DEBATE: Atmosphere, Chants and More

Scott Devey (@scottdevey)

At this point in time there are several things we could do to create a better atmosphere, but the question becomes more of where to start to move down that path. People look at Seattle and Portland and cry out "Oh what a great atmosphere" and don't take into consideration that those teams have been around in one form or fashion for around 30+ years and our now 7 years of existing just haven't caught up yet however I think we do well, especially for a fairly conservative fan base when it comes to sports enthusiasm (Jazz games can be deathly quiet at times). I think Portland is the better example of where we need to shoot for rather than Seattle though. The organization of the supporters not only in the Timbers Army but across the stadium is top notch. Seattle has a few tricks, and a lot of people, but is far less impressive. So where to start? With the beginning of the game. We are notorious for showing up late. The stands tend to not fill until after kickoff. It would be a huge boon to the overall experience not only for the fans, but also the players themselves if when they walked out of that tunnel instead of half full we were 75%+. Gets things going quickly and having 15000 people doing player introductions would take it up another level. Oh and never leave early ;).

In regards to chants Believe is a great start but we need more than one. To get another you should really look at Believe as an excellent example of how to do it right. It's simple, catchy, and friendly to all fans no matter who they are. Branden really did a great job with it. So once you get a chant that does this, what's next? The more important part, awareness. Believe spread not only because of word of mouth, but also because it was linked in the STH newsletter, and then it ended up on TV, and ESPN700, etc. Not everyone searches for RSL media the way some of us do, and I wouldn't expect them to either. So how to spread the word? The club. Should RSL get involved and maybe put up a chant section on the website for those that follow the points highlighted above it would go a long way in spreading the word. Putting one out every two issues of "The Standard" (STH newsletter) could help people be aware of them as well. It doesn't have to go on TV, nor do I think it should.

The last point I'd like to make covers both questions. For those that watch at home on TV having a better field presence for audio may help. It may on occasion cover up Bill and Dunny but let people hear us get loud. Let them hear the words to Believe going across the stadium. Let the people at home be jealous they aren't there, let them want to be part of the in stadium experience. Let them want to chant Believe.

Randal Serr (@randalserr)

I'm somewhat torn about this question. The thing that sets the RSL crowd apart is all of the different communities coming together to support RSL while doing their own thing. That is part of what makes the crowd at Rio Tinto one of the best in MLS, and RSL is a unique sports franchise in Utah in that it brings in the widest swath of diverse fans. I love that about Real Salt Lake. That said, the diverse groups that come together are difficult to unite in their chants, efforts to march, and so on. Take for example La Barra Real or Salt City United. Those are undoubtedly the loudest and most prominent RSL supporters groups. Problem is, not everybody can join them because of a language issues. Most if not all of La Barra's chants are in Spanish and a lot of Salt City United's chants make a lot of the families uncomfortable.

The answer in my mind was well encapsulated by Branden Steineckert. There need to be chants that everyone can embrace. "Believe" did well to accomplish that goal. There needs to be more of that. I'm excited to see what else Branden has up his sleeve since he has hinted that he has more songs to come. He is in a unique position to lead the crowd in that area. For the chants to spread, they need to be pretty simple. It doesn't hurt for them to be catchy either.

Another supporters group, The Royal Army, is well-intentioned to unite all of the groups. What I'm not sure of is how much of an effect they have. In order to have a more powerful atmosphere at home, the loudest fans have to be united. They chant together every so often for the simplest of cheers, but I think the intimidation factor would increase tenfold if most of their chants were together. They could do most of their chants together while still doing their own here and there. So back to the Royal Army. Are they marching before the game? Are they effectively organizing? I have seen various efforts on Twitter and other social media outlets to organize songs and chanting at the first whistle, but I don't see any of the other Supporters Groups joining them, hence my questioning their effectiveness. Don't get me wrong, I want them to unite the groups and hope they succeed, but why are the groups not responding so well? I am guessing there is not consensus around what to do and how to do it. Maybe the should build on the momentum that is there rather than trying to push something on their own accord. All of this makes me wonder if in order for there to be a united crowd, it just has to happen naturally at the grassroots level. At the end of the day, I have seen more of the crowd united in chants over time and it is sure continue to improve.

Trevor Brady (@trevor_brady)

Atmosphere

I truly believe that while the fans certainly could do more to better the atmosphere at the RioT, they can only do so much. I believe the stadium itself limits supporter groups and fans from being able to do things that we see at other stadiums and other fan groups. The South Stand is the smallest, and limits supporters groups in terms of what they could do in the way of prematch tifo displays. Currently the best place for a tifo display would be the East Stand, which is a) not the traditional location for a tifo display, b) also where the visiting fans sit, and c) from my personal experience, is also where a lot of neutral fans (families, and fans that don't usually participate in chants, and "scarves up" displays) sit. I'm not sure those fans would appreciate, or enjoy participating in a giant display, and if even a few people don't participate, it could ruin a lot of people's hard work. Moving the supporters section, or smart expansion of the stadium seating is critical. (Although its unlikely without fan pressure on the FO, by way of a serious uptick in overall STH or supporter group numbers.)

For the record, I'm a huge fan of coordinated tifo displays. I appreciate banners hung on the field, and the occasional giant sign made by a few fans (like the Andy Williams "Legend" sign we've seen at recent games), but if fans (or supporters groups) combined efforts to create a single large pregame tifo, I think that would go a long way to creating a better atmosphere.

Encouraging fans to, and rewarding fans for showing up early to the match (by way of a pregame march around the stadium, or a giant tifo for example) is the key to creating and maintaining a threatening atmosphere.

Chants

Having specific, easy-to-remember (hopefully family friendly, but I personally don't believe they have to be) chants that are coordinated to come at certain easily-identifiable times (like a goal, corner kick, penalty kick etc) is what will get more fans engaged in chants. They don't necessarily have to be simple, (Believe isn't exactly simple) but it helps. Establishing and coordinating these chants, informing every fan of these chants prior to the game (through distributing papers perhaps), utilizing them at every opportunity, and encouraging other fans to join in is the best way to make this work.

RESPONSE: Trevor Brady to Randal Serr

I dont think this is really debating the points Randall has made, but maybe more combining his thoughts and mine, and expanding on both. My personal thoughts on what would be best (outlined in my original answer to the questions) contradict what I think we should actually work towards (outlined here), and I recognize that. I can accept both outcomes, as they will both work towards bettering the atmosphere at the RioT.

I appreciate that we have a very diverse fan base, and many different supporter groups, and I love them all. My problem is that there just isn't a large percentage of people that are members of supporters groups to begin with. Once you take that total number of people, and split them up into 5 or 6 different groups, you lose what little power you have in numbers. Even worse, when you start having them sit in different sections of the stadium (Supporters stand is on the south side, but Section 26 sits in the northwest end), it makes uniting the groups that much more difficult. This is why I think it would be best to try and unite them all, so that there is one loud, strong voice leading the stadium in chants, displays, and keeping up an intimidating and proud atmosphere at the RioT.

In the end, I think uniting the supporters groups is a lost cause, even if it is what I think would be best for the stadium atmosphere as a whole. Its been tried before, and failed before. La Barra Real is never going to blend in with a group of tattooed, beer-swilling, all-black-wearing fanatics, and Salt City United is not going to start chanting in Spanish or playing a trumpet. We should embrace what we have, which is a clash of Latin American-style fan groups, a hooligan element, and more traditional supporters groups as well with their own unique identities and quirks. Trying to combine these groups will only dilute the more extreme qualities of these groups, and in the end, you'd be left with a couple of people chanting "let's go re-al! *clap clap clapclapclap* like a bunch of common NBA fans.

With that said, I'll again echo what I believe everyone agrees with, and that is that I do think we can come up with chants that every group will like and can enjoy participating in. I think not restricting the stadium wide chants to any particular language or style will go very far. The already well-established Olé chant and the Believe chant are examples of what I mean. Both are important, and both are representative of the diverse fan base that we have and should celebrate.