Making football middle-class friendly

[Soper]

GAA grounds aren't that good

[kingdom hoop]

i was being sarcastic really, clearly its not for the facilities the people go, nor the fare on offer

[Soper]

Ah, sorry about that.

I think it's a number of factors, including an inferiority complex, the Irish males love of celebrity and a male version of 'Coronation Street' so to speak, and the price of Fig Rolls in Syria.

[pineapple stu]

a greater density of people(terracing) in one area has to be more dangerous than seating....the evidence of improved safety would be the lack of any disasters.

Have to disagree here.

Stadium disasters were never that common to begin with. They've created an aura so that they still trip off the tongue today - the Bradford fire, Hillsborough, Heysel, the Ibrox Disaster, etc. So the fact that there haven't been any in the last 15 years or so doesn't actually mean the move to all-seating did anything to solve the problem. Better security did - proper allocation of tickets, no fences and harder for hooligans to congregate and arrange trouble. Better facilities did - no wooden stands a la Valley Parade and Ibrox.

There was an incident in Africa a few years back where an area of a ground was grossly oversold. As everyone piled in, it became evident there wasn't room to hold them all, and a crush ensued. As people tried to get out of it, police overreacted and fired tear gas. 50 or so people died. Sound familiar? It's Hillsborough all over, tear gas aside. The only difference? It was an all-seater ground. So we can see that actually the problem wasn't with the terracing.

More proof that terracing - properly organised - is safe? It's widely used in Germany, was used in Lansdowne right to the end, is used outside the top two flights in England - no problems with it.

One other point - you mention the trouble in getting out of somewhere if you're in the middle of a load of people. Imagine how more difficult it is if you add in a load of plastic seats to hinder your way.

Your point about safe terracing is obviously valid, and people should have the right to choose.

[Billy Lord]

a greater density of people(terracing) in one area has to be more dangerous than seating.

Not so, as you're confusing overcrowding with density. Imagine a panic in a seated area - bedlam, with people climbing over each other and falling over seats. It's much easier to clear a terrace than a seated area because people are already standing and there are considerably fewer obstructions.
As for the middle-classes, I'd reckon at Rovers it's about 50-50 between proles and posh; what draws people to the EL is the need for live football and a sense of community. The key is to reach beyond that core support and start attracting people who just want a good night out. Which can't even begin to happen until clubs get their act together and make the EL much more attractive.
Now, where did I leave that magic wand?

[dcfcsteve]

That was an essay on how football became popular around the world. Football became the game of the working class when the oiks decided that they'd like to get paid for playing it. So just like the divide between rugby league and rugby union in england, the workers went professional and those exploiting them thought this frightfully common and not living up to corinthian values, and wanted nothing to do with professionalism.

Ergo it has clearly not "always been the working man's game". I rest my case....

[Magicme]

You wouldn't have a photo of yourself in a Monaghan top by any chance, would you........?

hahahahahahaha

Go on people tell him how scared he would be if he saw that!!!!!