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These 44 comments are related to an article called:

Black Sheep! (Apathy or Acceptance)

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posted on 23/3/12

"I wouldn't mind the telly not working if there wasn't one in the first place"

Reminds me of the old Woody Allen joke:
"The food in this place is inedible"
"Yes, and such small portions!"

posted on 23/3/12

"I fear we are stuck with it, yeah if I could I would blow up the tannoy"

It has an off switch. I have been reliably informed that there are 7 members of our Board, SEVEN. Judging by the ratio of Fans here who do not want the tannoy switch in the "on" position, even if 10,000 Might Rams Fans called for the switch to be flipped to the "off" position, surely they would have to comply???

comment by Viewfroma13YearOld (U1581)

"Does that make sense?"

Of course it does Mate. However, if the situation were to worsen or more distractions added into the mix, at what point have we had enough. Ive reached my tolerance level, how far are you prepared to let it go?

We pay the money, we have the loudest voice. Its time, IMO, to start making DEMANDS!

posted on 23/3/12

DCFC is embedded in the fabric of Derby and surrounds. It's woven through the town's history, in the stones of the Cathedral, in the ghost of the old bus station and open market. It's in the remaining streets around the BBG. It's whoever took you to your first match. It's the stories told by your grand-dad, father, favourite uncle. It's the buzz of the crowd leaving the ground after a win (or a loss). It's deep in Derby history, as old as Raich Carter and as young as
Eddie's new grandchild.

It's football, but so much more. And it's definitely family.

And a plastic, "Family" themed marketing scheme is just daft. If you've grown up with the Rams, they don't need explaining - if you haven't, they can't be explained. Whatever you may think of Nigel Clough, he at least understands that.

posted on 23/3/12

SDS BLACK, great article and welcome after a couple of weeks of mind-numbing dross with them dogs.
I can't and won't attempt to involve myself with any semblence of what its like on a regular basis for you fans who live and breath the RAMS because its in you's, for me ' a plastic' the matchday experience or week-end really because thats my buzz, in the City with like minded people, and the build up for me is my adreline flowing and from the moment I step inside PP, its all about creating my own atmosphere and enjoy living that perfect present and then going through(and I have been lucky) 90mins of sheer emotion of what being a fan is.
Hope that makes sense!
Having said that I would'nt want too many 0-0,, or Cricket Scores against.
You Rams, see ya's in Leeds!

comment by Mostyn (U1130)

posted on 23/3/12

I think you could be onto a good thing there. Something needs to be done to get the atmosphere back. There are too many distractions at our ground. I still wished to this day that we were still at the Baseball ground, the atmosphere there was electifying, I used to be so excited come a Saturday afternoon, I don't get the same buzz at all when I go to matches these days. Maybe you could e.mail Glick and put the proposition to him? Or get a petition going! Anyway 5 stars for your article it was an interesting article to read and one of the best I have read so far. Does any one know anyone at the club who could pull the plug? <wink>

posted on 23/3/12

ay up SDS...

basically i hate football being a "product" like i hate being a "customer" on a train......i'm not. i'm a FAN and a PASSENGER- and there is a big big difference. i dont need a weak and insincere corporate smile that they learned in the customer services bit of their induction day to welcome me,. i dont need tannoys with someone gibbering over it like a low brow commercial radio station DJ either.

there used to be something primal and tribal about football which has latterly been gentrified into "a family experience" but in doing so you kill the thing many of us loved. in a place like Derby, a large proportion of the crowd will have worked in manufacturing or heavy industry, physical grafters, the smell of stale pss in the popside bogs didnt matter. society has changed and the heavy industry has moved to china. the crowd sit behind a computer at work now and its changed the psyche- if your older than mid 30s, it probably isnt the thing you fell in love with.

what's the cure?
kill the tannoy and the razzmatazz. it aint the superbowl.
turn the east stand into a "safe standing" terrace as they do in germany. maybe even try the lower tier first to see how it went but i bet it would create a buzz and freshen up the place.
i imagine a standing area would sort itself in to a "more excitable" end and a more family friendly end like th popside did. i remember working me way down the popside as i got bigger and braver as a youth.

oh, and dont get kids to read the team sheet out.....


posted on 24/3/12

The problem is that corporations see everyone as a customer to be overcome and tricked into buying their product. Now for most cheap, naff, products, this is part and par, but in things like football through to things like politics, those doing it are so scared of changing this new 'tried and tested' message, they cannot see that most people do not need to trick people and this aids mostly counterproductive as seen as corny at best, insincere at worst.

posted on 24/3/12

"Have the fans ever been consulted on how they would like to get involved in the 10-15 minutes before the match?"

This is a good question, the answer to which I am sure is no. Maybe our best chance of getting the dreaded tannoy switched off is for fans' representatives to tell the board how irritating and false it all is. The danger, though, is that instead of that we just have silence. Just switching off the tannoy won't result in all of us getting there earlier and start chanting like the good old days.

A bit of imagination is needed so that there is something to fill the vacuum. Has anyone got any ideas for what we could do?

posted on 24/3/12

A bit of imagination is needed so that there is something to fill the vacuum. Has anyone got any ideas for what we could do?
____________________________________
I bet Dave does....

posted on 24/3/12

A brilliant article. Very thought provoking. Living where I do and where I have for most of my life (i.e. not in Derby) I have not attended anything like the number of games that most of you have so I feel a bit of a fake for commenting.

But I have been a Rams fan since I was 7 and still remember my first game at the BBG (Brighton 3-0 in '78) and the times that I could get there once I could drive, I remember the walk through the streets winding my way to the ground and I remember the away games on wet and windy days (0-0 in Oxford) and the memories of BBG Popside etc., including those fences, are still there.

I also remember my first time at PP and my most recent (Leeds on Boxing Day) reminded me of what I love about being fan and seeing the game live. But times change (for good or bad) and I truly hope that those of you with kids who go never experience the fear and thuggery that also used to go with some of those games and I think the new stadia are contributing to that. If the lack of atmosphere is a price to pay then so be it but I also heard that is was electrifying for the Forest game recently so it's still possible.

I guess what I'm really saying is remember the past fondly (like VHS) but embrace the future (like MP3) and if turning the tannoy off helps then I'm all for it (I still can't believe that added time has a sponsor now!!)

posted on 24/3/12

pre match entertainment......

i would first get the lottery sellers wearing tutu's.
then as as you enter the ground, as you swipe your card, a voice says " hello big boy " , or for the ladies "hello sexy babe ".

on the screens in the concourse, the should show anything from tulisa's video collection. maybe show playboy tv.

cheerleaders in bikini's.

all stewards to wear shorts and tight fitting tops.

how about a over 20's gymnastic display.

how about a competition on the pitch for female fans.who can eat the largest hot dog sausage.

how about the hooters girls from nottingham pay us a promotional visit. handing out money off vouchers.

naked jelly wrestling .

and last, but no means least.........bubbles health spa staff hand out money off vouchers.

posted on 24/3/12

Dave - you've cracked it

posted on 24/3/12

Id nearly invest in a Season ticket just for that Dave.

posted on 24/3/12

Dave, I WAS a steward.... trust me... you do NOT want to see stewards in shorts and tight tops!

Not unless you have a "thing" for Daffydd off Little Britain!

posted on 24/3/12

"Dave, I WAS a steward.... trust me... you do NOT want to see stewards in shorts and tight tops! "

I'll second that!

posted on 25/3/12

i think mos has a point is

posted on 25/3/12

there's some lovely stewards in the east stand lower.

posted on 26/3/12

SDS I don't know if it can be laid exclusively at Glick's door , this one. I think it's more a sign of our times, which is perhaps even more depressing, and harder to counter.

posted on 26/3/12

A lot has changed. I suspect part of it has to do with the amount of beer consumed.

In the late 60's / early 70's the attitude to drink/driving was shamefully lax as compared to today.

Then also, compare the number of fans within reasonable walking distance of the BBG - far more than PP I'd guess.

I'd suspect far more would belt out the songs if they'd had a few more... but that's not really acceptable nowadays. Rightly so of course in the context of the wider society.

Then there's no doubt that the game has been 'gentrified'. What I mean is back in the day most of the crowd came along to be part of something.

Now I suspect most of the crowd comes along to be entertained, but don't see themselves as part of the entertainment. A lot would no sooner chant inside PP as they would in Derby Playhouse.

Then there's the modern stadium design - now its easy to hang around in the concorse until a few minutes before kick off.

Finally, there's the club itself. Far more interested in getting sponsor's messages broadcast than winding the atmosphere up.

No one thing is responsible, but I reckon the interaction of the things I've mentioned is going to keep things pretty much as they are.

If the club wanted to do something the only thing likely to have an effect would be to create a section of the ground (prob the North Stand) with a discounted ticket price for fans who'd commit to singing for a good part of the game. That may get the singing quotient above critical mass. At the moment (Forest aside) it never really breaks out of the SE corner.

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