Why are North American chants so lame compared to soccer chants/songs?

[ScottishCanuck]

Soccer fans have to do something to keep themselves entertained don't they?

Brilliantly original. You’re only the 20th poster to come up with that in this thread alone.

 

[Master P]

Brilliantly original. You’re only the 20th poster to come up with that in this thread alone.

Thank you

 

[Mark Stones Spleen]

"Adebayor, Adebayor. Your dad washes elephants and your mom is a w. Hore"

 

[robertmac43]

There is so much more organization with supporter group and overall supporters culture. I have always wished for more crowd participation in North America but it just isn't who were are.

It's not just a Europe v NA thing. Just this year I went to a second division Japanese Soccer game and the atmosphere was better then anything I have come across on this side of the pond.

 

[StoveTopStauffer]

I'll take a more civilized fan over some fans causing crushes and riots inside an arena, thx.

 

[robertmac43]

Sadly we cannot touch this :

 

[Bondurant]

For all of the people talking about working class fans and greedy North American owners, have you seen the prices for Euro tickets? Working class people are not attending these games.

Some leagues still have Regular Joe prices. I went to Red Star v Partizan. I paid about $10 USD for the equivalent of a 50 yard line NFL seat. Smoke, flares, chanting, singing and random explosions the entire game. Twas a great time. I've never seen more armored police in one place before. Alas, nothing happened.

 

[Hasbro]

The lack of anything happening gives soccer fans plenty of free time to come up with intricate chants.

Follow up question: Why do soccer fans think shitting all over other sports will endear those fans to their game?

 

[Hasbro]

Soccer fans have to do something to keep themselves entertained don't they?

Binge substance use and assaulting anyone different than them?

 

[Anisimovs AK]

None of that impacts the in-person gameday experience.

I'm not saying that it isn't massively commercialized. I'm saying the people in attendance are students and alumni, not randos who got their tickets through work, and that makes for a different environment.

Fans in the stadium sitting through an extra hour for television advertisements doesnt impact in-person gameday experience?


Spoken like someone that hasnt attended a college game in the last decade

 

[tucker3434]

Fans in the stadium sitting through an extra hour for television advertisements doesnt impact in-person gameday experience?


Spoken like someone that hasnt attended a college game in the last decade

I live a couple hours from my alma mater. I catch an occasional game in person, used to have season tickets. Commercial timeouts could definitely be shorter. But are you under the impression the stadium/arena is any less rowdy than it was a decade ago? Or that the traditions have been pushed aside?
I’m not seeing that.

 

[Chet Manley]

To piggyback on this, what's with NHL crowds singing old Bon Jovi songs all of a sudden?

 

[EpochLink]

Cause they need to HAWK TUAH and spit on that thang

 

[JianYang]

We (Europeans) are just better at making an atmosphere and having fun. It isn't just football where the atmosphere is bouncing, pretty much most sports in Europe do.

It could be partly that Americans can't handle their beer so you don't have people having drinks and fun at the sports there.

Yeah, it makes me cringe when I see so many people think it's exclusively a soccer thing.

It doesn't matter if it's a huge football club with higher prices like Liverpool or a smaller basketball club in Serbia with lower prices.

In both cases, the environment is night and day to a professional sporting event in North America.

Soccer is apparently "boring" so you have to jump up and down is the answer I keep seeing. Well, what about baseball then? Are MLB crowds generally more festive?

It's very much a cultural thing not just in Europe but pretty much everywhere else outside of north America. They take the tribalism and amplify to the nth degree.

 

[Section337]

To piggyback on this, what's with NHL crowds singing old Bon Jovi songs all of a sudden?

It’s fun.

 

[Chet Manley]

It’s fun.

But why is it fun now and not in the time between the '80s and now? Something recent must have initiated it.

 

[robertmac43]

We (Europeans) are just better at making an atmosphere and having fun. It isn't just football where the atmosphere is bouncing, pretty much most sports in Europe do.

Europeans are good but I think the bigger thing is North Americans are not as good.

I have been to games in China & Japan and its night and day better then NA. Spent some time in Yokohama, while there I saw some games @ Yokohama FC. They are second tier and bring an insane atmosphere, plus the travelling support was also out of this world. Second tier in Japan!

 

[Section337]

But why is it fun now and not in the time between the '80s and now? Something recent must have initiated it.

Partially nostalgia but also something easy to sing and a song most people know to one degree or another. Similar to songs like Sweet Caroline or Country Road.

Plus I don’t know that it is a particularly new thing. Been sung at Oilers’ games for quite awhile.

 

[Stive Morgan]

Swiss crowds are always awesome.

I wish NHL teams did something like HC Fribourg-Gottéron's Kiwi Dance (shoutout Joel Kwiatkowski)

 

[Anisimovs AK]

I live a couple hours from my alma mater. I catch an occasional game in person, used to have season tickets. Commercial timeouts could definitely be shorter. But are you under the impression the stadium/arena is any less rowdy than it was a decade ago? Or that the traditions have been pushed aside?
I’m not seeing that.

Im under the impression that making 50k-100,000 people stay an hour longer doing literally nothing so Old Spice can shove 17 ads per quarter down our throat negatively impacts the in-person gameday experience, disagreeing with your initial statement.


You've moved the goalposts from "in person experience" to "the stadium/arena being any less rowdy than it was a decade ago/traditions being pushed aside."

Not only that, hundreds of traditions have been pushed aside. Only 5 of the top 10 most played yearly FBS series are still currently played yearly. The Big 10 had a 90 year old rule of not playing November/December home games at night, that was tossed aside due to TV money/corporatizing.
Playing on Thursday, then f***ing up High school football and playing on Friday, making smaller conference teams play on Tuesday and Wednesday

No more Kansas-Missouri
Oklahoma-Nebraska
Penn State-Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh-West Virginia

No more Southwest Conference, Big 8, Big East, 7-9 team ACC.

Traditions arent being pushed aside?

You are completely delusional

 

[Panteras]

Europeans are good but I think the bigger thing is North Americans are not as good.

I have been to games in China & Japan and its night and day better then NA. Spent some time in Yokohama, while there I saw some games @ Yokohama FC. They are second tier and bring an insane atmosphere, plus the travelling support was also out of this world. Second tier in Japan!

I went to an FC Tokyo game vs Urawa Reds I think it was, and I agree. Atmosphere was great. But I’ve been to one or two Panthers playoff games and atmosphere was good too. Ultimately people’s arguments here don’t have a foot to stand on. The whole rich vs poor is bs because you have crazy atmosphere in Switzerland or Sweden at hockey games and that crushes the argument about only being poor people at a boring sport….plus, hasn’t anyone been to a baseball game? It’s the sport I’ve been to the most and every time it’s like 90% of the time everyone is not watching the game instead walking around looking for beer and hotdog and chilling around..I have a soft spot for baseball but cmon it’s gotta be the most boring sport major sport in the world next to cricket

 

[IslesNorway]

I think in America you go to a game to have a good time, in Europe you go to support and get behind your team. Having a good time doesn't necessarily come into it much, it's just what you do and nobody brags about the next day.

Also, with tickets hard to come by (both in terms of pricing and availability) in NA for many sports, you wouldn't want that experience ruined a bunch of guys jumping up and down singing for the entire duration of the game, as they spoil your view. In Europe, you have designated sections for those who want to sing and stand up, and those who prefer sitting down.

Also, European teams are an integral part of their community much more so than NA teams.

 

[wunderpanda]

lets go rangers *clapclap clapclapclap* is honestly better than *stick twirly pasta up your arse* as a chant. there is a cadence people can get behind and amplify. twirly pasta seems forced into the 7 nation army cadence.

 

[Edenjung]

because with our sports the action is on the field rather than soccer where the field is boring and you need to entertain yourself in the stands

Oh yeah but then explain baseball.
One of the most boring games of all.

And our fans do chants in every team sport including basketball, hockey (both field and ice), etc.
It's part of the game and the teams want that.
The coach for the German football national team was like "we need more and louder atmosphere at our games" before the European cup.
As a fan you are the twelfth man on the pitch. You can push your team forward.

And no the majority of fans is not there to beat each other up and get drunk. In the PL they don't sell beer in the stadions for example and hooliganism has been cracked down on. That goes for the majority of football leagues in Europe. There are still leagues with hooligans (Serbia and russia for example. But also Israel). But the wast majority is peaceful.

And in other sports it can be quite peaceful between fans. I went to a third league hockey game in december 2022 in Hamburg. They played against Hannover. The barn was full, fans of both teams were not separated and the visiting fans were up and chanting the whole game. Hannover won, but no brawl broke out nothing. Peaceful, nice people all around. My oldest brother was like "That's great I should take my son with me next time".
You enjoy the game and get sucked into the experience.

But of course you've dumbass fans that do dumb shit (pyrotechnics, throwing shit, being racist) but they crack down on that.
But the thing is, without organized fandom (ultras) a lot of atmosphere would be missing and the experience would be half of what it is. It's just part of our culture and society. And fan groups are doing good things for the community too. For example the ultras of VfB Stuttgart helped deliver food for disabled people during COVID.
A lot fight against racism and take a stance against nazism (St. Pauli for example). They call out the leadership of the club and critizise decisions (every club).
Being a fan can be more than just attending the game. You can be part of the club. And stand up for what the club should stand for.

Of course this is only possible in certain leagues and that's why the Bundesliga is highly regarded in Europe by fans, because it is not as commercialized as the PL or other leagues.
And fans respect another in most leagues (like BVB and Liverpool fans singing you never walk alone together) and even work together (protest against Monday games and more commercialisation in Germany).

And that also goes for other sports. Be it handball, rugby or hockey.

 

[ItWasJustified]

Why are North American chants so lame compared to soccer chants/songs?

Soccer chants? You've ever heard of European hockey?