| FAO: Blue Action 19:08 - Jun 1 with 10700 views | victorysquad |
What is the benefit of moving to Block A? Would love to support the initiative, but are there any plans for next season? Expansion or moving to a more prominent position?
Fed up of being in the North, they don't sing any more. So open to moving but Stand A seems ineffective.........
The vision has to be to eclipse what Palace has done, and eventually try and emulate a Dortmund style experience, but what is the vision?
discuss..... [Post edited 1 Jun 19:11]
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| FAO: Blue Action on 06:20 - Jun 5 with 927 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| FAO: Blue Action on 19:47 - Jun 4 by victorysquad |
Mark, if you want this subject to be closed off, then give us a proper stand.
btw - Slambo - interesting you want the seats down the front of Section A - up the back is always where you can make most noise imo. More visible down the front for sure. [Post edited 4 Jun 19:58]
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‘us’… |  |
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| FAO: Blue Action on 08:57 - Jun 5 with 819 views | victorysquad |
us = 'those that want to sing and get behind the team' | |
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| FAO: Blue Action on 09:10 - Jun 5 with 798 views | ArnieM |
It shouldn't make any difference what stand you are in, if you sing and holler fir 2 hrs, you're making a noise. Don't blame the older age group! I'm in section 5, and 50 + ( oh, and female) and trust me I make as much noise, if not more, for 90 mins. I'm passionate as any younger fan and give the ref the benefit of my feelings when he c0cks it up it. So guess I'm shouting quite a bit really!!
The SBR lost its volume when they built the upper tier. Before that there was a dingle stand of 9k standing fans, and I was and always have been, one of them.
Incidentally when Section 6 de ided to mive the SBR actually became more unified in its singing. The stand singing as one. When section 6 where there it was that section often singing totally different dings to the remains 2/3rds of the stand.
When section 6 initially moved they became invisible to away fans, and even more so last season as their fervour appeared flattened ( understandable given our performance at home). But initially when they moved it was apparent that that half half of the cobbold stand near them were joining in. So I'd say, keep going lads and build it up. . It will build but it takes time... |  |
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| FAO: Blue Action on 11:55 - Jun 5 with 722 views | Chris_ITFC |
A lot of the BA image problem comes from splitting the fanbase right down the middle, assuming it’s as simple as “those who do what BA want” versus “everyone else who is miserable old bast*rds who don’t sing”.
In reality, there’s a large section of the fanbase that do enjoy singing at football and creating a good atmosphere. They pay their £40 though, and also want to be able to watch the blooming football at the same time. Shock!
The section who are happy for a flag obscuring their view for 90 minutes and want a jumped up little dude in clothes 20 years too young for him staring/shouting at them every time they rest their voice for a few seconds is, BA side, pretty limited I’d suggest.
The trouble is, it’s the audio atmosphere that encourages the players (they aren’t reading your banners!), but that doesn’t translate to Instagram as well as a pretty flag, so..
*Everyone* wants a good atmosphere, plenty enjoy generating it, bring people along with you, rather than elevating yourselves and alienating others. The ground is way too small these days to go pissing everywhere to mark your territory. You’re just covering the rest of us in piss (bad strategy). |  |
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| FAO: Blue Action on 12:01 - Jun 5 with 715 views | blueM3 |
| FAO: Blue Action on 08:57 - Jun 5 by victorysquad |
us = 'those that want to sing and get behind the team' |
Ah yes, the true fans. Everyone else in the ground is merely a tourist. You’re doing a grand job of continuing to alienate people and try to split the fan base.
Have you not realised that people don’t like the tone of disrespect being thrown around. Just because you think you’re going to make more noise than someone else, it DOES NOT make you any more of a fan than the next person.
If you want to get a cauldron pit of an atmosphere going then make everything as inclusive as possible to everyone. Not taking the us vs them attitude and making out anyone who’s not in your section is an inconvenience.
These posts really show up everything that is wrong with the self entitled fans. I think a specific position or stand for the previously mentioned ‘capo’ 😂 really is showing it all up as a look at me I’m the best fan ever job… | | | |
| FAO: Blue Action on 12:33 - Jun 5 with 675 views | Slambo |
| FAO: Blue Action on 23:43 - Jun 4 by ZedRodgers |
I'm afraid I simply can't take any so-called "singing section" seriously when it visually resembles about one-sixth of a stand doing karaoke in a broom cupboard. The whole vibe is a bit pathetic and radiates forced fun - I would say it’s on a par with Leicester’s tragic slither of ultras/fanatics (or whatever term of self-parody we’re meant to use these days). It’s closer to kids on a school trip pretending they’re in Napoli than any serious attempt at improving anything.
That said, credit where it’s due: BA’s full-stand displays over the years have been impressive - It’s a shame we haven’t seen many of those lately. My advice? Stick to those. And perhaps use some of the crowdfunding to invest in some group therapy to help manage this collective case of Main Character Syndrome.
At the heart of every one of these tedious back-and-forths is a glaringly obvious question: why would anyone think ring-fencing the “right” kind of fans to decide what's best for everyone else would ever end well? All it does is create a perpetual them-vs-us impasse, as perfectly demonstrated by several responses here. The best atmospheres I can remember at Portman Road happened when everyone let their guard down and enjoyed themselves - no choreography, no manifestos, just limbs and noise. Think Burley’s Barmy Army non-stop for 45 minutes, or those spontaneous eruptions during the recent promotion run-ins. These days, sadly, you tend to only really feel that vibe at away games. Meanwhile, this A-block vs North d*ck-measuring contest is less “ultras” and more “Mumsnet beef in a car park.”
And for the love of all that is holy, can we drop this bizarre obsession with the Crystal Palace “blueprint”? The idea that we need to emulate their faux-Eurocrap ultras routine makes me want to punch myself in the face with a Portman Pie. Good luck pitching that as the only route to an atmosphere to anybody who remembers the old North Stand.
If anything, that kind of sanitised, club-approved cosplay is exactly what we should be avoiding. It would be the first of the final nails in gentrifying Portman Road into a sterile museum where noise is only permitted between approved time slots, and by those with a special wristband.
Slambo, I’m looking directly into your soul here. Personally, I’d take a bit of “anti-Delia Smith sh*te” over the family-friendly “that’s the way we like it” templatechant.mp3 any day. You claim to speak for independent fans, but from your responses here, I wouldn’t be shocked if you soon proposed replacing “Norwich” with “others” in all songs to curry favour with the club. You seem torn between wanting a seat at the table and insisting you’re defiantly independent - the kind of contradiction that usually ends with someone in a beret writing a manifesto nobody reads. |
Well. Where to begin with this...
Let's start with this premise: football has risen to it's position as 'the world game' due to the fact that no other sport before then had expected - I dare say demanded - that the SPECTATORS also contributed to the overall matchday experience. Before then, spectators were expected to do precisely that - spectate. If you read about the early days of organised football, you'll see there was a lot of concern about the growing trend of spectators to singing and making noise (considered a dangerous foreign import from South America)...
Maybe, though, you disagree and would say that football grew to prominence for other reasons, and that atmosphere at games is irrelevant. If so, then I guess you needn't read any further...
So if crowd participation is an intrinsic part of football, then clubs need to faciliate that. So it makes sense, then, to create an area/areas where this can happen. Traditionally, this was the NL. Now, some people argue that the NL still fulfils that purpose. I, however, and I would suggest the majority of the Ipswich fanbase, disagree. Now we can argue the toss as to why that is - aging demographic, working class fans getting priced out, splitting the North stand into two tiers, etc etc. For my money, the sole issue is the removal of unreserved terracing, where fans had the freedom to congregate. Age and socio-economic background have no bearing on whether you can make a racket or not; the current design of the stand can and occasionally does harness plenty of noise. But the reality is, when fans who choose to experience football in different ways are hemmed in alongside each other, with no means of congregating with like minded fans, the atmosphere will suffer. This is what we experienced in the NL and this is what necessitated the move to A Block...
As for this 'd1ck measuring contest' between the two stands, there's nothing of the sort. If other posters have turned it into that, up to them, but that's not an official BA stance. I think we had one lad in the group who started sounding off on Twitter a year or so ago, but he was admonished for that and is no longer in the group anyway. Threads on this topic always seem to elicit a lot of insecurity among more passive fans. Let's make this clear: we do not think we are the 'right' kind of supporter and have NEVER claimed anything of the sort. Personally, singing and being engaged is the only way I can watch football. But if that's not your thing, then hey, you do you. All we're asking is for a place where we can support how we want to support...
You've referred to my group and the ultra scene in general in a heavily p1ss-takey, Comic Book Guy way, but all we're trying to do is better harness that desire to create atmosphere at football - which is still very much there among the Ipswich fanbase. Having an organised group, surely, is the best way to do this? You deride organised fun, but refer to 'George Burley's Barmy Army for 45 minutes' - what's that if not organised fun at a basic level? You laud the spontaneous eruptions of joy in the Premier League promotion season - but what happens when we're getting spanked 3, 4 or 5 nil every week? Is that not where we - or something like us - can be of service? You referenced this 'them vs us impasse referenced by several posters on here', but the (very few) complaints refer to the hows and the whatfors of what we do. Only you alone seem to deny the fundamental benefit of organised fan 'atmosphere' groups...
Last few points:
-yeah, full stand tifos are great and we will do them again. We would've done more last season, but of course the club effectively put a moratorium on them after the fallout form Liverpool game.
-'Sanitised, club-approved cosplay' - no idea what you're getting at here. It's a constant struggle to get the club to approve any of what we do.
- songs about Delia Smith are pathetic.
I'll conclude by saying that you may well sneer at the likes of Napoli and our attempts to emulate them (a very peculiar English neurosis that one) and have a particular vitriol towards Holmesdale Fanatics. But if you failed to be moved by what they did at the FA cup final - the corteo, the tifo, the pyro, the relentless singing - then I would say it's you that needs to do some soul searching... |  |
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| FAO: Blue Action on 12:44 - Jun 5 with 647 views | SuffolkPunchFC |
| FAO: Blue Action on 12:33 - Jun 5 by Slambo |
Well. Where to begin with this...
Let's start with this premise: football has risen to it's position as 'the world game' due to the fact that no other sport before then had expected - I dare say demanded - that the SPECTATORS also contributed to the overall matchday experience. Before then, spectators were expected to do precisely that - spectate. If you read about the early days of organised football, you'll see there was a lot of concern about the growing trend of spectators to singing and making noise (considered a dangerous foreign import from South America)...
Maybe, though, you disagree and would say that football grew to prominence for other reasons, and that atmosphere at games is irrelevant. If so, then I guess you needn't read any further...
So if crowd participation is an intrinsic part of football, then clubs need to faciliate that. So it makes sense, then, to create an area/areas where this can happen. Traditionally, this was the NL. Now, some people argue that the NL still fulfils that purpose. I, however, and I would suggest the majority of the Ipswich fanbase, disagree. Now we can argue the toss as to why that is - aging demographic, working class fans getting priced out, splitting the North stand into two tiers, etc etc. For my money, the sole issue is the removal of unreserved terracing, where fans had the freedom to congregate. Age and socio-economic background have no bearing on whether you can make a racket or not; the current design of the stand can and occasionally does harness plenty of noise. But the reality is, when fans who choose to experience football in different ways are hemmed in alongside each other, with no means of congregating with like minded fans, the atmosphere will suffer. This is what we experienced in the NL and this is what necessitated the move to A Block...
As for this 'd1ck measuring contest' between the two stands, there's nothing of the sort. If other posters have turned it into that, up to them, but that's not an official BA stance. I think we had one lad in the group who started sounding off on Twitter a year or so ago, but he was admonished for that and is no longer in the group anyway. Threads on this topic always seem to elicit a lot of insecurity among more passive fans. Let's make this clear: we do not think we are the 'right' kind of supporter and have NEVER claimed anything of the sort. Personally, singing and being engaged is the only way I can watch football. But if that's not your thing, then hey, you do you. All we're asking is for a place where we can support how we want to support...
You've referred to my group and the ultra scene in general in a heavily p1ss-takey, Comic Book Guy way, but all we're trying to do is better harness that desire to create atmosphere at football - which is still very much there among the Ipswich fanbase. Having an organised group, surely, is the best way to do this? You deride organised fun, but refer to 'George Burley's Barmy Army for 45 minutes' - what's that if not organised fun at a basic level? You laud the spontaneous eruptions of joy in the Premier League promotion season - but what happens when we're getting spanked 3, 4 or 5 nil every week? Is that not where we - or something like us - can be of service? You referenced this 'them vs us impasse referenced by several posters on here', but the (very few) complaints refer to the hows and the whatfors of what we do. Only you alone seem to deny the fundamental benefit of organised fan 'atmosphere' groups...
Last few points:
-yeah, full stand tifos are great and we will do them again. We would've done more last season, but of course the club effectively put a moratorium on them after the fallout form Liverpool game.
-'Sanitised, club-approved cosplay' - no idea what you're getting at here. It's a constant struggle to get the club to approve any of what we do.
- songs about Delia Smith are pathetic.
I'll conclude by saying that you may well sneer at the likes of Napoli and our attempts to emulate them (a very peculiar English neurosis that one) and have a particular vitriol towards Holmesdale Fanatics. But if you failed to be moved by what they did at the FA cup final - the corteo, the tifo, the pyro, the relentless singing - then I would say it's you that needs to do some soul searching... |
I don't believe you realise how passive aggressive some of the comments in your posts are, hence why you're getting the negative reaction you are from some. Even in this post :
Threads on this topic always seem to elicit a lot of insecurity among more passive fans.
Wow - just a double take at being passive aggressive in one sentence. | | | |
| FAO: Blue Action on 17:26 - Jun 5 with 455 views | ZedRodgers |
| FAO: Blue Action on 12:33 - Jun 5 by Slambo |
Well. Where to begin with this...
Let's start with this premise: football has risen to it's position as 'the world game' due to the fact that no other sport before then had expected - I dare say demanded - that the SPECTATORS also contributed to the overall matchday experience. Before then, spectators were expected to do precisely that - spectate. If you read about the early days of organised football, you'll see there was a lot of concern about the growing trend of spectators to singing and making noise (considered a dangerous foreign import from South America)...
Maybe, though, you disagree and would say that football grew to prominence for other reasons, and that atmosphere at games is irrelevant. If so, then I guess you needn't read any further...
So if crowd participation is an intrinsic part of football, then clubs need to faciliate that. So it makes sense, then, to create an area/areas where this can happen. Traditionally, this was the NL. Now, some people argue that the NL still fulfils that purpose. I, however, and I would suggest the majority of the Ipswich fanbase, disagree. Now we can argue the toss as to why that is - aging demographic, working class fans getting priced out, splitting the North stand into two tiers, etc etc. For my money, the sole issue is the removal of unreserved terracing, where fans had the freedom to congregate. Age and socio-economic background have no bearing on whether you can make a racket or not; the current design of the stand can and occasionally does harness plenty of noise. But the reality is, when fans who choose to experience football in different ways are hemmed in alongside each other, with no means of congregating with like minded fans, the atmosphere will suffer. This is what we experienced in the NL and this is what necessitated the move to A Block...
As for this 'd1ck measuring contest' between the two stands, there's nothing of the sort. If other posters have turned it into that, up to them, but that's not an official BA stance. I think we had one lad in the group who started sounding off on Twitter a year or so ago, but he was admonished for that and is no longer in the group anyway. Threads on this topic always seem to elicit a lot of insecurity among more passive fans. Let's make this clear: we do not think we are the 'right' kind of supporter and have NEVER claimed anything of the sort. Personally, singing and being engaged is the only way I can watch football. But if that's not your thing, then hey, you do you. All we're asking is for a place where we can support how we want to support...
You've referred to my group and the ultra scene in general in a heavily p1ss-takey, Comic Book Guy way, but all we're trying to do is better harness that desire to create atmosphere at football - which is still very much there among the Ipswich fanbase. Having an organised group, surely, is the best way to do this? You deride organised fun, but refer to 'George Burley's Barmy Army for 45 minutes' - what's that if not organised fun at a basic level? You laud the spontaneous eruptions of joy in the Premier League promotion season - but what happens when we're getting spanked 3, 4 or 5 nil every week? Is that not where we - or something like us - can be of service? You referenced this 'them vs us impasse referenced by several posters on here', but the (very few) complaints refer to the hows and the whatfors of what we do. Only you alone seem to deny the fundamental benefit of organised fan 'atmosphere' groups...
Last few points:
-yeah, full stand tifos are great and we will do them again. We would've done more last season, but of course the club effectively put a moratorium on them after the fallout form Liverpool game.
-'Sanitised, club-approved cosplay' - no idea what you're getting at here. It's a constant struggle to get the club to approve any of what we do.
- songs about Delia Smith are pathetic.
I'll conclude by saying that you may well sneer at the likes of Napoli and our attempts to emulate them (a very peculiar English neurosis that one) and have a particular vitriol towards Holmesdale Fanatics. But if you failed to be moved by what they did at the FA cup final - the corteo, the tifo, the pyro, the relentless singing - then I would say it's you that needs to do some soul searching... |
I must admit, few things in life have bewildered me more than someone earnestly referencing early 20th-century football sociology to justify their mates bringing a megaphone to Block A. I read your post in a velvet smoking jacket while a man played Ennio Morricone on a theremin behind me. It felt appropriate.
Let’s be clear: I’ve no issue with people who want to sing at football. I’ve done it myself, on *checks notes* several occasions - But the moment someone starts talking about "supporting how we want to support" like they’re demanding religious freedom under medieval persecution, the alarm noise from the “this sound indicates an important announcement” message starts ringing around my head.
You claim atmosphere is essential. Fair enough - agreed. But when it starts looking like cosplay Napoli, complete with flag choreography and balaclava-wearing lads named Callum staring intensely into the void during a corner, forgive me for raising an eyebrow.
And please don’t pretend this whole thing isn’t a power play. The performative humility in your response is noted, as is the bit where you casually declare yourself the voice of the majority, while simultaneously insisting you’re just a humble noise-merchant trying to lead the faithful.
Also, I’m not anti-atmosphere. I’m anti-atmosphere-with-a-board-of-directors. “Burley’s Barmy Army” for 45 mins was spontaneous combustion, not an orchestrated quarterly strategy. It rose from the North Stand like a beautiful, chaotic fungus. What you’re doing is admirable in places - but you keep acting like you’ve rediscovered sound and that it’s your personal mission to share it with the rest of us.
And your bafflement at "sanitised cosplay" is a bit like an actor in full Roman centurion gear wondering why people think the play might be staged. I’ve seen less approval-seeking from dogs. Just because the club doesn’t always approve something you do doesn’t mean the whole vibe isn’t, in essence, staged and PR-friendly. There's nothing wrong with pageantry, but don’t sell it as underground rebellion when it might as well come with a fire safety briefing and branded graphics.
Songs about Delia Smith are pathetic? No. Songs about Delia Smith are folklore. They are the real essence of the English game. Losing at home on a Tuesday night and still singing about her? That’s the soul of football. That’s the real resistance.
And as for your parting shot about Holmesdale Fanatics? Yes, I’ve seen it. It looked like someone had put a Berlin techno night through a Lidl meat grinder. If that’s the future of English football, I’ll be in the Whitton United car park with a bovril and a sense of identity - Not watching you dance around on a podium like a Shakira concert.
In conclusion, I respect your effort. I do. But don’t mistake critique for insecurity, and don’t mistake coordinated flag-waving for the second coming of the Kop. Keep on this noble quest if you like, but don’t be shocked when some of us think it’s not working and don’t proceed to stroke your ego. |  |
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| FAO: Blue Action on 18:34 - Jun 5 with 368 views | TheBlueGnu |
The benefit as far as I can see is that you get to sit with Malcolm Hebden, Geoffrey Whitehead, Norman Bowler, and the only member of the original line-up of Showaddywaddy - Romeo Challenger. And, you'll be pleased to know, they all sing very loudly. | |
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