Saturday's game at home to Middlesbrough is an important one in the history of Section 6. We have a number of activities planned. As usual we also need singers to congregate in Section 6. Due to many of our number being away at university our numbers have fluctuated of late, now we a are a year old, and we are still learning.

We always need more singers, more singers means more volume and a better atmosphere. Come to Section 6 and join in.

You will have seen our flags at away matches and in a more limited fashion at home matches.

The abiding aim of Section 6 remains, to enhance and improve the atmosphere at Portman Road and away games with loud incessant singing in support of the team as well as the use of banners, flags and confetti to bring colour to the game. The flags are, I am sure you will agree, impressive.

On Saturday the BBC will be filming a short piece about our efforts, but specifically and aptly (on a day the Supporters Club and the club have dubbed Supporters Day) we will be exchanging banners and flags with our opposite numbers from Middlesbrough, the nicely named Red Faction. We will also doing a joint demonstration in support of supporters' rights.

This reciprocates the activities at the Middlesbrough away game this season where Section 6 and Red Faction combined to display banners and flags with mottos such as “Supporters Not Criminals”. This is of course also in line with the Football Supporters Federation campaign along the same lines.

Footballing rivalries aside, both groups and indeed fans of both clubs, face the same problems wherever we go to see our team. The ludicrous ongoing conflict with stewards about persistent standing. (A conflict, by the way, any enlightened Sports Minister could end tomorrow, without any need for legislation) .

The ill-conceived and irrational health and safety rules too many clubs have about flags and flagpoles. The apparent proliferation of police at football matches, have you noticed how we would have few police in home stands just a decade ago whereas now there may be ten or so in each home stand? One can understand policing segregation but is there any need for so many policemen in home stands?

The way police seem to routinely video groups of singers in the same way as they do with extremist political demonstrations. Videoing any group of away fans is now routine and there can be little justification for it at all, let alone how much it costs.

Such overreaction and overpolicing is now commonplace, and almost always completely unjustified, one does wonder if football intelligence is in some cases becoming a contradiction in terms or just ignored.

Increased and disproportionate policing costs the club money, causing higher ticket prices and limiting funds for the team.

The message is simple, football supporters are not criminals, merely fans who want to support their team without being treated like cattle, may want to stand whilst they sing and object to being watched and filmed as if every group of singers is a potentially violent group. Section 6 and Red Faction are completely opposed to violence and racism as are many similar groups and this point will be put across .

In line with Ipswich Town's more enlightened approach to flags and flag waving (they do not consider our super-light carbon fibre poles to be a weapon unlike far too many clubs this season who have confiscated them) we will be waving our flags at the front of the North Stand so it will be hard to miss them, we hope you like this always fantastic sight.

And, most excitingly, this will all be captured by BBC cameras for their new regional programme Late Kick Off.

Want to get involved?

What we most need are voices, plain and simple. Get a ticket in Section 6, or just come over and stand with us, make loads of noise and we'll show the cameras (and ourselves) how good our support can be.

Any questions, Contact us on our forum at http://northstandlower.proboards.com/index.cgi? or on our Facebook site. Hope to see you singing on Saturday!

Postscript

You will also notice a new motto: “I hear those voices that will not be drowned” it is taken from the modern operatic masterpiece Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten and we feel is particularly apt as well as being nicely and wholly originated in Suffolk. Maybe it will strike a chord with Roy as well, not just at matches but maybe when Triggs starts barking on the beach at Aldeburgh.

petermorris added 12:31 - Feb 4 Selling tickets on the gate = more police.
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bluekangaroo added 13:10 - Feb 4 Versus WBA I heard sobbing in Section 4 - then I realised that it was me.
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ITFCsince67 added 19:38 - Feb 4 While the stewards act like the KGB there will never be a decent atmosphere at PR.
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warwickblue added 21:53 - Feb 4 My wife's from Middlesbrough. With any luck we will be doing a joint demonstration on Saturday too, but we'll probably wait till after the game...
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TractorRoyNo1 added 00:41 - Feb 6 Good luck to you boys, but being so contrived you are rather embarassing, that said i was impressed by some new (to me) songs at Leicester.
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