QuoteDoes the fact it's going to be dark not just make the flares look better?Originally Posted by thejollyrodger
Where exactly on irishvibe.com is the mp3? I've looked everywhere and can't find it at all........
Does the fact it's going to be dark not just make the flares look better?
Don't mean to knock any of the posters above, who obviously want to improve the atmosphere, but some of the posts here sound like a People's Front of Judaea meeting - all agreeing that something should be done, but not being able to kick-start things! So a couple of ideas to start things off -
1) Especially if you're in the North Terrace, try and bring a drum of some kind. I know the big lambegs, etc., can be a hoor to carry around, but you can get a decent enough bodhrán in Carroll's for twenty or thirty quid, and a shoulder bag to carry it for a tenner. Get a few of yez to chip in, or get a Supporters' Club to cough up - it's hardly going to break the bank either way. Bodhráns are a great way to get a chant going as people will respond to them. I brought one to Paris and back without too much bother, so they aren't that awkward for the short trip to Lansdowne either.
2) Stand up. If someone tells you to sit down, tell them where to go. Not very diplomatic I know, but that really annoys me. It's a fact - for whatever reason - that it's easier to create an atmosphere standing up. It's a myth that seating is significantly safer in well stewarded grounds. Unfortunately, many of the stewards at Lansdowne are muppets who simply do what they're told without questioning it, so this may be easier said than done, but there's no point sitting down quietly if you're going to create an atmosphere. Anyone in the North Terrace who doesn't want to shout and sing should be questioned as to why they're there in the first place.
That may sound very ranty, but it really bugs me! Probably because the sitters always come across as being very self-righteous...
3) E-mail the FAI instead of suggesting it. You can contact the CEO (Rooney?) here. I've put my feedback below for youz to use as a template (probably no point us all sending in the same thing, as it's fairly recognisable and nobody likes spam!). He's asking for some feedback - if all the regular posters here gave him some, he couldn't ignore it, could he? Only one way to find out, I suppose! It may be too late to change the Faeroes game, but the Portugal game or the next home World Cup game may see a change if we put our minds to it...
4) The ultras idea is interesting - how would it work or what would it do? One problem I can see is grouping together if the stewards want us to sit in the seats assigned to us. Whatever about being too lazy to organise it, throw us out a few ideas and see if we can go anywhere from there!
5) As others have mentioned, we need more songs. But realistically, it's hard to get people to learn new songs, and if they're any way long, they usually end up sounding rubbish unless people have the words written in front of them. A few of us were throwing the idea around recently about an Ireland fanzine, which would include humour, away trip news and, most importantly, a couple of pages of songs. There's ten fanzines or so in the league, so if we share the burden, we may be able to get something going. Any ideas on that?
Or any other ideas?
Post away! Don't be shy!
My feedback, as promised... Probably best not to be too negative or accusatory if you're writing in...
A chara,
While I applaud your intent on improving the atmosphere in Lansdowne in the past year or two, I think there are some areas where this could be improved still further which, from reading various internet forums such as foot.ie, appear to be favoured by many of the eL fans in the North Terrace section.
1) Playing cheesy music after the team scores doesn't improve the atmosphere - in fact, it appears to be the one thing people hate most about Lansdowne Road at the moment. The consensus is that a forced atmosphere kills any genuine atmosphere, and the two are hugely different. Fortunately, though, the dreadful dance version of Fields of Athenry has been put to rest, so credit where credit is due!
2) Asking the crowd to give the eL fans a big cheer at half-time alienates them from us, and probably leads to them viewing us as a curiosity rather than encouraging them to join in, which is ultimately the point.
3) It isn't necessary to push the latest Pop Idol/Eurovision "star" on the crowd at half-time - anyone I've talked to agrees that it doesn't add anything to the occasion. As with the forced Mexican Wave...
4) I appreciate this will be a touchy topic, but people should be allowed to stand if they want to - for whatever reason, it is a fact that people will shout and sing more if they are standing. The stewards at games are far too heavy-handed at this (again, my opinion relates to the North Terrace), and force people to sit down, killing the atmosphere. The stewards in the Stade de France had no problems with people standing up - actively encouraged it, in fact - and the atmosphere was exceptional.
5) While admittedly the atmosphere hasn't been great in the North Terrace at recent games, Supporters' Clubs are being more encouraged to bring drums, come up with chants, etc. to improve this. Hopefully, between the fans and the FAI, we can build the atmosphere to something approaching the away days!
6) A final point not related to the atmosphere - why not announce (without pushing them) the upcoming weekend's eircom League fixtures at half-time and full-time during the games? Free advertising to 40,000 people in the target market. No reason not to!
I hope that these ideas are at least taken on board and considered when planning the remaining home group games and beyond. Tús maith leath na hoibre - the tús maith was getting so many eL fans together at games; all it needs now is fine tuning and improvement.
Mise le meas,
Kevin Burke
"Originally Posted by jbyrne
people should start sending in emails / letters of complaint......"
I did write in a year ago.... thought that i made a few very good points at the time but surprise surprise no reply and things have actually got worse!!
pineapple stu.... great letter..... please post any response you get from the fai. thanks
Its all down to alcohol lads. We should definitely put the matches on later so everyone can get a few jars. The Ultras idea is great too, bout tiume we had somethin like that!
"In life, it aint about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep on moving forward"
Rocky Balboa
Well you would have to get the FAI on board with the idea in so much as they would have to have a section of seats somewhere designated to everyone who was getting involved. It'd simply be a group that would stand and sing for the full match and bring in drums, flares, banners etc to try and put on some displays. At the moment, we have people from the SEI, SRFC Ultras, Briogaid Dearg etc all going to Ireland matches and hanging up their own flags and banners and doing their own thing, I think all of the people involved with this sort of thing at club level who want to get involved with it for the national side could try getting together and working together on putting on the displays. More or less like the Eircom League section at the moment, but with everyone working together under some name as like, the Ireland Ultras, or something along those lines and getting banners and flags and the like just for international matches, as at the moment, to an outsider, it looks like everybodys just doing their own thing.
I would also say that I think that the section for the singers should be in the lower tier of one of the stands rather than the terracing. I know the tradition is on the terrace, but with the roof overhead it would mean most of the singing doesn't get completley lost which happens at the moment alot of the time.
Agree 100%. Me and my mates all drank this green stuff called Boomerang in France. It sold out in every shop we went into. Great stuff. It put us in the right frame of mind.
"Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe." Dillo
you mean the Judea's People's frontPeople's Front of Judaea
No, not them. There a bunch of splitters.
On the way into the stadium, an elderly San Marino Steward waved us in and said "Tonight, may the best team win"
And they nearly did.
Original Thread
I can email it to you, if your email can take it .. the file is about 1.8 MB.
PM me if you want the file.
(actually just checked the site and its there now)
http://www.irishvibe.com/downloads-cat4.htmlHere's the link
where are the popular peoples front of Judea? where does he stand on this?No, not them. There a bunch of splitters.
Did anyone read Gerry McDermott's article in the Indo today about the fans and Lansdowne ?
Top notch I thought.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
Yeah it wasn't a bad piece. Good to see this subject getting discussed in the general media rather than just on message boards like this.
Excellent article by Mc Dermott. I liked the point about only 15,000 people in Albania making plenty of noise and atmosphere. 36,000 people should be plenty of people to make noise.
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