This standing obsession

Maybe a bit of excersie would help.

A run along the west stand for charity would be a good starting point.

 

Hemmsy in poorly-disguised 'I go to lots of matches, me' thread

 

I think "obsession" is putting it a bit strongly but I'd much prefer to stand given the option. That's the key thing for me: "given the option" - we used to have a choice. I try not to stand in seating areas unless I can't see any more because everyone in front of me is standing but I'd much prefer to be in a dedicated standing area where I can move around amongst a group of mates (people tire of me very quickly so I have to circulate frequently) and wander over to talk to people I know and spot during the game, not just at half-time in some crowded concourse. When I'm sitting at a match I feel like I'm so detached from the action that for me it's closer to watching a match on TV than to watching a match in a standing area. It's certainly one of the reasons why I go to fewer matches than I used to - I find it hard to get excited about sitting in a seat for 2 hours hoping to see enough of the match without standing up every minute because everyone else does.

 

Watching football on the old terracing was great. All your mates would stand in the same area, on the same few steps, so you could always find them. You didn't have to ring anyone up and organise anything because you could always find people you knew. You just turned up and there they were. People who didn't go very often could wake up on a sunny Saturday and think 'I might go to the game today' and they knew they could find a bit of terracing where people they know would be standing.

You can't do that any more. You get a ticket with your seat number on. You can't go and sit where you like, you can't go find your mates, you can't all sit together. That, I believe, has destroyed the casual fan base far more than ticket prices. Our attendances used to fluctuate enormously. When we were doing well or playing a big club the attendance would increase dramatically. It just doesn't do that any more, it stays static. We've got the hardcore season ticket holders and very few others.

For some people football isn't something they want to do every week. They don't want a season ticket, they want to go when they please, when the sun's out or when we're playing Leeds or when it just takes their fancy. We used to have thousands of these fans. They were really important to the club. But we've lost 'em, probably forever, because going down to the game and sitting on your own isn't a patch on standing with a big group of mates some of whom you only ever catch up with at the football.

So should we bring back standing? Will it bring that type of casual fan back to the club? Will people like Burgundy Red be able to mill about talking to one group of people and then the next? As far as I'm aware, no. Because the terracing they have now isn't like it used to be. There's far more crush barriers and it's set up just like a seated area with everyone stood in rows. There's no space for big groups of people, no space for milling about, you're just assigned to one place pretty much like you are when you're sat down.

By all means bring back standing areas and for those who just don't like sitting down it will be fine. But those of us with romantic ideas about football being a better time when we were all stood with our mates on the terraces are going to be disappointed, because it just won't be like that. And as we're all a fair bit older than we were when we used to stand all we'll find is that we get leg ache.

 

Just a reminder to all our readers that football was invented after 1992.

 

Because we are not all sweaty, spotty arsed TV junkies? Just a thought....

 

man up for crying out loud.