Evolving the atmosphere

[Stuffed Crust Pizza]

The Southbank experience is what made me fall in love with football and in particular Reading Football Club. Afew thousand loyal and loud supporters huddled together spurring the team to hopeful victory with a wide array of encouraging, witty and entertaining chants. Even if the quality of football was poor, the Southbank hordes kept me coming back.

We all recognise that the vast majority of the time the Madejeski Stadium atmosphere is dull and uninspiring, however nobody has yet to make any lasting steps to evolve our support. Myself and a few like-minded people feel that its time for a change. So what can a small minority do to inspire thousands of lethargic supporters into ninety minutes of noise and enjoyment? I fully expect a few negative comments and the usual Hob Nob attitude towards 'atmosphere' postings. But we need to try something to encourage this stuttering team to promotion. Now I realise that Y25 already do a sterling effort in getting behind the team, also in Y19 where I sit and the north stand included sometimes combine and get quite animated. However a thirty second, half hearted rendition of 'Blue Army' may not have the desired effect, nor is it particularly enjoyable.

My feelings are that those of us who enjoy watching a game of football amongst an electrifying atmosphere need to congregate in one part of the stadium. Ideally getting a vocal contingent at the back of the north stand could have a Kop effect on the team when shooting towards it. Let me make it clear at this point I understand people may not be willing to move their seats and organising a mass migration of supporters would be impossible for the ticket office. However our small group have come up with a experiment and we would hope for a decent level of support on this. Please read on and I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

We have identified the Good Friday fixture with Sheffield United as the starting point. After looking at the online ticketing system it is clear that the block GU1 in the upper west is consistently unpopulated and would be the ideal location as any group that congregate their will be highly visible and hopefully be heard by the rest of the stadium. This may encourage others to follow and join the party.

I have taken the initial steps of contacting STAR and the club and have come up against no opposition and have their full backing on this motion. A few have already moved their seats to GU1 and the ticket office made this as pain free as possible, however they obviously charge the difference in price from where you usually sit.

This idea will not work if people do not commit to it, so if you have any interest in joining us or further question please comment. It would be easy for people to sit behind their computer and criticise or even make fun of us, however I can live the abuse. What we need is action and dedication to make a change.

Please come and join us in GU1. Thanks for your time!

[Royal Lady]

Good luck if you think the rest of the stadium will hear you shouting from GU1.

[West Stand Man]

Good luck if you think the rest of the stadium will hear you shouting from GU1.

and pray tell why that should be. It is just as acoustic as any other part of the stadium. The need is for a noise to be generated, where it emanates from is pretty insignificant as the whole bowl is much the same from that perspective. If sufficient people respond and fill those seats then it will have an impact. The problem will be if he ends up with 20 - 30 keen participants who just can't generate the noise (a bit like the current Y25/26 situation really).

Mind you, as is usual the RL view is as negative as possible. I've asked before and I'll ask again - do you have a positive bone in your body?

[Matt de K]

Admitedly Guildford would be louder

Joking aside though, wasn't it some sort of international friendly that had a noisy bunch up that way before (I'm asuming GU1 is right near the south stand) IIRC they were really loud adn there was only about 20 of them, oh and a drum....

[Jobbo no.11]

This is a brilliant idea just with a few faults that can be fixed.

I Have sat in Y26 for the last 6 years and have always thought this, why cant we get everyone together as for example is the case in the kop and many other grounds across the country. Therefore i am definately all for this idea.
The only reason i can see people will be against this will be the price difference from where many of the "vocal" support sit to where you have suggested.
Anyway i commend you for your efforts to finally do something about the atmosphere.

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Good luck if you think the rest of the stadium will hear you shouting from GU1.

Half of the stadium cant hear the fans from Y25/6 so your point is?

I think its a good idea and ive brought it up quite a few times. But unless the club actively get involved with this it wont happen.

Everyone is moaning about the atmosphere, but never doing anything collectively about it.

[Dirk Gently]

Potentially it's a good idea, but there are a couple of practical ideas to overcome :

- some peope will need to be moved to create a "singing " area, and it'd be difficult to force that on them

- there is a group of holier-than-thou supporters who would resent any attempt to organise them or organise the crowd, so they'd be against it on principle and heap scorn onto it.

[AlexY25]

I would move my seat for sheffield united if i new that a lot more people were doing it.

[Matt de K]

Well how much more would it be to move from the ES to the UW?

I can't believe I just typed that

[Matt de K]

But yet I feel that, if it were all occupied by singers, it would be worth it. I could probably convince a few others...

[AlexY25]

4 In but waiting to see how popular this could be first....

[AlexY25]

The Southbank experience is what made me fall in love with football and in particular Reading Football Club. Afew thousand loyal and loud supporters huddled together spurring the team to hopeful victory with a wide array of encouraging, witty and entertaining chants. Even if the quality of football was poor, the Southbank hordes kept me coming back.

We all recognise that the vast majority of the time the Madejeski Stadium atmosphere is dull and uninspiring, however nobody has yet to make any lasting steps to evolve our support. Myself and a few like-minded people feel that its time for a change. So what can a small minority do to inspire thousands of lethargic supporters into ninety minutes of noise and enjoyment? I fully expect a few negative comments and the usual Hob Nob attitude towards 'atmosphere' postings. But we need to try something to encourage this stuttering team to promotion. Now I realise that Y25 already do a sterling effort in getting behind the team, also in Y19 where I sit and the north stand included sometimes combine and get quite animated. However a thirty second, half hearted rendition of 'Blue Army' may not have the desired effect, nor is it particularly enjoyable.

My feelings are that those of us who enjoy watching a game of football amongst an electrifying atmosphere need to congregate in one part of the stadium. Ideally getting a vocal contingent at the back of the north stand could have a Kop effect on the team when shooting towards it. Let me make it clear at this point I understand people may not be willing to move their seats and organising a mass migration of supporters would be impossible for the ticket office. However our small group have come up with a experiment and we would hope for a decent level of support on this. Please read on and I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

We have identified the Good Friday fixture with Sheffield United as the starting point. After looking at the online ticketing system it is clear that the block GU1 in the upper west is consistently unpopulated and would be the ideal location as any group that congregate their will be highly visible and hopefully be heard by the rest of the stadium. This may encourage others to follow and join the party.

I have taken the initial steps of contacting STAR and the club and have come up against no opposition and have their full backing on this motion. A few have already moved their seats to GU1 and the ticket office made this as pain free as possible, however they obviously charge the difference in price from where you usually sit.

This idea will not work if people do not commit to it, so if you have any interest in joining us or further question please comment. It would be easy for people to sit behind their computer and criticise or even make fun of us, however I can live the abuse. What we need is action and dedication to make a change.

Please come and join us in GU1. Thanks for your time!

Ahhhh f*ck it, were all in for deffo.

What row you sat?

[madreadingfan]

im IN! and so is my brother and maybe some mates!
really good idea and i cant see what the club will have against it as, they are only kicking more people out in Y26 because the banter with away fans so if we go up in GU1 they might not just bother with us, and dare let me say it, they might be able to let us stand all match, seeming they cant just walk upstairs from the lower west!!

Come on people, the atmosphere is crap at Madejski move to GU1 for the Sheff Utd game, it only costs like a quid!!

[Deathy]

We have identified the Good Friday fixture with Sheffield United as the starting point. After looking at the online ticketing system it is clear that the block GU1 in the upper west is consistently unpopulated and would be the ideal location as any group that congregate their will be highly visible and hopefully be heard by the rest of the stadium. This may encourage others to follow and join the party.

I have taken the initial steps of contacting STAR and the club and have come up against no opposition and have their full backing on this motion. A few have already moved their seats to GU1 and the ticket office made this as pain free as possible, however they obviously charge the difference in price from where you usually sit.

This idea will not work if people do not commit to it, so if you have any interest in joining us or further question please comment. It would be easy for people to sit behind their computer and criticise or even make fun of us, however I can live the abuse. What we need is action and dedication to make a change.

Please come and join us in GU1. Thanks for your time!

I'll give it a go. Bored sat in Y25, so one game at least wont do any harm.

Any possible meet before the game for a drink or under the concourse for some Fosters piss water?

[AlexY25]

4 of us are moving our seats from the East Stand tomorrow. Got one more coming. Deffo for the Sheffield United game, hope a few people do it. It's a while to the game i suppose. But no harm in trying it for this one game.

[BenReadingFC]

I used to get in to the Southbank for about 2pm on a Saturday, read the programme/heaven 11, watch it fill and the atmosphere would be there already, long before the kickoff. Chants of "Who the f***in hell are you" or "Who R Ya" at any, and every team that were our opposition would echo as the teams walked out the tunnel.
The atmosphere was so awesome that you could cut it with a knife sometimes. McGhee's return being the most deafening with the "F*** off Mark McGhee" chant.
Since the move, there is none of the prematch build up in atmosphere,
You dont get the same elation as being bundled from say 6 rows from the back to 10 rows forward in the crush of a goal celebration.
You miss the same people congregating in the same spot on the terrace season after season + the witty banter heard.
Big games were against Southampton and Leeds and McGhee
Nowadays I'll get into the ground just before kickoff and've missed nothing.

[The 17 Bus]

A cynic would say they prefer the fans in the concourse, spending money. There has never really been any pre match build up inside the bowl area.

It is historical tho, you cant really stand and talk, then move to your own seat, when the ground was opened it was non smoking in the bowl, so smokers stayed in the concourses.

And basically things have moved on, the older Southbank lot have been spread about the ground, finding new homes, and sat mostly in silence.


PS RL was intimating GU1 as being Guildford, not being negative folks.

[Focher]

we'll be there!

[Once were Biscuitmen]

But anybody who likes to make any noise also likes to sit near the away fans for the banter surely???

[madreadingfan]

But anybody who likes to make any noise also likes to sit near the away fans for the banter surely???

i dont care i want a good atmosphere at madejski
away games is for banter