Their fans are great, what makes them so louder than other fans?, and what do you think about about the 'fanatic ultras'? Definitely the best fans to come to St Mary's this season, they were in full voice when 2-0 down.
On the plus side: They make noise & given Sellhurst an atmosphere it lacked They are organised, create new songs and not scared to try them out They get in the ground before kickoff & start singing On the downside: They are a bit "look at me, look at me" Some of them don't even watch the game They have a drum Songs are a bit repetitive (but I guess most football songs are) One Palace fan I know hates them with a passion & feels embarrassed by their mock Italian all black get-ups and phoney hardmen routine. Personally, I think there is a middle ground where you have organised fans who get the singing going, but don't have to adopt foreign football fan styles to do it. I think its sad that barely any songs are heard before kick off these days, apart from away fans possibly. As said a lot before, the way half the Northam wander into the ground 5 mins after kick off doesn't help the atmosphere at SMS. As far as noise goes, if you have a couple of hundred (mostly male) fans all close together and really shouting loudly in unison, then it can make lot more noise than a few thousand fans who are clapping instead of singing and when they do sing, its only at normal talking volume.
Agree wholeheartedly. At the end of the day I'm sure they do help the team but it's all a bit sad for me really, I thought people stopped playing dress-up when they hit double figures in age. Then again I never played wannabe Italian Ultra when I was a kid, I suppose. Probably better than a polite, lukewarm atmosphere that doesn't really do much for the team though, as you say a middle ground would be nice.
They know they're probably only here for one season, so they're determined to enjoy it. Good luck to em.
Still not certain who is going down...Palace and Sunderland picking up points and one win can shoot teams up the table. Usually there are two almost certain and a couple involved for the third spot. Very exciting in the relegation fight (glad we are not there ).
I have found that fans tend to be loud for fairly good, logical reasons. Aside from the fact that they may indeed be enthusiastic, the main reason is in the form and simplicity of the songs they sing. For example, if all you have to sing out is Play Up Pompey, Pompey Play Up [don't bite PL, I'm not scoring points, just using a familiar good example] then a fair bunch of people can get their voices well timed and tuned. The pitch of PUP, is well suited to the voice and individual people can easily sing it very loudly indeed. Bring them together, and the song's simplicity, and the stadium environment just augments that noise level. Try complicated tunes. It's very rare that they can be sung loudly. Have a look on Youtube. Some fans barely get above a mumble, yet they are singing as enthusiastically as they can. Of course, one has to account for sheer numbers of voices too.
Speed of song matters a lot. As I've mentioned ad nauseam, the speed of sound means that faster songs break up easier thanks to the sound coming back being off beat. Slow stuff like OWTSGMI and "You'll never walk alone" work beautifully.
If I understand you correctly, you mean the tempo of the song and the note changes in the tune. That I was categorising under complication. OWTS and YNWA are indeed good examples. Going back to the Pompey Chimes, you'd have difficulty finding a simpler song chant. 4 notes, sung twice in different order, and at the same tempo. It's learned in a heart beat, hence why every Pompey supporter can sing it at the top of their voice. Give them something else to sing and they don't sound half as loud.
Is this thread just a duplicate of the "Should we use this song?" poll-thread? ItchenNorth, are you the Saints fan with a Northern accent I was drinking with before the Hull game?
And it's fairly slow, so no problem with the return sound from the other end of the stand being off beat (or two groups singing different parts of the song) One thing I do love is when we get OWSTGMI echoing off the far end of the stadium. Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Vin
This. I do however think that the Dell produced a better version due mainly to the addition of "foot noise". But maybe it was also the nature of the traditional footy ground. Or my hearing was better back then.
Stadium design does make a heck of a lot of difference to noise levels. Totally enclosed stadiums tend to be louder than open stadiums, though with St Mary's being relatively low in height, the megaphone effect isn't as big as it might be. Famous stands of the past that have generated noise when the crowd got their throats in tune were at Sunderland's Roker Park [the Roker Roar], The all-standing Kop End at Anfield, and I'll not leave out the Jimmy Dickinson Stand at Fratton Park, which has a shape that allows it to operate as an excellent megaphone. These stands all share very similar characteristics in acoustics. Going back to The Dell, and the foot noise from the East and West Stands, that is indeed one thing I miss, but you can't get the wood these days..!
