally appreciated however, most would not occur today for fear of today's dogooders taking umbrage. Unfortunately, this seems to have resulted in a significant reduction in chanting and comments from the crowd and a loss of atmosphere. I am not supporting racism etc., which are not acceptable, but some jibing in fun should still be achievable, shouldn't it?
Judy Atu
Guest
"Pockets" of support for Richmond have you not seen or heard the tiger cheer squad andthe Tiger Army that's not a pocket that's a whole bay and then some.
ciudadmarron
Guest
I might be wrong but the way I see it is that this is a move by a few clubs to re-invigorate their cheersquads and the atmosphere at games in general. The big question, as you acknowledge, is how much autonomy and ownership the fans get - and then, whether or not actually having a dedicated area will do this. In top division football here, ticketing is one issue that will be controlled somewhat by the club (or the over-arching authority). The FFA for instance says that every member of an active support group should actually have a ticketed seat. Nice in theory, but in practice it can be a free for all anyway. So there are ways around it. And then, if you look at other standards of behaviour that might be imposed, most of them will relate to stadium conditions of entry anyway - and so individuals can be ejected without it being the club's responsibility. I can't think of much that the club will have a say on that would prevent the autonomy of a group. Unless the club gives material support which can be withdrawn.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Hi Bondy, I think the Bulldogs have actually turned this around in recent years. They've really embraced this idea of being a "family club" and have been getting into fan engagement. I've never really had a problem personally, but it wasn't too long ago that there were a lot of trouble makers at Doggies games causing trouble.
slane
Guest
Spot on. It's possible to kick the ball much farther when the wind is blowing with you. It's not uncommon to see a game where a significant majority of the goals are scored down one end of the ground.
Bondy
Guest
Epiquin I dont go to many NRL matches nowadays I enjoyed the Bulldogs support although not a supporter they're a very culturally or ethnically diverse club and they really get into it ,which I thought the NRL needed.
Bondy
Guest
Wayne I think that's an important thing between the two sports the scoring element to them and shouldn't be mocked either way ,which we unfortunately do here at times. ____________________ In relation to active support it can depend on your age or the age of a person the less active areas to an A League game are near the halfway line/s where we would generally sit where we're not expected to jump up and down constantly and yell, active bays or areas are generally behind the goal mouth with the " younger brigade ", although can be a great viewing angle for a match ..
Bondy
Guest
slane I thought they would have too otherwise one team would be using the wind as an assistant, "running with the wind at your back" it would be unfair to the other team otherwise .
Epiquin
Roar Guru
There's a certain mob mentality that can erupt during organised active support as well. I once had free tickets to a Canterbury Bulldogs game that I couldn't give away. The feedback was pretty consistently "If it was another team I'd go, but I just can't stand their fans." The last thing any code in this country needs is fans feeling too intimidated to go to games.
Wayne
Roar Guru
I was much the same when I went to Adelaide United/Sydney game a couple years ago at Hindmarsh. I found some of the "Active Supporters" wouldn't even watch the game (and actually missed 2 really good goals) and were more concerned being seen to be "cheering". I was happily sitting there watching game, and jumped up when team scored
Wayne
Roar Guru
Agreed Port have done well, they were in the hole badly when the tarps covering the bays at AAMI Stadium got more press than the football team. Aussie Rules Football is akin to Basketball where lots of scoring happens vs round ball Football/Hockey where its a rare occurrence (comparatively). Cheering every goal is average 14? times. Football that could mean 0-2 times in a game
slane
Guest
They change at the end of every qtr Bondy. So you would be standing behind your own teams goal posts for half the game.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Active support is a tricky one. It feels so easy to look over the fence and think "we'll just copy what they're doing" but it's not that simple. To be honest, I found the Wanderers level of support quite refreshing at first, but after a while it is very in your face and somewhat aggressive. I also don't think I would have the energy to keep that up myself for a whole game. I actually try to watch a bit of the football when I'm at the ground...
AR
Guest
Port Adelaide have been the most proactive in terms of recreating the matchday engagement for fans - the noise at Adelaide Oval last season was simply unbelievable. As a general comment, I think it's important for sports clubs and venues to keep updating fan engagement, while retaining traditional elements of club culture. However, simply copying what happens in one sport doesn't work. Atmosphere is, necessarily, different from sport to sport - and that's a good thing. In recent years at the Aust Open, the incessant chanting and calling out (undoubtedly an adaptation of what happens at the soccer) has, in my view, spoiled the event. People cheering for first service faults, calling out during a ball toss, chanting between points - it just doesn't work at the tennis. Works beautifully at the soccer, not so at the tennis. Similarly, some of the best atmosphere's I've ever encountered are when things are deathly silent - ANZAC AFL Match, the 18th green of a championship, break point in tennis etc. A sport (and the crowd) must find it's own voice.
Wayne
Roar Guru
Can't change ends in the AFL unfortunately, the logisitics alone would be unfeasible. But in the suburban grounds it was a great feature. And the fact you could cut across the oval at quarter and 3 quarter time.
Bondy
Guest
If the solution for more organic or natural support is lowering ticket pricing so more supporters turn out for that natural feel, then I'm all for that . "The name came from the fact that we would always stand behind the goals our side was kicking towards." . How often in AFL do the teams change sides or ends to a match ..