"What Made It Special, Made It Dangerous"
by Russell Berrisford on Jun 26, 2011 1:25 PM PDT
Email
PrintWhen Kate Bush wrote the line that forms the headline of this piece she was of course referring to her "yo-yo that glowed in the dark", but how easily she might also have been making a pointed comment about the way that the North American sports establishment views soccer and the fans that follow the game (something that she was strangely reluctant to do).
They love to promote their brand with the passion that supporters bring to the game but shy away from the darker aspects that accompany it.
A case in point is the current controversy surrounding the ejection of a number of New England Revolution fans for persisting with the (admittedly juvenile) "You Suck Asshole" chant when the opposing keeper takes a goal kick.
If you read the link above you will see that there is a lot more going on with the Revs supporters and the owners of the club than the simple use of profanity (including the seemingly forced ejection of completely innocent parties) but there can be little doubt that the whole incident started because some members of the crowd objected to the language being used.
So the poll this week asks where you stand (or sit) on the subject of swearing at MLS games, but first the results from last week which produced a sensational tied result between;
"I wish Camilo would stop trying to stay on his feet when he has been clearly fouled."
and
"Wow this food is really rather good, and so reasonably priced too."
as the two sentences that you thought you would be least likely to utter this season at Empire Field. The poll then went to extra time and was decided (somewhat ironically) when "Wow this food is really rather good, and so reasonably priced too." took a blatant dive in the area and then converted the spot kick.
Now answer the question.
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There was some talk on the Southsiders’ forum a few weeks back on swearing in chants, with the Caps FO having asked that it be removed. This seems rather similar. I have no issue with swearing, and I don’t particularly like being told how speak on the basis of being “inconsiderate and offensive” to others; that strikes me as them demanding the right to impose their views on me. But.
If more people will chant without swearing in the chant, then it should be removed. Why? More is better. Simple as that. It’s not like the swearing is necessary to get the point across.
My biggest concern is where the line is. I know in the Southside there are yells of “You fat bastard!” on opposing goal kicks. Is “bastard” swearing? Some people find it offensive. Where is the line, and who gets to draw it? I don’t see anything wrong with the “You suck, asshole!” chant in New England, and it looks to me like an organization happy to reap the benefits of a supporters group and section, but too set on controlling that fanaticism at the same time. They want their cake and to eat it too.
For the record, I voted “everywhere but the family area” because if you set aside a space for people conscious of these things, that should be respected.
Pretty much agree with that. Yet strangely I find three hundred people swearing in unison less offensive than just one loud mouthed idiot. I guess context is everything.
by Russell Berrisford on Jun 26, 2011 6:36 PM PDT up reply actions
I voted "f*** off"
But that was mostly to be difficult. You’re totally right about all of this. If being cleaner in the chants will make us louder and more unified, I’m 100% on board. Unfortunately, the groups complaining are the ones who get mad when other fans in their section stand up, let alone cheer.
Founder and Editor of The Bent Musket on SBNation
by Steve Stoehr on Jun 27, 2011 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions
For me it’s simple: I swear sometimes, but if by not swearing, other people enjoy the game more, and more people are willing to chant with us (I’m a sociology student, and fromt hat perspective, there are some people who do swear in their private lives who will not join us because they don’t want to be identify with "boorish’ language despite the fact that they use it on their own – see Russell’s “context” comment above) then I say stop swearing. I would rather have 10,000 people chanting “clean” chants (including getting kids on board with us) than 1000 people winning the right to chant asshole and fuck.
by Jeremy Avery ירמיהו on Jun 27, 2011 11:17 AM PDT reply actions
I would agree
Except the groups that are complaining won’t chant whether its profane or clean, so that point is moot in this particular case
Founder and Editor of The Bent Musket on SBNation
by Steve Stoehr on Jun 27, 2011 12:31 PM PDT up reply actions
While I agree with the more is better argument, I wouldn’t want cheers to be toned down too much. Cheers are meant to be strong expressions of support for the home team and strong words express support (or derision) better than others. While this doesn’t mean that shouting “fuck” is necessary, words that refer to a social taboo, and could thus be seen as offensive, are often the most expressive. Our chants of “you fat bastard” on goal kicks, which I quite enjoy, are a good example of this. It chants like this offend people, well to put it as succinctly and powerfully as possible “fuck ’em!”
"Kompromise, my friend, is the essence of diplomacy, and diplomacy is the kornerstone of love... sweeeeeet looooOOOve"
by CheekyMonkey on Jun 27, 2011 3:13 PM PDT up reply actions
at the risk of having reductio ad absurdum invoked, what is more intimidating to the opponent / expresses more support: one guy yelling something possibly offensive (e.g. “you fat bastard”) or a stadium yelling something not (e.g. “it’s all your fault”)? I’d say the latter.
Yes- a whole stadium shouting “its all your fault” at me would really freak me out.
by Russell Berrisford on Jun 27, 2011 5:12 PM PDT up reply actions
What irritates me is people chanting “fuck” just to fill space. I mean, calling the keeper “a fucking paedophile”… what’s the point? You’re already accusing him of raping kids, the “fuck” is just a beat! Let’s show some fucking creativity here instead of being lazy little fucks who use the first fucking word that comes to mind! Fuck!
Manager at Vancouver Whitecaps and western Canadian soccer website Eighty Six Forever and infrequently-posting flunky at Edmonton Oilers blog The Copper & Blue.
by Benjamin Massey on Jun 27, 2011 4:09 PM PDT reply actions
I’ve dragged a bit of extra mileage from this issue here.
by Russell Berrisford on Jun 28, 2011 4:42 PM PDT reply actions
Before this happened in NE, it did occur to me that the WCFC front office might try and come down on some chants eventually. I don’t mind chanting etc. and sometimes I join in. Personally, I rarely swear, and if I do it’s pretty mild so I’m just uncomfortable joining in a chant of “we’re blue, we’re white (we all know the rest)”. Unfortunately that chant has made its way through the whole stadium now, so there’s no way for a family to come without hearing it (though I have seen song sheets that tried to replace the word, so credit to someone for the effort).
and just to be clear, swearing is each person’s decision, and if you want to chat and swear that’s up to you, I just won’t be joining you on that one
by colombianbrew on Jun 28, 2011 10:46 PM PDT up reply actions
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