A goal is scored, or a try is run in, or a wicket is taken – and the crowd goes wild.
Now, for some weird reason, it’s become common among stadium management or club management that a cheering crowd is an abnormal din, a crack that needs smoothing over. Some bright light in the stadium’s bowels presses a few buttons and something like Katy Perry’s Firework comes on.
Now this element of the gameday attendance – which is probably termed in management loser speak as ‘fan experience’ or something super lame – raises a load of questions.
Who asked for music to played? Was there a gap in fans’ happiness discovered by numerous marketing surveys? Does the atmosphere really suffer if a song isn’t played, or on the contrary, is it enhanced by the song’s playing?
Why chart-topping songs? Is it a marketing attempt to appeal to the demographic of charting music (let’s not kid ourselves, it’s young people, mainly women) that doesn’t really overlap with the demographic that regularly attends sporting events?
On that note, is it an attempt to turn casual sport attendees into regular attendees by playing a ten seconds of one of their temporary favourite songs?
To be fair, music does have a place in sport, as team songs, fan songs and the standard pre-match entertainment or build-up.
Outside of that, the music used in live sport is just so horribly implemented it rises to insulting and patronising, especially if the intention behind post-score music is to stay the masses from becoming bored, god forbid, from witnessing what they’ve come to see.
On last Saturday night at the Bledisloe in Homebush, music and live sport intersected in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed before. Music was superbly used, and with a clear intent.
Over on Green and Gold Rugby, Hugh Cavill wrote the following, in a list of observations he made from the first Bledisloe game, sparking this article’s creation:
“Kudos to whoever was working the music over the PA system. Sometimes at these matches you are blasted with top 40 hits at every break in play, but not last night. They used music to build the tension during stoppages and it worked a treat. It was stuff like the riff from Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water or the drums from Kanye West’s Black Skinhead. Just loud enough to sound ominous, but by no means blaring.”
Quite apart from most of what the ARU do, whoever they’ve hired or whatever plan they’ve put in place in relation to stimulating matchday atmosphere actually worked and was effective.
Prominently, there was The Gold Brigade beneath one end’s goal posts, a block or two of pure canary gold chanting, waving and generally creating a ruckus that kindled the rest of the crowd into life. Even if most of the noise generated was the pretty rudimentary ‘Wal-la-bies’ chant.
As Hugh said, between every slow down of the action – especially in the setup of a line-up – a slice of a pounding song was introduced to stress the tension, pulling the usually quiet crowd towards finally using their voices.
The introduction of the ‘Stronger as One’ motif, typeset with negative space resembling the line of a healthy heart beat, also seemed to actually be a well-integrated part of a carefully thought-out strategy rather than just another tossed out marketing gimmick.
Israel Folau has had a heartbeat line shaved into his head; one wonders if that was part of the plan as well.
Whenever a tense moment arrived, stirring music was salted through the stadium’s PA, The Gold Brigade rose in cheer, the sideline-running ground announcer beckoned the crowd in action – and the above motif appeared on screen, a pulse running through the negative space
Australian sports crowds, especially when compared to English ones, are quite voiceless and uninventive in their atmospheres. It’s easy to say that without any hard evidence that the super-fairweather Sydney crowds are comfortably the least vibrant in a grey nation for sporting atmosphere; the prawn sandwich-eating patronage of rugby being the worst of the four footballs.
Sure, there were a lot of factors riding on Saturday’s game that made it naturally quite tense. Still, all credit has to go to the ARU for not only putting on a great atmosphere. They have had the pre-game Army marching band cheekily play Waltzing Matilda as they left the field, but rather predictably the crowd didn’t pick it up or weren’t bothered to.
It was an atmosphere in Sydney sports that in recent memory only second to possibly the Sydney A-League derby.
Working Class Rugger
Roar Guru
Funny. I didn't even notice it. Too busy watching the game.
Delphy
Guest
Just clarify, this will be 4 matches played through February/March with the Australian squad selected in April.
Delphy
Guest
Good news for those wanting curtain raisers. Each Australian franchise will have an U20's team next year. They will play each other before derbies. This will be the new selection process for the JWC.
Chris
Guest
Sydney A-League derby where the entertainment is in the stands/seats and not on the pitch.
The Sheriff
Guest
God save us from the Nazi Rally stuff! When the Reds play at Suncorp you would swear you were back in Berlin in the 1930's. No place for this rubbish at rugby games. Leave out the explosions, too.
Davo
Guest
Watching on TV the music wasn't noticeable. But the gold lines on the field and gold coloured hoardings right next to it were. Too noticeable in fact. It was too distracting from the Wallaby players wearing exactly the same colours. It's great to have lots of extra gold clothing worn by fans in the background, but having that much extra gold coloured paraphernalia concentrated in the foreground doesn't work on TV. Nice try ARU, I could see what you were trying to do. But please chalk this one down as a failed experiment never to be repeated.
ting
Guest
Yes stop the music! It was kind of fun when the Wallabies were sure to win and you were in a celebratory mood. It was vary annoying when they stopped to set a scrum and felt the need to crank some 80s pub rock for 30 seconds.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Okay now you're getting impeached. Clearly not fit to lead. ;)
Anthony
Guest
If I was the PM the only view I'd listen to would be Roarers...such sensible, reasonable, logical debate.
Kaks
Roar Guru
Why stop at the ARU? Someone make this man Prime Minister
cm
Guest
Thumbs up - good points about the disparities.
Kaks
Roar Guru
very good point Epi
Bomb78
Guest
The game may not have been exciting - the ARU can't guarantee a great game - but I've had better game days at Queensland Cup games at Burleigh.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
"So, to summarise, Cheika needs to get 100% win rate at all times. The stadium needs to put on free drinks before the game and surely some form of lingerie rugby pregame." Somebody give this man a job at the ARU!
Epiquin
Roar Guru
The other trick, as I mention above, is when to go over the top and when not to. Nobody really complains too much about Origins or Grand Finals having fireworks and laser shows. It creates a feeling that this event is special. But going over the top for a regular season game is probably a bit much. Especially when the stadium is half empty.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Cheers cm. The stats would be good to know. I think they would be very interesting. I think the problem is that Australian sport is very much in a sort of transition phase. We still have professional footy that involves putting a blanket down on the hill while the kids kick a ball around, but we also have the type of footy that is a major event that fills out stadiums. The trick is getting it right. You don't seem to see people complain about all the flashy lights and sparkles at Origins or Finals, but it does seem to bother people at the lower profile games. We've also only just been exposed to the European notion of crowds that just don't stop singing. Ever. More than ever we are focusing on that ambiguous term "atmosphere" and yet we have never been less sure of what it means. Interesting times.
Anthony
Guest
I agree, on its own an undercard match isn't the answer. I don;'t think there's a silver bullet here but I'd prefer to see a game on than nothing at all. Some of it has to do with the stadium (particularly Homebush) as the pre-game atmosphere spills in to the stadium - Suncorp is good, as is the Sydney Footy Stadium (albeit much smaller numbers which doesn't work for the ARU). You also can't underestimate the importance of a winning culture in the WBs as the crowd's optimism plays out in the noise...it's hard to get too excited during the game if you're getting smacked. In the early 00s the atmosphere was good as you could be genuinely optimistic getting in to the ground, which helps with the banter in/outside the ground. So, to summarise, Cheika needs to get 100% win rate at all times. The stadium needs to put on free drinks before the game and surely some form of lingerie rugby pregame...not too much to ask for,
cm
Guest
Cheers epiquin. Good response! Much appreciated. Like I said - loud music does detract from my enjoyment. I can't hear the crowd. It's harder to have conversations. It's the same with the wifi which facilitates a disengagement. Not for everybody but for a lot. I get the convenience of ordering the food! In general though the atmosphere suffers when people are on their phones. At least you could put a transistor up to your ear! I hate looking around and seeing people eyes down.... As I said - one of the main attractions for me with sport is not just the drama on the field, but the social side and the communal aspect. So my enjoyment does suffer. is though that I must be in a minority - I can accept that. I can rage all I like but times are changing etc etc. I get all that. But as I said at the beginning - I'd just be curious to know what the research says, what the beancounters are actually saying and what the decisions about "game day experience" are based on. And in the end, I guess that is at the heart of my objection - the bean counting. All these things in the end are not about things to complement the communal aspect of live sport. They are all about attracting consumers. The result is a manufactured environment where the focus is far less on the contest on the ground and any organic communal aspect is stifled/drowned out.
Kaks
Roar Guru
I have no issue with things like that, and they do that too at Parra when Semi scores (they play a fijian song). But it is overdone tenfold these days. Every stoppage has a song, every point has a song, every single incident during the game has a song. There needs to be fireworks before a game. There needs to be half time entertainment for the 10minute break even though a majority of fans are either in the bathroom or stocking up for the second half. It's too much. There needs to be a middle ground and fans have been requesting it for years, and yet it seems to keep going the other way.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
A lot of people keep saying that an undercard match would be better than anything else on offer. In my experience, fans don't give two hoots about these games. They are always played in front of nobody.