Evolving the atmosphere

[bobby1413]

See my earlier post a couple of pages ago. A fans forum has been arranged where this would reach the right ears.

This would be an excellent oportunity to get a dialouge going between us, the club and the stewards. Please can you link me to more details?

STAR has scheduled an extra fans forum for Tuesday 24th March.

The first half hour will concern stewarding and policing (we have definite acceptances from tangos yellow jackets and the police liaison officer) and then Kevin and Wally will answer questions.

Questions for either to info@star-reading.org

Do you mean Friday 24th April?

[tomrfcurz]

Don't get me wrong, I've done my time on the Southbank and the East Stand but now I have young kids I choose to shield them from the harsher realities of life. There is a world of difference between hearing "dirty northern b*stards" from across the pitch and having some beered up yoof shouting obscenities at the officials and opposition from immediately behind you.

This was just the wrong place to do it (though I accept there was probably nowhere else to try and was a worthy effort).I pay a fair premium to sit in the Upper West and away from the the more intimidating atmosphere generated by some of our supporters.

I wouldn't dream of going into the East Stand and complaining - that's just the way it is. Perhaps some of you lot should just accept the West Stand for what it is.

So you have never swore at a match before.

Did I say that?

I do respect your parenting decisions but with all the best of intentions children will come into contact with their own peers who will swear. My daughter went through this as soon as she went to school. She knows that swearing is not the done thing but came into contact with the raucus elements of football at a very early age and after a lecture from myself choses not to join in.

I'm quite happy to take my kids to football. They hear swearing, they think it's funny, they don't join in.

It's not really the the chanting that bothers me. It's the shouted, aggressive swearing that's directed at opposition fans/players and match officials. That doesn't happen (much) in the Upper West which is why I choose to sit there.

I suppose it's a question of what each supporter wants out aof a match day experience and it's finding a balance and level where all are happy and enjoy the day without offending each other.

'zatley. Maybe even a stand for the noisy folk and a stand for the quieter folk?

& Stewards :p

Most fun i've bloody had at an RFC match without em winning, didn't care much for the game, great laugh. End of

[madreadingfan]

i agree it should be north stand next season as i think more people are going to join in, in the north stand rather than upper west, i would say up high in the midle of the north stand so everyone can hear our songs...... at the moment i know im going to get some criticism for this, even though i really hate the drum, thats the only way the west stanmd and north stand are joining in at the moment, if we didnt have a drum there wouldnt be a good atmosphere even though there isnt anyway lol, even though i cant stand the drum, i think it still needs to stay at the moment until biscuit boys perform a new better group in the north stand

[STAR Liaison]

See my earlier post a couple of pages ago. A fans forum has been arranged where this would reach the right ears.

This would be an excellent oportunity to get a dialouge going between us, the club and the stewards. Please can you link me to more details?

We have tried consistently to get supporters along to meetings with the stewards and safety officer and usually we get only one or two coming along - that is why we made it the first part of the last fans forum with some success as at least there were people there. I am happy to try to arrange another meeting though whether we can manage it before this season is over I am not sure. We can make it a small informal meeting or a larger one if a lot of you who went to GU1 want to be involved. Mail me at info@star-reading again if you want to get something moving.

Whatever the result was well done for taking the iniative and doing something, it seems that it could well be the first step in improving the atmosphere.

[STAR Liaison]

Starliaison, I don't think they were being deliberately offensive. I suspect this is possibly how many speak in normal social settings in these modern times. For many f*** is merely an observation along the lines of 'oops' and f***ing is an adjective or adverb depending on context. I am saddened that the glory of the English language is demeaned in this fashion..

Go back 3 decades and a lot of people would say that there was nothing wrong with racist chants and that everyone was doing it in normal social settings so it must be OK. You surely realise that offence can be taken when it is not necessarily offered so saying they were not being deliberately offensive is not the point and I too am saddened that f***ing is the most common adjective as it not only demeans the language but also everything associated with it.

I know that for many football is seen as a release where they can swear in ways they would not dream of doing normally - but does that make it right? Or is it just a selfish release that means that anyone who does not want to hear it is wrong or has to forgo watching football?

[Focher]

im with Royal_bod on this one

[AF1]

Spoke to a steward the other day who was working Friday night. Reckons they were inundated with complaints - cant see the club allowing this again tbf

oh and LOL @ 'creating a Kop like atmosphere' descending into the booing and jeering of fellow Reading fans in the first game.

dog shit > reading fans

[brendywendy]

we let ourselves down, theres no escaping it


damn my potty mouth again



ive just remembered trying to start a "sing, sing , sing you bastards" chant in the second half

[Royalshow]

Spoke to a steward the other day who was working Friday night. Reckons they were inundated with complaints - cant see the club allowing this again tbf

oh and LOL @ 'creating a Kop like atmosphere' descending into the booing and jeering of fellow Reading fans in the first game.

dog shit > reading fans

Thats it get up on your high horse about it. Anyone can see the whole 'kop effect' was just journalist spin that Dan very briefly mentioned and it got jumped apon to make a sensationalist story. Lessons have been learnt, it will happen again just not in the West stand.

[boy1985]

for the first 20 mins i thought it was really working. everyone was standing, there was passionate suppport and original songs. then i realised GU1 wasn't in the south stand.

[chandog]

Spoke to a steward the other day who was working Friday night. Reckons they were inundated with complaints - cant see the club allowing this again tbf

oh and LOL @ 'creating a Kop like atmosphere' descending into the booing and jeering of fellow Reading fans in the first game.

dog shit > reading fans

Thats it get up on your high horse about it. Anyone can see the whole 'kop effect' was just journalist spin that Dan very briefly mentioned and it got jumped apon to make a sensationalist story. Lessons have been learnt, it will happen again just not in the West stand.

or in the shit madejski stadium that seems to be full of twats who wouldnt dare make any effort to try and get behind the team

maybe try it on an away day? but these normally have a good atmosphere anyway so i cant really see this great idea being put into practice again

[Skin]

LOL at our club, our stewarding, our fans, our support, our atmosphere, our middle class image, our safety gate, our goal music, and LOL at our recent form. LOL everybody. LOL. They should be paying us FFS.

[Maguire]

LOL@ complaining about swearing. Why do these people ever leave their houses? Idiots.

[URZZZZZZZZ]

LOL@ complaining about swearing. Why do these people ever leave their houses? Idiots.

+1

[bobby1413]

LOL@ complaining about swearing. Why do these people ever leave their houses? Idiots.

fucck off

[Royalshow]

LOL@ complaining about swearing. Why do these people ever leave their houses? Idiots.

Anyone in the upper west can't have watched the liverpool chelsea game. Heard searing.

[Rex]

It must have been bad.

[Spotters Badge]

As an STH in GU1 here's my take on it for what it's worth.

Started off really well with plenty of noise being generated and general backing of the team.

Unfortunately this didn't last too long and it became more of a standing at football campaign than an evolving the atmosphere campaign. Why would anybody want to 'Stand up for the biscuit boys' when they are there to support the Royals?

As for the swearing...well it wasn't that bad at all and it is to be expected at football. If people with kids don't want them to hear swearing they shouldn't bring them to football matches. I have 2 kids under 12 and I rather expect they enjoy a song with swearing in it to one without.

As for calling people gay because they choose to leave early well that is just totally outrageous. People pay their money and it's their choice entirely whether they stay the full course or not. Just because you choose to stay until the end so you can boo the team off doesn't necessarily mean everyone should do the same!!

[who are ya?]

It's the Upper West Stand, it was obviously a non starter from the moment it was dreamt up.

[AF1]

'Stand up for the biscuit boys'


is about the most homo thing i've heard all year, and they then had the cheek to call other fans ghey