Message to PA announcer + half time 'entertainment'
Of course you have to hype up the crowd a bit. But you're not advertising a blockbuster movie. You're not American.
As for half-time entertainment. Let's get the kids taking penalties in home and away goals again. Remember the away fans really getting behind the kids with a lap of honour at the end. It gave them memories that will live with them, got there parents down to AP and no doubt some carried on coming.
So much better than what passed for 'entertainment' yesterday.
But I guess like a lot of things - a decent programme/choice of real ale/good food eat sensible prices etc. It's too much hassle.
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It's game one of the season mate. There's been no fans in AP really for 17 months. We played fantastic football, scored 2 great goals, and picked up 3 points. There's always something.
Give them a break, they're figuring things out.
I used to hate the half time free for all with 30 kids firing footballs at Bodger with some deranged shouting over the PA system to add more chaos. Yesterday was far more calm but strangely weird. Basically boiled down in to a grown man telling us all Wycombe had more internationals and a bigger ground than our visitors.
What has happened to Bodger? Has he been binned?
I quite enjoyed the higher or lower game, even if just because I got to stand there smugly getting all but one of the answers right.
Get Trevor Roffey back and let a raffle winner take penalties against him, IMO
Me too didn't like that was badly organised. I meant the old pen shoot out. Home and away end. Each kid being announced.
It may be only game 1 of the season but we first got wind of these changes in June and people have been suggesting potential problems/drawbacks to the club ever since so it seems half a season ago already.
Unfortunately, whoever makes these decisions locally has cocked a deaf 'un and they have ploughed on regardless, the result of which can now be seen. Give them time to sort it out, yes but don't say they weren't warned.
It was ok. But hardly > @prufrock_91 said:
Yes football was very good. But I deliberately put my message in the non-football thread and of course there will always something.
Just talking about the half-time entertainment and PA here.
Fine, although the original post did go a bit further.
@prufrock_91 is being sarcastic!
I think the argument against hyping the crowd up is that it doesn't work, in my opinion it certainly didn't work yesterday. I don't know if it does work at American sports venues. Yesterday it seemed to work against the crowd or be ignored by the crowd.
I am not sure about others, but before the game I want to feel the anticipation, part of that is to hear the terrace singing. I like it that when the team is announced the terrace just sings the songs for individual players. I hate it at away ground if the music is turned up so loud that you can't hear the singing and it felt a bit like that on the terrace yesterday. I that at a home game the players want to hear the crowd not the PA and if you are not sure who is playing there is always the quality new scoreboard
We had a really good atmosphere yesterday, I mean we / the whole home crowd were sufficiently involved to be 'singing and clapping the team home' for the last five or so minutes, and that after we had conceded. The PA and announcing team ought to be respecting and working with that level and tone of emotion. It did feel yesterday that the use of the PA was a bit tone deaf.
I wonder if the 'Player of the Match' can be announced after the final whistle. It would give that player a chance to acknowledge the crowd's appreciation. I like that the attendance was announced, it would have been a tidy touch if the away crowd had been announced and we had wished them a safe journey home.
This may sound like a whinge - it wasn't meant to be - it was wonderful to be back, with good football to watch and an excellent result.
I'm an infrequent visitor to AP - have a few friends who are ST holders and I tag along with them for maybe half a dozen matches a season. I haven't been to any of the pre-season games and wasn't there yesterday, but the comments here make me wonder whether i should bother now.
I want to see a half-decent game of football, get a snack and have a couple of pints (and i'll throw in a couple of quid for a car share to park. A year or so ago that could all be had for £35. Now, I wouldn't see any change from £50, and the quality of the food/range of beers sounds as though it's nose-dived. How that is an improved experience defeats me.
Really not sure why they can't invite local breweries on rotation to bring in a few different beers for each match and similarly have some regular quality food vans/concessions. What's hard about that? Maybe I'm naive.
The one time i watched a match from a box at AP, the (then) new owner wandered in for a chat. Seemed like a decent chap, and he probably is, all in. But i did wonder if he understood British sport when he confided that he'd like to be done with away supporters and have 100% WWFC fans.
I support a championship team - you can't operate there without making a loss, and i suspect post-Covid that will now be the same for league 1 sides. It needs investment. It's just a shame that the poor old fan seems to be shouldering an ever-higher share.
Anyway good luck for the season, I doubt whether i'll be along any time soon.
Sea Monster, don’t give up yet. There are several new systems in place and it takes time for them to bed in. The football itself has improved and the day out is still less expensive than watching games in the top two divisions. Try again in a couple of weeks time and make your mind up then.
Bit of an effort to go to to post that you're not going to bother coming to a game with your mates @seamonster ?
The football is fantastic compared to a few years ago and does need paying for which is understandable and the Piper needs paying. I just wonder if the pricing was “ more reasonable” would more fans spend rather than fewer?
@SeaMonster don't let the noisy moaners put you off.
One game in, after well over a year of unusual times isn't the time to judge. And certainly not as you didn't even go yesterday anyway.
Back to the half time entertainment, we are all going to have different tastes. But based on some of the the things I have seen at other grounds would be…
1 - Dizzy Penalties. A home fan v away fan in a best of 3 shootout to win say £100 or something. If you don’t know these it’s where you spin around the ball about 15 times before trying to take a penalty. Absolutely hysterical when I saw this, especially if hooked up to the big TV.
2 - A random row in the family stand is selected on the big screen and everyone in that row wins a Domino’s Pizza (or Lara Lata dish?). Delivered straight away and gets some enthusiasm going on in that area of the ground.
3 - Something shortened on the Higher / Lower thing for yesterday - perhaps take a family and it’s Dad / Mum v Son / Daughter etc. Find a funny way for the kid to always win such as a tie break children’s TV question or something.
4 - Fan v Fan again to win a prize such as a home shirt or club shop voucher or something. The 2x fans get 60 seconds to put on as many club shirts as possible (must be a shed load of old kits kicking around somewhere or just get a bucket load of random ones from other EFL clubs on eBay etc). Maybe blindfold them too just for a laugh.
I’m sure you could rattle through 3 of these during every half time and wouldn’t be a bad start. I’d try 1,2,3 and alternate week by week with 4,2,3.
What are peoples thoughts or even better what have you seen at other clubs that you enjoyed over the years?
I was intrigued as at first I thought you meant a random family altercation put on the big screen...with a pizza for the winner
How about chair Jenga? Inspired by the iconic chair arch.
Yes there’s something in that!!!
Arm wrestling with Chas and Dave, Monkey tennis?.....
I expect you’ll be in for a long wait if your hoping Chas will turn up.
Maybe Chas will 'Urn up'
Gertcha !!!!
Just seen this. Brilliant.
What about having the quarters draw at half time with a oversized cheque for the winner and you can get the skinny jeans guy on to do it
With our improved playing surface it could be that the coaching team have requested minimal activity on the playing surface?
I’m sure that’s right @perfidious_albion.
'Sorry we hurt yer field mister...'
I have said this before, but one of the things I prefer about the British way of (traditionally) doing things is the focus being on the sport. If you have a good match with reasonably priced food and drink with some family or good mates, it's job done. You can even have expensive, tasteless food and drink and most fans will still have a good time if the match itself is absorbing.
Here in the States it is so much more about "the event", but there comes a point you wonder if a sporting contest might break out amongst the burritos dropping from the sky, T-shirt cannons, mascot contests and sponsor plugs.
I'm not saying there is a right or wrong (very much down to taste), but there is still a cultural divide which might not be easily crossed simply by having a few tigers jump through a few burning hoops.
@shev yes many cultural differences to absorb. Having lived both sides of the pond I only wish I could cherry pick the best of both. When I lived in NYC I became a Rangers fan and the T-shirt canon was a revelation, if there are any ‘I was there’ Beanie T-shirt’s left in the storeroom the club should definitely give that a go. Not sure health and safety would let the tigers loose at AP though?