Before I start I would like to clarify that I am not a season ticket holder and that I do not associate the below behaviour with all season ticket holders.

rytext">This blog has been submitted by JimmyJazz. To view more from this author click here. TWTD blogs are added by site users unedited by the admins. Want to become a TWTD blogger? Simply send us your first article via the Contact Us page. Saturday’s game with Millwall offered a promotion on match tickets, so I decided to buy a ticket for both myself and my six-year-old daughter. We purchased tickets in the Upper Sir Bobby Stand.

Then the Charitable Trust announced they were looking for kids to be involved in the Guard of Honour for the Millwall game, so I put my daughter’s name forward.

The Charitable Trust were very helpful and suggested I change my tickets so that we would be in the Upper Sir Alf Ramsey stand near the players' tunnel. This would mean I was nearer the activities, with a better view.

Once the activities were complete, one of the Trust team would accompany my daughter to our seats where I was waiting. The Trust sorted out my tickets, getting a refund for my previously purchased tickets and giving me new tickets when I dropped my daughter at the ground at midday.

The Trust asked that I be at my seat by 2.30, this meant that I wouldn’t miss anything my daughter took part in and also ensured that when she was to be taken back to her seat someone would be there.

I took my camera and found my seat. Then realised I would be in a better vantage point for the opening activities if I was stood at the edge of the upper tier of the stand as other parents appeared to be doing. It looked like most of the kids who took part were sitting within the same area/block as myself. Presumably the Trust regularly use this section.

Standing at the ledge of the stand, I could see I was potentially in the way of people who had seats at the ledge, but no problems arose and if I blocked anyone’s view before the game started I apologise. As soon as the Guard of Honour dispersed I made my way back up to our seats.

Our seats were at the end of the row, so I planned to let my daughter sit at the end and I would take the second seat. Making my way up the steps I could see that there were quite a few empty seats nearby and the seats behind me were now occupied by a man with his son and daughter. The father though had his foot planted on top of the end seat in front of him, my daughter’s seat. I gave him a disapproving look and sat at the second seat.

My daughter was one of the last children to be returned to her seat, so it was probably a good 10 minutes before she arrived with one of the Trust team. I looked at her seat to find the man’s foot hadn’t moved since the game started and was still on the top of her seat. I turned to him to ask him to move his foot but he was following the action on the pitch, so I tapped his leg and asked him to move his foot.

His response? He stood up (which at least moved his foot) and shouted ‘I’m a season ticket holder, so watch what you’re doing’. I was completely shocked and could only reply ‘So what?’. I don’t know what he was implying. 1. He would call a steward to get me ejected?
2. Being a season ticket holder meant he was entitled to do whatever he liked?
3. He didn’t believe I should be in my seats?
4. He had spent so much money on season tickets over the years for the club that he should be afforded special status?
What a jerk. These days fans are encouraged to point out other fans who are unruly. Obviously this is a good way to stamp out racist, homophobic or other abusive chanting. But actually where does this end? Do fans now believe they can threaten to have someone ejected for any behaviour they don’t like?

As I said above there were a few kids in the section I was seated and a few of them were attempting songs and general participation in the game. They were the only people making any noise and other fans were turning around to look where the noise was coming from and then saying ‘Oh, they’ll get tired of that soon enough’.

At another game I attended, fans were screaming at the stewards to eject a couple of people, because they had the gall to applaud the away team’s goal.

Atmosphere at the ground? In my day of terraces you would aim to arrive at the ground and be on the terraces by at least 2.30. Otherwise you couldn’t move to get a decent vantage point. So the terraces filled up earlier and the fans started singing. Season ticket holders existed but you wouldn’t know who they were (and vice versa) when you arrived.

We assumed that people who had seats were probably season ticket holders, but they were located on the sides of the ground and we were on the terraces generating an atmosphere. I really was surprised to look out at about 2.45 on Saturday and the terraces were only sparsely filled.

To my mind it’s much more enjoyable to go to away games. You still have seats but the camaraderie exists within the away support. There’s no ‘them and us’ scenario with season ticket holders. A season ticket holder has their territory and knows which seats around them are usually spare, ie available for supporters ‘paying on the gate’ for a single game. So if a ‘spare’ seat exists within a group of season ticket holders, the people next to that seat would probably be quite happy if that seat remained unclaimed as it would afford them more space or, much like my friend on Saturday, somewhere for them to put their feet.

Thanks very much to the Charitable Trust for organising an event that my daughter enjoyed very much.

No thanks to the inconsiderate Season Ticket holder who was sitting behind us.

Heathlander added 13:58 - Apr 23 Much ado about nothing. One idiot didn't need such a long tirade against season ticket holders.
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Pinewoodblue added 14:23 - Apr 23 Stick to away games. Better atmosphere...cheaper tickets....and a better type of fan. Gave up my season ticket severalo years ago...surrounded by moaners ( other season ticketholders who believed they had a devine right to slag players off). Might add that some explayers are amongst the worse but then they played in a decent team.
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JimmyJazz added 14:29 - Apr 23 Heathlander, it is long, but then I thought I'd also like to share a reflection on the excellent service afforded by the Charitable Trust
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marc96 added 14:42 - Apr 23 One season ticket holder p!sses you off off and suddenly there's this huge division between season ticket holders and those that 'pay on the gate'. We support the same team.
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radiogaga added 14:55 - Apr 23 LOL. Reading that is 5 minutes of my life lost that I'll never get back
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Notts_tractor added 14:58 - Apr 23 I don't know whether the issue is one of season ticket holders v non season ticket holders or not; what I do know is that watching football at Portman Road these days is utterly soul-destroying. Like you Jimmy I grew up watching the game standing on the terraces and virtually every part of the ground had people singing and chanting. Even when it went to all seater, the North Stand was still really loud. Everything changed with the new South and North stands becoming two-tier, with the physical unity of a "kop" being lost. It was embarrassing on Saturday - 1300 away supporters made ALL the noise in the ground. I had friends amongst the Millwall fans and I felt utterly humiliated by both the on and off -field performances from Town. I've no idea what the answer is, but with the way things are going crowds may soon become so small that parts of the ground can be closed, like they used to do with reserve matches. At least then all the fans will be concentrated in one area and might make some noise!

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itfcjoe added 15:08 - Apr 23 I'm not really sure why this is a ST v non-ST blog.....when realistically its just a guy who is a nob! Me and a friend have a spare seat between our STs in SBRL, this seat normally sells and I just politely ask the person it has sold to if they mind shifting one way or another and it isn't a problem, could this be conceived as an ST holder having a them v us?!
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bluekeen added 16:08 - Apr 23 Jimmy, notts, I agree the atmosphere at home games is dire having taken my children to there 1st home game, those around us looked at my daughters as though they were screaming obscenities when all they were doing is cheering our team on. I was very underwhelmed for them because the atmosphere was so dire even after we went 1 nil up (Leicester home) still no singing no cheering ... nothing... as our away support which I have become very accustomed too would say, it really was football in a library. depressing and on a day like that when we travelled 250 miles to watch the game made it feel and seem very expensive and uninspiring. The club needs to fix so much about the place i am not sure if they even know where to start, personally I would move the original north stand faith back together in the north stand a reuniting of a one formidable singing force. second I would move the away support into the other end of the cobbold stand and lastly I would create an "old miserable farts club" where you sit if you don't want to sing chant or be apart of a party atmosphere, that brings me to the last point ... where has the party atmosphere gone !!!! all into to ave a laugh a few beers(maybe) and sing your hearts out for the lads attitude It costs so so much to go ( an impressive £87 for 5 of us a 6,7,11 yearold oap and adult ticket) why not have fun enjoy it and sing loud and proud? Singing when your losing is the hardest thing to do but we do it every other week at away grounds (watford, brighton, Palace) to name but three games this season. sorry lots of points here maybesomeone will pick them up, probably not tho !!!

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Reus30 added 16:35 - Apr 23 Why didn't you just punch the pr*ck in the face, like you would have done back in the day?
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davekl12 added 17:55 - Apr 23 Away games > Home games.... All day every day.
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bluethroughnthrough added 18:18 - Apr 23 completely 100% agree. The atmosphere in portman road is abysmal, even in parts of the sir bobby robson stand! I remember watching ipswich being 3-1 up against norwich, sitting in the upper sit bobby robson stand, and there was silence! You could just about make out the sound of the man three rows above me chewing his prawn sandwiches. I suspect its a generational thing - which is worrying, because it is vitally important that young fans are encouraged to come into portman road and enjoy themselves as much as possible. When you're team is doing badly one thing you can hold onto is that the fans did their part. Turning up to sit on a seat and watch is not enough - fans should be expected to be the 12th man! So many people complain about the players 'not turning up' for a game, when you can't tell if these fans are 'turning up' themselves. I have spoken to friends who are fans of Wolves, Portsmouth, Leeds, etc and when I mention Ipswich fans to them I like to speak proudly, however when they turn round and say how quiet we are it is an embarrasment - this is football, not wimbledon! something definitely needs to be done, but I doubt it will

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buryblue77 added 19:24 - Apr 23 I'm sure not all season ticket holders are that way, I'm not a season ticket holder due to not being able to make many games because of working commitments, but it wouldn't change my view of pay on the day supporters if I were. I'm sure what this guy meant to say was watch what you're doing, I'm a first class tw@t!
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petermorris added 20:23 - Apr 23 I got surrounded by (immaculately dressed) MFC fans at the station before the match. At full time I punched myself in the face several times. I felt terrible too.
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tractorboy2434 added 21:13 - Apr 23 In my view the atmosphere at PR has deteriorated season on season over the past 5 or 6 years, in direct relation to the dire football and complete lack of excitement created by an awful team, it has got worse each year as people have meekly accepted the poor quality on offer, most people I speak to on the train say the same, people really go home depressed at the state of the club and most people now just sit in quiet acceptance of the product and mostly the end result

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Facefacts added 22:02 - Apr 23 Your season ticket holder with attitude reminded me of an away game at Wolves, not sure how long ago, we were in the new all seater stand behind the goal, not when it was half home, half away separated by a fence, standing like the North Stand and Carrow Road used to be, but I was in a McDonald's and there was a guy there who accused me of 'invading his space' when I sat at the same picnic-style table as him. It was rather busy and he didn't have enough space to stretch out his feet with unlaced training shoes. I mean, they had laces but they were kind of tucked in to the side. Never kicked a ball because they would have got dirty.

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Notts_tractor added 23:12 - Apr 23 Going a bit off topic here, but some years ago I wrote in TWTD about Town not having any identifiable song unique to the club. This can be particularly effective in raising the volume at the start of the game. Anyone who's been to The City Ground will know how "Mull of Kintyre" cranks up the atmosphere before kick off; similarly you've got "Annie's Song" at Bramall Lane. What have we got? A terrible version of "Singing the Blues" which was better, but still not very good, before this dreadful speeded up version. Why on Earth can't "Come On the Town" be blasted out at kick off? Yes, it's a naff 70's pop song which peters out with too many la la las at the end, but it's ours and it has the brilliant, shouted bit: "IPSWICH, IPSWICH, COME ON THE TOWN!!" in the middle and near the end. What more do you need?

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Brazils_Hair added 09:37 - Apr 24 My wife and I were season ticket holders for many years in the lower north stand. Now that we have children we cant afford season tickets anymore, however I do remember having a feeling that many of the season ticket holders (in all areas of the ground) had an 'elitist' attitude and looked down their noses at non-season ticket holders. Not everyone was like that. My wife and I were never like that and we always welcomed the different people that used to sit next to us at each game. We always had the attitude that we were all in togethor, but unfortunately my own personal experience of other season ticket holders is similar to that of JimmyJazz. Its a real real shame. I am not saying that everyone is like it and JimmyJazz is not saying that either, but there does not seem to be the bond of friendliness anymore at PR that there used to be.

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blockb_steward added 12:58 - Apr 24 Bit of a catch 22 this one 10 years in the Championship with nothing really to cheer about...but that said, I think the fans should get behind the team and try and lift the team now and again That said, I thought the atmos against West Ham and Brighton were excellent It's difficult...I think the fans need something to cheer but they have to try and lift the players.

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