What interesting things have you heard about the fan culture in the Premier League?

One of the most important changes in football audiences is that in the past, fans stood for most of the time during football matches, but now they mostly sit.

Certain teams in League One and League Two can still allow people to stand and watch games, but these stands are small and often half empty. Even when the stands are full, the dominant season ticket audience and Strict control over movement in the stadium will still forcefully break up the fans who used to naturally gather together and stand singing.

No longer can we see the waves of crowds washing over the old bleachers, or the bumpy lines of teenagers huddled around the sideline signboards.

Where the density and shape of spectators once varied with their moods and movements, all-seater stadiums are now reduced to a rigid grid-by-frame spectacle.

Only when the ball changes position and the plot flips is it broken up by the vertical ups and downs of the crowd standing up and sitting down.

But some trouble-seeking clubs want to control even this, threatening to ask fans who stand up too often or for too long to leave the stadium.

In this way, stand seats not only affect the economic and demographic composition of British football spectators, but are also an important tool for surveillance and control.

The most lawless behaviors of the past - dangerous pushing, jumping, trespassing on the turf, setting fires, and attacking visiting fans in the stadium - have all but disappeared.

The incidence of misconduct of all kinds has dropped to an all-time low.

During the 2010/11 season, there were just over 3,000 arrests for football-related disturbances, the lowest number since records began in 1985.

More than a quarter of the games did not result in any arrests, and the average number of arrests in professional games was only one.

It is also very rare for fans to provoke confrontations.

Of course, there are fewer people doing it on the spot in the stadium.

Seating planning is not the only reason, police, bans, security and closed-circuit surveillance all play an important role, but seating does more than just regulate the body, it also curbs the rising emotions of the crowd.

It is relatively difficult to evoke the kind of collective ecstasy, anger, and disorder that large-scale riots require when everyone is sitting still.

Other than that, little else may seem to have changed.

The non-verbal performance of the masses has obviously not changed much in the past 20 years, and the extensive use of insulting gestures is still commonplace.

Even if there are seats, the audience will still jump for joy.

During critical moments in the game, the scarf wall will still appear along with specific songs.

The goal celebration is slightly innovative.

Celtic fans began to celebrate with "The Huddle"; Rangers fans celebrated with "The Bouncy"; Manchester City fans imitated Lech Poznan When a goal is scored, fans of the team all turn their backs to the court and jump up and down with their arms around their shoulders. This is called "Le Greque" in Poland and "The Poznan" in Manchester City.

However, there is always a feeling that something is not quite right now.

While the new stadium obviously brings safety and comfort, many fans still feel lost.

Thousands of messages and fan blogs read the same sentiment: Yes, the stadium has improved in many ways, but we no longer sing as loudly as we once did.

In fact, in the 1970s and 1980s, crowd singing was regarded as the best example of support, the most famous of which was Liverpool's Kop Stand.

But in 2012, Gareth Roberts wrote more sentimentally than angry:

“It’s only been a few weeks and this is already the first time. This is the second time.

The momentum of the home fans was overwhelmed by a group of away fans supporting the newly promoted English Championship team.

It was the same both times. These visiting delegations were not only louder, obviously more enthusiastic, and more supportive of their own players, but they also laughed at us: 'Where is the atmosphere you are famous for? ’ ‘Your gas station is as rotten as scum’, ‘This is simply a library’ and so on. ”

Today’s Liverpool main stand may not always be like this, but occasionally this dilemma occurs, which illustrates the huge changes in football spectator behavior.

Many recent The wealthy club tried to add a chorus area and a standing area in the auditorium. This move proves that the football management unit and the public are deeply worried that if the beautiful atmosphere of the old era, the loyalty, friendship and cheers cannot be passed down, something important and precious will also be lost. will disappear.

Singing and cheering are actually just one part of the larger culture of fan performance that is slowly disappearing.

For example, look at the 1970s and 1980s. Photos of spectators, especially during big matches, you will definitely see a variety of eclectic homemade costumes and flags.

This type of work can be traced back to the early 20th century, when it was the FA Cup. The features of the final include hand-made and modified top hats in team colors, teddy bears wearing hand-stitched jerseys, extra-large garlands, and most importantly, flags and billboards with square fonts taped on, Unique.

"The goalkeeper makes a great save, Pearson picks up the miss", "The hot iron shoe destroys Arsenal Willy", "Joey Jordan shoots faster than Leyland's car"

This kind of handicraft culture still exists among today's fans, especially when it comes to harassing club executives and directors.

Among them, it is most common in Liverpool.

< p> This kind of slogan is sometimes fanciful: "Scott is so fierce, he can even order Big Mike at Burger King"; sometimes he is angry: "Shankly builds, Yankees destroy"

Galata, Turkey. The Galatasaray team put up a "Welcome to Hell" banner, and Leeds United fans also moved out a homemade sign with a sour response: "Welcome to the civilized world"

It might be better to go to the sidelines today. You can see some flags, but you are more likely to see replica jerseys everywhere.

In the 1970s, replica jerseys were almost invisible in football stadiums, but now they are the most popular ones in the stands.

Although the masses are becoming more and more homogeneous at the consumption level, the UK has always rejected the practice of European fans. Conducting a chorus, holding a flare, smoke bombs and fireworks, as well as intimidating players and coaches off the field, most British fans have little interest.

The most unorthodox behavior of fans still existed until the 1980s, but it is a pity that it still exists today. You can no longer see it, that is streaking and walking.

The only thing that can be compared in the modern era is beer bellies, especially those Newcastle United fans who are shirtless in the cold winter.

Football fans. Among all kinds of performance desire, perhaps the one that is more consistent with this era of over-advocating celebrity culture is Karl Power’s ostentatious pranks.

In 2001, before Manchester United played FC Bayern Munich in the Champions League, he successfully sneaked into the starting lineup and took pictures with everyone.

In 2003, before the start of Manchester United's game against Liverpool, he arranged for 11 people to run into the stadium, repeating the previous encounter between the two teams when Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek leaked the ball under his crotch, allowing Manchester United forward Fran to (Diego Forlan) An easy follow-up goal.

Powell's troupe then ran aside to taunt the Liverpool fans, and Powell himself was permanently banned from the stadium.

Although fans in the 1980s would unruly enter the stadium turf alone, they were relatively careful about throwing things into the stadium.

In the 1960s, grenades were thrown into Brentford's goal.

When Paul Gascoigne returned to his old club after leaving the club for Tottenham, Newcastle United fans threw him a Mars chocolate bar, which was innocuous in comparison.

Gascoigne, nicknamed "Gazza", even picked up one and ate it on the spot, which has made him famous ever since.

Starting in the mid-1980s, Chelsea fans would throw celery into the stadium to celebrate victory, until the club banned it in 2007.

In the early 1990s, balloons were popular for a brief season, the most memorable being the inflatable fish army in Grimsby (Grim***y Town).

However, bananas are still the most common ammunition.

Active racist elements among football fans took the throwing of bananas as a personal attack, but this behavior is now rare.

It’s easier to see fans throwing things *** the direction of the club’s business these days.

In 1997, David Lloyd, a former tennis player who opened a fitness center, served as the club's president. Fans were dissatisfied with his business strategy and threw hundreds of tennis balls into the court.

More recently, Blackburn fans let chickens run wild at Ewood Park because Venky's, the club's financier, is stupid and stubborn, because Venky's is an Indian A large consortium in the poultry meat processing industry.

Those who engage in destruction also have high-tech options.

Pay attention to those faint green dots that appear near the eyes of the player taking the penalty kick or the face of the goalkeeper waiting to take the big kick. That is the light of the laser pointer.

This thing first became popular in European competitions in the late 2000s, and then began to appear in England.

The most widely reported incident was in 2011 when Chelsea fans used laser pointers to interfere with Manchester City players.

However, everyone still prefers more primitive tools. As long as the anger is aroused enough, fans will throw coins and lighters at players and staff.

Therefore, even though the emotional construction in the stadium has undergone many changes, even though it is now subject to more management and surveillance, the British football audience has accepted the carnival-like atmosphere on the one hand, and still retains the unpredictable atmosphere of the masses. one side.

Even when the fans were the noisiest and most engaged today, they were still able to create a wonderful atmosphere.

In the last round of the 2009 season, Newcastle United faced Middlesbrough at home at St. James' Park in the evening. If they failed to win, they would be relegated.

As a result, during the 90 minutes of that game, you couldn't hear others talking or think at all. Human energy was transformed into a wall of sound, half the roar of the crowd, accompanied by the buzzing of thunder, noise and The whistles form a force field, a soundscape that first surrounds and then engulfs the senses.

But what about the rest of the season? How do your normal feelings differ from those in the past? Lovesickness for the golden age may be greatest in football than in any other setting, but there seems to be little audio evidence of the collective memory laced with nostalgia.

In the 1970s and 1980s, few people attempted to systematically record the voices of football spectators. One of the few was Desmond Morris.

For the book "The Soccer Tribe" (The Soccer Tribe), Morris recorded several games in the old First Division, as well as Oxford United's matches in the Third Division for nearly half a season, and Transcribe the audio content into text.

The results he compiled are ideal for trying to compare the past and present.

Morris first divided live sounds into two categories: noise and singing in 1981, which is still applicable today.

First, the fans would alternate between silence and general noise.

Tone and timbre vary greatly due to emotional ups and downs.

Second, some of the noise is in response to specific events on and off the field, others are more like broad ambient music, and still others are sudden, natural outbursts.

Third, no matter what kind of noise, most of them start from the home stands behind the goal, and then spread to other stands sporadically. The key role of the away fans is to heat up the atmosphere. You come at both ends of the stadium. I go, quarrel and curse.

Although the soundscape structure in today's football stadiums is very close to Morris's description, it is not as frequent as before.

According to Morris' records, clearly audible crowd chants and collective noise occur about 130 to 160 times a game in most games, which is equivalent to one every 30 seconds.

Although there is no specific evidence, the number seems to be significantly higher than most current Premier League games.

In addition, casual observation can also reveal that among the many slogans that can be heard at the scene, only a very small part of the fans actually sing them. It is very rare for the entire stands or even the entire audience to sing.

Just like in the 1980s, the live soundtrack in the auditorium still mainly consists of singing, support slogans, cheers and praises.

"Que Sera, Sera", "You Are My Sunshine" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" are still fixed choices .

The criticisms of the referee and those of the visiting team fans are nothing more than "You are stupid and you don't know it yet", "The referee is a ***" and "Are you pretending to be a Scot?"

Cheering songs dedicated to individual players are still common, ranging from short songs to long songs.

Contemporary fans, at least at this time, still retain their creativity.

For example, fans of Queens Park Rangers sing praises to Habib Beye with the theme melody of "Happy Days", or fans of Liverpool warmly sing Michael Jackson's "Blame It" Blame It on the Boogie paid tribute to their hapless defender: "Don't blame Steven Finnan, blame Djimi Traore, he just can't hold it in, he just can't hold it in, he He just couldn't hold his foot back." Alan Shearer moved from being a commentator on sports programs to being the head coach of Newcastle United, but his record fell into disarray.

Fans expressed their dissatisfaction with the song "Guantanamera": "You should have stayed on the TV." The same song was also dedicated to the fans of Bristol Rovers from the decline. Opponent in the seaside town of Torquay: "You only work in the summer."

Insults to the police or threatening shouts are rarely heard these days, except in reenactments of historical scenes.

"If you hate the police, just clap your hands" and "The police are all pigs, we hate pigs" are almost unheard now.

"Beware of your head being kicked in the door", "Wait and see", "Get ready to take the London Ambulance home" and "Don't even think about getting on" are also no more, Occasionally it is accompanied by gestures.

What is more likely to be heard in the stands these days is self-deprecation.

When Manchester City fell behind Middlesbrough 0-7, Manchester City fans sang: "Good to you every week."

After losing 1-8, they cheered "Easy! Simple! Easy!"

The fans' singing may not be as good as before, but it is still singing.

The football stage has experienced drastic changes and can still perform as it does today, which has indeed shown remarkable resilience.

With seven minutes left, if you look up from the game at this time, you will see the audience starting to form a strange formation.

Staff members wearing fluorescent orange or fluorescent yellow lined up and took heavy steps, walking down from the heights of the stands to stand next to the player tunnels and exits, or coming to the sidelines to form a new fortification. , separating the fans from the lawn.

At the same time, some spectators began to stand up and leave the venue in twos and threes, moving toward the door.

Some people will stay in the passage, looking back frequently and checking their watches or mobile phones.

When everyone tries to squeeze out of the tightly packed seats, they will try their best to shrink down and not attract attention.

These people left early, not because they were too angry to stand it anymore.

Some people will leave 20 minutes early when trailing 0-5, but these people are not them.

The reason for leaving early was to avoid the crowds and catch a bus first.

Again, this is not a new phenomenon.

It is easier to see spectators leaving early in all-seater stadiums than in stadiums, but early departures are becoming more and more common.

Although this on-site phenomenon is small, it is worthy of further study, especially considering that seat tickets are now expensive, and players are tired at the last minute, mistakes are doubled, and key decisions and goals are more likely to occur.

The whistle sounds and the game is over.

Fans shouted, booed or muttered curses.

People moved anxiously toward the exit, and the crowd began to disintegrate quickly.

Some people still lingered, mostly the home fans who stayed behind to watch the players leave with applause.

However, the background of the scene has begun to shift to the sponsor's advertising sign. Photographers, sound recordists and announcers in sharp suits poured into the lawn to talk to the unlucky players who were selected.

The PA system was turned back to maximum volume, buzzing in the space.

As the crowd and life force gradually flowed out of the stands, the sound effects in the stadium became increasingly shrill and harsh.

The away fans are likely to stay until the end and wait another 20 minutes before leaving.

The low-wage labor force responsible for picking up trash and cleaning seats slowly entered the venue.

From this moment on, the game was gradually replaced by scenes.

Everything about the game day seemed to disappear without a trace, leaving only the post-game interviews and press conferences in the media room.

The competition was thus detached from reality. It was edited, replayed, and analyzed in hundreds of brightly colored studios and basements, and then circulated and transformed on Facebook and Youtube, and later in the recording studios of radio programs, Unfamiliar appearances reappeared on the sofas of television personalities and in match reports published on sports and news websites.

One million words and one million photos can only capture so little of the on-site experience.

The bronze statue of Shankly puts on a scarf and becomes amiable; the sound of thousands of hands slapping against the iron awning; the stranger who hugs you and spins you around in the aisle when a goal is scored; the away fans put their faces on each other Swearing at you from the car window.

All these thoughts and feelings are the dust of a distant volcanic eruption, sprayed high into the atmosphere, and now falling back to the earth, buried deep in the layers of overlapping personal and collective memories.

To paraphrase DeLillo:

"The flashes of that afternoon, all gathered together.

The shouting, the transgressions, the vicious songs and the invective, All the countless things as fine as gravel have become indelible and become the past."