In the Crowd

[Twiztid]

The Mum spent all game

knitting. (I can still hear the knitting needle clicking)

This is one of my pet peeves. Why go to the football if you are not going to actually watch the game? I have seen a knitter before at a game and it may have been a Newcastle game as well. I have seen my fair share of book readers as well.

 

[Coxy]

I think the worst one I can remember (and Aeetee and Ghibli can back this up), was that Titans game in 2007 where Locky bumped the field goal off both uprights to win the game in golden point. Earlier in the game, Tee and I were having our "10c bet club", which is basically we each take a "bet" on something completely ridiculous happening. For example, 3rd tackle, Civoniceva chip and chase, offload to Dave Taylor who scores in the corner. We'd done this all season. So we were doing that an alternating with cheering and calling out various things during the game (PG rated at worst).

Anyway, season member in front of us turned around and said "can you guys shut up? You're giving me a headache!". Tee and I looked at eachother like W T F?
Now, this douche had a habit of turning around to gaze up longingly at Wayne Bennett in the coach's box, as if Benny would telepathically reassure him that everything was ok or give him a tip about an upcoming interchange or...who the #### knows.

So after giving us that little "advice" the next time he turned around I said "mate, game's that way".

Then when Locky kicked the winning field goal, Tee, Ghibli and I are up and jumping around high fiving etc, and this douche turns around to high five us. Tee and I just turned our backs on him.

 

[Bucking Beads]

If you go to the football you have to expect to hear other people chat and yell don't you?? I like to yell abusive stuff like sowards a wanker but I get the feeling a lot of folk will look down upon this.

 

[Nashy]

I go to the footy and yell, scream, and swear. Don't like it? Get over it. I paid good money for the ticket, so I'm going to enjoy myself.

I saw an old bird complain at the 70th minute of a Cowboys game a while ago about two blokes loving the footy. They got kicked out. So I hurled drunken abuse at her, and her family soon stopped yelling back at me.

Then there was myself, Coxy and Tee getting the "which team do you play for" from Hodges' family.

 

[Big Pete]

I don't mind chants like '... is a wanker' or the 'bulls**t' chant. That's the experience.

What I don't enjoy is when you get a group behind you who obviously don't care about anybody else and just spend the entire time talking loudly, dropping F bombs like they're going out of fashion and just have no respect for the families around them.

I remember this one time, there was this group that had been swearing their heads off since the 20's. A middle aged man, who'd been to every game and never made a complaint once turned around and politely asked them to mind their language. At which point they got really rude. One of them basically played the 'well, why? it's a free country, I can say what I want'. Couldn't believe it, and I don't think security did anything about it when the middle aged guy later on went onto report them.

 

[Coxy]

Then there was myself, Coxy and Tee getting the "which team do you play for" from Hodges' family.

Ahhh yes, at Toowoomba for a trial game against the Roosters in 2004.

Could hear a pin drop...other than me yelling out "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODGEEEEEEEEEEEEES" and "how you enjoying fullback there, Hodgo?" (the alleged reason he walked out on the Broncos).
Hodgo gave me the finger, and his family gave me more.

Ahhh good times, good times.

 

[Kaz]

I like to yell abusive stuff like sowards a wanker

I was yelling out Soward the coward. (As I had someone in front of me saying Soward the brave) :rash:

 

[Bucking Beads]

I always try to keep the swearing down of I am surrounded by young kids but sometimes you can't control what you say when you are having a passionate out bursts. I feel that in 10-20 years time crowds will be better because the old farts will most likely be gone.

 

[Nashy]

I don't mind chants like '... is a wanker' or the 'bulls**t' chant. That's the experience.

What I don't enjoy is when you get a group behind you who obviously don't care about anybody else and just spend the entire time talking loudly, dropping F bombs like they're going out of fashion and just have no respect for the families around them.

I remember this one time, there was this group that had been swearing their heads off since the 20's. A middle aged man, who'd been to every game and never made a complaint once turned around and politely asked them to mind their language. At which point they got really rude. One of them basically played the 'well, why? it's a free country, I can say what I want'. Couldn't believe it, and I don't think security did anything about it when the middle aged guy later on went onto report them.

They need family areas allocated. That way families can not worry about people like me, and I can sit with other people who want to yell.

F-ck and c-nt are two words I use all the time. I try to refrain from the C word at the footy though.

 

[Big Pete]

The thing is, this wasn't mid-game or even directed at the game, they were just chatting generally, just very loudly and obscenely.

If it was mid-game, I'm pretty sure that couple would have reported me a long time before that game.

 

[Steve]

I was standing up at half time at the Manly game the other week, as I always do to stretch the legs a bit. At this point the kids had already had their halftime run, and there were literally only security guards on the field at the time, when I hear the bloke behind me say "fellas, can you sit down?"

I was in shock. Still am.

I got this from a lady at a game earlier this year. For someone who has long legs I look forward to half time and the regulation leg stretch - as do most of the blokes. I politely told the lady beind me that I'd take my seat when the real stuff started. Flabbergastered.

At the World Cup there was a lady sitting behind me with a broken leg who told me to stop jumping up for tries. I sympathised with her but half of the crowd do the same thing so I didn't see why I needed to park it for her. People with broken legs are generally advised to stay home from the football.

Have had a few run ins with various opposition supporters over the years. Storm supporters love giving Bronco fans a hard time. I've copped abuse outside Olympic Park and Etihad Stadium - both after games where we've been pumped. It's tough but there isn't much you can do when you're on the wrong side of the scoreboard. A quick witty line is really a hollow victory in those circumstances...

Probably the funniest encounter I've had was our game at AAMI Park last year. Storm's first at the ground and the second game they played after the NRL stripped and fined them into near oblivion. We trounced them on the day (Israel trampled Slater on a 60m run to the try line right in front of us) and throughout the game my mate and I were celebrating as if we'd won the grand final. During the game one lady behind us yelled out it was hardly surprising we were winning as "the Broncos always cheat". In the long winded history of perfect set ups there's never been one better - my mate proceeded to feed it to her and the whole fanbase around us for rorting the cap and that we'd think of them later on when we were buffing our six premieship trophies.

I think that might have pushed a button because we were howled with abuse on the way out and accused of being lovers. Fine by me - I love my mate!

 

[gUt]

We had season tickets to the posh area in the western stand in 2006. ALL SEASON this same little kid sat directly behind me and spent his time there playing some hand-held computer game and idly kicking my seat. To her credit when his mum saw him doing this she would stop it.

The main thing that annoyed me was he would randomly look up from his game and scream "KICK A FIEEEELD GOOOOAL!!!" in the loudest, highest-pitched, piercing voice you ever did hear. Right in my ear: it didn't matter who had the ball or where they were on the field, I could set my watch to at least 2 of these verbal assaults per match.

It inspired me to write this:

A Debut Victory

Stevie Jones had never seen so many people in one place. Sure, he had been in large crowds before, like at the Brisbane Show last year or on occasional shopping trips into the big city. But here, he could actually see them all at once. He felt so small; not in a frightened sort of way, more like he was a member of a really, really big gang. After all, these people were here for the same reason he was. It was an awesome thought.

Far beneath him, his beloved Broncos did battle with the Bulldogs from Sydney. He had been looking forward to this afternoon ever since his parents bought him a ticket for his 7th birthday. Now here he was, seated in the famed Suncorp Stadium with his dad, actually AT a Broncos game! The place looked so much cooler in person than on TV. It was packed, it was noisy and he loved it. His father smiled down at him and made a little “come-on!” fist.

The sense of occasion was not enough to sustain the good mood of Ken Barrett, seated a few rows behind Stevie. It was a tense period of the game, coming into the final 5 minutes. The home side was up – just – but now a young Broncos debutant spilt the pill near halfway. Ken had had a skinful, and was riding a sizeable wager on this game. He did NOT need some no-name rookie putting a large hole in his bank account so early in the season. He lurched to his feet.

“FOR F@#*S SAKE. DID YOU GO TO F@#*IN TRAININ’ THIS SUMMER OR WHAT! TRY USING SOME OF THAT F@#*IN HAIR GEL ON YOUR HANDS YA C!&#!!” he bellowed, spittle flying freely in great looping arcs like a fisherman’s line cast from a riverbank.

Heads turned. You generally did not see this type of character at Lang Park these days. Standing and cheering in some sections of the ground were viewed with distaste. (Why is he carrying on like that? Are those rowdy girls on some sort of drug? Does that guy really need to wave his flag around? Is that man drunk?)

This particular man certainly was drunk. No sooner had he slammed himself down in his tortured plastic maroon seat, sending a shockwave in both directions along the row, when the referee’s whistle trilled and a penalty was awarded to the away side. Ken tipped his head back like a wheelie-bin lid and roared inarticulate obscenities at the heavens. Stevie’s dad had heard enough.

“Mate, there are kids here. Can you tone it down?” he called up to the drunken idiot. Heads nodded, agreement was murmured, eyes scanned for security personnel.

“F@#* YOU AND F@#* YOUR KIDS!” The reply broke over them like a thunderclap. “THIS IS THE F@#*ING FOOTY!”

Other parents and concerned citizens joined in. Tempers flared. Mob mentality kicked in and far more personal insults riddled with far worse profanities than anything Ken had yet said rained down upon him.

Meanwhile, Stevie was only dimly aware of the shouting man, transfixed as he was on the game below. The Bulldogs were close to the Broncos’ goal line, on the attack. He was totally absorbed in the football drama, knowing that if the Broncos let the Dogs in now, they would probably lose. His first trip to the Broncos would be a loss – imagine that!

The inevitable bomb was launched and as the kicker’s foot struck the ball and the sound of it boomed around the stadium, Stevie’s heart seemed to explode. He knew what he had to do. Just as the Bulldogs’ winger leapt for the ball, Stevie stood and yelled as loud as he could.

What a moment this turned out to be. His shrill, pre-pubescent boy’s voice, powered with a seven-year-old’s passion for his team, cut through the noise of the match like a siren. Ken’s argument with the people around him instantly ceased as Stevie’s banshee wail drowned it out. Hands slapped onto the sides of heads to protect vulnerable ears. Commentators in far away glass booths thought they heard feedback in their headphones and made angry gestures at hapless producers.

The startled Bulldogs player dropped the ball, straight into the arms of Denan Kemp who took off down the sideline, ran the length of the field and scored, untouched, under the posts. The crowd went wild. Stevie had won the match for the Broncos!

 

[Porthoz]

I always try to keep the swearing down of I am surrounded by young kids but sometimes you can't control what you say when you are having a passionate out bursts. I feel that in 10-20 years time crowds will be better because the old farts will most likely be gone.

Nah, they'll just be replaced by other old farts, like me! :haha:

 

[Meat77]

Thanks Rock - Id just got the mental image of that guy out of my head!

 

[Bucking Beads]

I saw a bloke on Saturday night wearing an old school broncos jersey the one with the powers sponsorship, I think it was his sisters because he had his whole midriff showing. He had to enjoy the ####

 

[dukey]

I went to the Storm V Souths match in Melbourne last year with a couple of mates. We bought the cheapest tickets available, then went and sat in the front row on the halfway because the place was near empty.
As it was a Storm V Souths match, we proceeded to heckle both teams equally. We were quite popular with our theme of 'everyone from Redfern is a car thief' theme and even our calls of 'COOMA!' at Brett White, until Cam Smith was taking a conversion attempt some 40 metres away from us, when we started drawling 'Caaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmeeeerrroooooooon, Caaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeerrrrooooooooooooon, Smiiiiiiiiiiiiittttthhhhhyyyyy'.
Suddenly this woman in a Storm jersey, scarf, and hat, (who'd obviously spent more money on merchandise than at her dentist) has turned and started yelling 'Stop it! You'll put him off!' But the manner in which she said it was hilarious. She was panicky, hyperventilating, and absolutely terrified that despite being so far away from Cam Smith, these two people would somehow put him off and make him miss the conversion.
Then the bloke behind us told us (in a genuinely friendly way) that we were sitting in the member's section and could probably get turfed for that. So we started not-heckling the Storm.
Then I sent a photo of me high-fiving Storm Man to Zoo and it got published. That was a fun day at the footy.


Also, we went to the France V Scotland World cup match in Canberra dressed as Braveheart and just heaped crap on the French. Especially their winger. "OI! Number five! Number five! Number five! Number cinq! Number cinq! Cinq! Cinq! Sacre Bleu! " He went on to score two tries. I like to think I played a part in that.
That was actually the best game I've been to. There were another bunch of dudes in kilts just down from us, and whenever there was a scrum they'd chant "4-3-2-1, come on Scotland win this scrum! Whoooooooooaaaaaa YEAH!"
Then at one point Scotland got caught on the last really close to the French line, and the entire crowd went a bit quiet. Some bloke stood up and at the top of his lungs, with a perfect accent, yelled "They may take our ball, but they'll never take our freedom!" And the entire stand just erupted with cheers and whistling. It was awesome. The guys in kilts mooned the field.

 

[ningnangnong]

Also, we went to the France V Scotland World cup match in Canberra dressed as Braveheart and just heaped crap on the French. Especially their winger. "OI! Number five! Number five! Number five! Number cinq! Number cinq! Cinq! Cinq! Sacre Bleu! " He went on to score two tries. I like to think I played a part in that.
That was actually the best game I've been to. There were another bunch of dudes in kilts just down from us, and whenever there was a scrum they'd chant "4-3-2-1, come on Scotland win this scrum! Whoooooooooaaaaaa YEAH!"
Then at one point Scotland got caught on the last really close to the French line, and the entire crowd went a bit quiet. Some bloke stood up and at the top of his lungs, with a perfect accent, yelled "They may take our ball, but they'll never take our freedom!" And the entire stand just erupted with cheers and whistling. It was awesome. The guys in kilts mooned the field.

Haha, that whole experience sounds unbelievably rad. :haha:

 

[Dexter]

Well this is not about someone in the crowd because I think that was me.

We took the kids to the footy and decided to take them on the train ( their first time ) to make it a big afternoon and night for them. My wife always carried little treats for them so they had chips and some kind of drink at the station. As we pulled into south bank my daughter starts holding her stomach feeling sick but stupidly we decide to press on, we got about 30 secs further out of the station and whoosh, she spews up all over me. I mean I am covered in her lunch and whatever else she ate, chest to knees.

So I am glaring at the missus because I've always said not to feed them on public transport for that reason but apparently it was funny. We get to our station, I'm reeking of vomit and we make our way to the ground where I clean off as much as possible. The game finally starts and I sh2t you not, around 3 mins into the game a bloke behind me pissed already comes back with 4 beers and puts them down my back. Well Fu@k me I've blown up, the bloke is bitching about spilling his beers the missus and the kids can't stop laughing I smell like beer and vomit freezing my arse off, the Broncos lose and I've got about an hour of travel ahead me to get home.

The worst night EVER at the footy.