Sunday afternoon/evening games has killed that demographic off I suspect.
Sunday afternoon/evening games has killed that demographic off I suspect.
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Not so much that it puts them off. More that Friday and Saturday night would be the time they go out etc. could extend that to young people in general (such as students) but think that's been done to death on here :p
Allegedly
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Start a chant. Make a noise. If no-one joins in, start it again. You might look like a twat initially, but persevere, if I hear it I'll join in.
Anyone can do it, don't rely on others, as we are usually incoherent by the 2nd half.
(Ditch the beer, drink red wine)
Take people along, if you take 10 people, 2 or 3 might come back regularly!
We're the WELLINGTON Phoenix
And this is our Home
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More a comment on atmosphere but maybe the zone should aim to arrive 10-15 mins earlier? At the moment it is empty until just before the players walk out. I know that cuts into the amount of drinking time but it would boost the pre-kick off atmosphere.
Also is being in the zone still the cool thing to do? There used to be groups of teenagers on the trains, who used to head into the games but they seem to have disappeared. Phoenix crowds were always younger than Rugby ones but it seems we have lost that demographic.
I actually agree with this, the Zone being fuller a bit earlier and getting some chants going could be good. We are normally in a fair bit earlier than that, we see some of the warm-up at least, and maybe adding the Fever pre-game might get some more atmosphere to start the game. Like the idea.
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Start a chant. Make a noise. If no-one joins in, start it again. You might look like a twat initially, but persevere, if I hear it I'll join in.
Anyone can do it, don't rely on others, as we are usually incoherent by the 2nd half.
(Ditch the beer, drink red wine)
Take people along, if you take 10 people, 2 or 3 might come back regularly!
+1 Awesome points (Except the red wine :P)
And if no-one joins in someone might start up with a "On your own" chant. also if chants start outside the zone and are heard then they get picked up as well.
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More a comment on atmosphere but maybe the zone should aim to arrive 10-15 mins earlier? At the moment it is empty until just before the players walk out. I know that cuts into the amount of drinking time but it would boost the pre-kick off atmosphere.
Also is being in the zone still the cool thing to do? There used to be groups of teenagers on the trains, who used to head into the games but they seem to have disappeared. Phoenix crowds were always younger than Rugby ones but it seems we have lost that demographic.
I actually agree with this, the Zone being fuller a bit earlier and getting some chants going could be good. We are normally in a fair bit earlier than that, we see some of the warm-up at least, and maybe adding the Fever pre-game might get some more atmosphere to start the game. Like the idea.
Good shout and I agree.
This season, we'll aim to get settled in our Zone seat 15 mins or more before K/O. Let's everyone do the same!
Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.
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Sunday afternoon/evening games has killed that demographic off I suspect.
Sunday afternoon killed the feverzone star?
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I sit in a group of about 10 season ticket holders - the Zone are a big part of our enjoyment of the game. We sit in Aisle 24, like many close enough to the Zone to enjoy the atmosphere (and join in) but still where we can enjoy a quiet drink and chat. We don't have young kids in our group but there are plenty of younger families around us who sit in our general area for much the same reasons - get the Zone vibe but kids can sit and parents can relax.
I'd forget about trying to make the Zone family friendly - as kids get older and it's cooler (and allowed by parents) for them to join the Zone they'll migrate across. I would however not lose sight of the turn-off bad language, especially in chants, and excessive
drinking can be for parents.
At the risk of repeating what's been said earlier my suggestions are;
- New Chants. It's all a bit same old same old. I've seen plenty of great suggestions for new chants on the forum but they don't seem to get picked up. Maybe disseminating new chants through the Nix's face book page and twitter would be helpful as would having a
tight group of enough YF in the Zone who all new the words and could get the momentum going.
- Flags and banners. The new flags are great but more and varied flags would add to the visual impact and appeal of the Zone.
- Get established earlier. Ideally the signing and chanting would start before the game - it would lift our players, build the atmosphere and create entertainment for the rest of the crowd.
- Traditions. The shirts off @ 80 mins is a great tradition. Perhaps a couple more - I think the stand-up for the Nix could become a good tradition if done better - maybe do it the same time every game (e.g. 65 minutes) so everyone knows it's coming and, figuratively and literally get up for it. I'd also suggest a tradition when the teams walk out - the cameras and mics are pointing at the Zone - don't have a suggestion on what it could be but something to lift our guys.
He dribbles a lot and the opposition dont like it - you can see it all over their faces. (Ron Atkinson)
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Aisle 23. Slightly better view and we can still hear the chants mostly.
Jnr Jnr keen to move over and be a hooligan, Jnrette less so.
Big gap last season between us and the zone so chants never really got going. A couple of seasons ago there was an equally vocal nutter who was in Aisle 23/24 and occasionally we would egg each other on and get others joining in.
Pretty hard going last season.
Agree, tough season killed off many casual fans and the primary driver of atmosphere is the number of fans making a noise.
We in aisle 23 do our bit
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More a comment on atmosphere but maybe the zone should aim to arrive 10-15 mins earlier? At the moment it is empty until just before the players walk out. I know that cuts into the amount of drinking time but it would boost the pre-kick off atmosphere.
Also is being in the zone still the cool thing to do? There used to be groups of teenagers on the trains, who used to head into the games but they seem to have disappeared. Phoenix crowds were always younger than Rugby ones but it seems we have lost that demographic.
I actually agree with this, the Zone being fuller a bit earlier and getting some chants going could be good. We are normally in a fair bit earlier than that, we see some of the warm-up at least, and maybe adding the Fever pre-game might get some more atmosphere to start the game. Like the idea.
Good shout and I agree.
This season, we'll aim to get settled in our Zone seat 15 mins or more before K/O. Let's everyone do the same!
Agreed.... I think iis good to give the players a bit of love when they are coming off the field after warm up
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With season tickets going on sale soon let's all really push the idea to friends and family of not just getting a season ticket but getting one in the zone. New coach, new season, new hope etc
#GetInTheZone
#GITZ
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I reckon if we had one song that we sung before kick off (just once and only before kick off) the whole crowd would get know it, and would set the bar for volume for the rest of the game. Get rid of those pre game nerves. Worked well for the victory when we were at AAMI park last year, words on the screen with highlights etc.
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Phoenix City FTW
Rubber Ducky, you're the one,
You make the A-League lots of fun.
Rubber Ducky, we'll take our shirts off for you.
Yellow Fever - Misery loves company
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Phoenix City FTW
Rubber Ducky, you're the one,
You make the A-League lots of fun.
Rubber Ducky, we'll take our shirts off for you.
Ernie Merrick you're the one,
You make football lots of fun,
Ernie Merrick i'm awfully fond of you
Vo-vo-dee-o!
Ernie Merrick, joy of joys,
When I squeeze you, you make noise,
Ernie Merrick you're my very best friend it's true.
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C-Diddy is far better at this than I am.
Yellow Fever - Misery loves company
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folks like Thommo, Normo, Frankie who would lead chants loudly and proudly but who have now grown up (sort of).
Fuck you.
All I do is make the stuff I would've liked
Reference things I wanna watch, reference girls I wanna bite
Now I'm firefly like a burning kite
And yousa fake fuck like a fleshlight
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For me it also starts here on this forum. In my opinion, far too often I find myself scrolling through these forums and just see so much hate, arguing and negative comments towards each other. I'm not complaining at all... but I feel like there could be a focus on encouraging a more positive attitude. This is something that COULD be deterring new members from joining these forums.
Just a thought........
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Well, see, if you display a positive attitude you're a brainwashed tool of Welnix. Football active support is all about being permanently grumpy and never being satisfied.
Ramming liberal dribble down your throat since 2009
This forum needs less angst and more Kate Bush threads
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Anyway, back to topic. I actually think the idea of a group of "yf leaders" might be good for an important reason - many of us who want to join the Zone but aren't there regularly (perhaps because we live 700k away from the RoF) don't know where to stand so as to be near the funniest and most interesting chanters, as opposed to drunk bloated w*nkstains shouting abuse. So if - say - some people wore t-shirts saying "I'm a PRETTY BIG NAME in the YF, newbies ask for advice here", it might be less intimidating.
Ramming liberal dribble down your throat since 2009
This forum needs less angst and more Kate Bush threads
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"Phoenix till they lose"
Posting 97% bollox, 8% lies and 3.658% genuine opinion.
Genuine opinion: FTFFA
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"Phoenix till they lose"
Posting 97% bollox, 8% lies and 3.658% genuine opinion.
Genuine opinion: FTFFA
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Ramming liberal dribble down your throat since 2009
This forum needs less angst and more Kate Bush threads
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the funniest and most interesting chanters, as opposed to drunk bloated w*nkstains shouting abuse.
Surely, they are one & the same! (myself included)
We're the WELLINGTON Phoenix
And this is our Home
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For me it also starts here on this forum. In my opinion, far too often I find myself scrolling through these forums and just see so much hate, arguing and negative comments towards each other. I'm not complaining at all... but I feel like there could be a focus on encouraging a more positive attitude. This is something that COULD be deterring new members from joining these forums.
Just a thought........
Grumpy old bastard alert
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As an idea, is there and option to create two zones right beside each other. One for the families and one for the 'heathens' (for lack of a better term). You could have quite a bit of fun backwards and forwards between the two in terms of chanting interplay (requires some co-ordination) but not necessarily a crazy idea (just needs some thought)
This is pretty much exactly what happens now, minus the interplay and chanting in the 'family' area. The families etc. sit in Aisle 23 next to the Fever, and your 'heathens' in 21-22.
Nearly my thoughts. If the zone got back to decent numbers, look at splitting it in two. Not next door to each other but maybe further down to 26 - 27 and try and get something going further down as well. It may help get more involved. Will need quantity though which is the first problem. Maybe for game one the numbers will be up
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Re the second bit - has anyone noticed that the contributors to this thread has all said "we sit next to the Zone because we get to hear the chants but we don't want to be in the Zone" - that is what we need to break down.
I definitely can understand that you don't want your 5/7 year old kids to hear bad language. I think mostly our chants are clean but there's always some naughty words flying around the Zone, and we can't really outlaw that. But we need to find ways to convince people like you to come into the Zone instead of be a "Zone Specatator."
It's not just the bad language, it's the standing, the kids being able to see, and the fact that young kids are generally a pain in the arse to both their parents and people around them anyway.
To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't bother going down the path of trying to make the zone more family-friendly. It just won't work and isn't actually fair on those on the zone who are enjoying themselves in a slightly more adult way. Focus on getting more of the kinds of people who currently enjoy the zone into the zone.
Another way of looking at it might be to not be quite so exclusive about what the zone is anyway. Why can't Aisles 19 through 23 all be considered "in the zone" with the unwritten understanding that the hardcore are in the middle and the softcore (me and J82 and the kids) are on the edges, but we are all in what is an "active" area of support?
I'm glad you're talking to the club already because they could do more to promote it. Even if it's throwing the YF twitter account up on the big screen at half time to promote it.
The club could develop an FFZ (Family Fever Zone) that is marketed and run by the marketing dept (have they got one yet?). It would have staff help out on the day, provide flags or the like and encourage some involvement in a few of the chants. People might get drawn out to meet players afterwards or get tickets to the next game.
Flags would look nifty from around the ground and families might be keen to get in there with their kids
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COYN Re the second bit - has anyone noticed that the contributors to this thread has all said "we sit next to the Zone because we get to hear the chants but we don't want to be in the Zone" - that is what we need to break down.
I definitely can understand that you don't want your 5/7 year old kids to hear bad language. I think mostly our chants are clean but there's always some naughty words flying around the Zone, and we can't really outlaw that. But we need to find ways to convince people like you to come into the Zone instead of be a "Zone Specatator."
It's not just the bad language, it's the standing, the kids being able to see, and the fact that young kids are generally a pain in the arse to both their parents and people around them anyway.
To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't bother going down the path of trying to make the zone more family-friendly. It just won't work and isn't actually fair on those on the zone who are enjoying themselves in a slightly more adult way. Focus on getting more of the kinds of people who currently enjoy the zone into the zone.
Another way of looking at it might be to not be quite so exclusive about what the zone is anyway. Why can't Aisles 19 through 23 all be considered "in the zone" with the unwritten understanding that the hardcore are in the middle and the softcore (me and J82 and the kids) are on the edges, but we are all in what is an "active" area of support?
I'm glad you're talking to the club already because they could do more to promote it. Even if it's throwing the YF twitter account up on the big screen at half time to promote it.
The club could develop an FFZ (Family Fever Zone) that is marketed and run by the marketing dept (have they got one yet?). It would have staff help out on the day, provide flags or the like and encourage some involvement in a few of the chants. People might get drawn out to meet players afterwards or get tickets to the next game.
Flags would look nifty from around the ground and families might be keen to get in there with their kids
I think that is a good idea. As much as it pains me to say it, everyone waving flags at Hurricanes games looks pretty impressive when they get going.
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As long as its not while the game is going and blocking poor buggers views like I see from other A league clubs.
Allegedly
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