Dissapointed

[Pete]

It is definately the aim of the FFA to have allocated seating for these matches, in all sections of the stadium.

Whether a group in one Bay decides to stand and support more passionately than those with families or wanting to study the match more is the issue.

While we won't see a return to the Terrace style bays (do the zipper back up Dibo  :-[), the FFA should finally accept that there is a demand for passionate away supporters to have a bay and one for those who wish to watch and be less fervent in their cheering.

Ticketing should reflect that, and people who buy tickets into the EAS equivalent of Bay 16 @ Bluetongue should have the conditions stamped on their tickets. That way they have no recourse when folks in front of them stand up and start singing.

It was easy to buy tickets if you got in early enough and you could buy tickets at any part of the ground if you tried hard enough, early enough. The folks coming from the Central Coast should have been well aware that the Marinators were going to be somewhere in that stadium.

For the record, I had fantastic seats up in the Upper Western Stand, just in front of Pieman! I bought them online with Proticket on the Monday morning. There were plenty of Mariners fans in this stand, and elsewhere around the ground. Makes you wonder why folks who obviously don't want to stand up and sing and chant would want to be in Bay 10 anyways. Could it be the price perhaps?

 

[kepo]

I know I was in a group that wanted to stand that was right down the front of bay 10 and we kept copping abuse from those behind us. We really couldnt get into it yesterday because of it and I assume that a lot of hardcore mariners were scattered and out of position to really get into it. How I interpret away supporters bay is that its the marinators bay and that again there are plenty of other bays in the stadium that you can sit in if you want to sit down and "enjoy" the game. That is why I hate designated seating as much as that f**kin stadium itself where you cant see anything thats going on in the southern part of it.

yep.
this is a major ticketing problem and FFA and ticketek need to fix it for next season.
GA should always be the case for away supporters.
If they are goin to allocated seats. Have one bay for all of the hardcore fans that chant and have flags and banners etc.and other bay for all the families.
It is a big problem

 

[kepo]

Ticketing should reflect that, and people who buy tickets into the EAS equivalent of Bay 16 @ Bluetongue should have the conditions stamped on their tickets. That way they have no recourse when folks in front of them stand up and start singing.

Yep,
in the cove the cove charter was placed on every seat for the newbies to know what is expected. like wear clu colours, make the atmosphere don't soak it up etc.
Be aware that banners and flags are used and may obstruct view
all those things.
They need conditions when buying tickets.
But FFA couldn't give a f**k about the fans just there piggy bank

 

[Non Troll Newy Fan]

The squadron looked non-existant on the telly compared to 3+ bays of full yellow.

All you could see was yellow in those three bays.. not active support. It was the 'away' fans section, not the 'marinators'. What about the 20 thousand newcastle supporters?

 

[voice of reason]

Adz,
Whatever your view of the situation was, those who were standing in the rows further to the front were seriously pissing off those seated behind.  Two blokes were still arguing about it after the final whistle.  The view "I'll stand 'cos I want to" leads to anarchy and the people who lose are children and families and those who don't want to take part in the resulting free-for-all for seats.  It only took one person standing to block the view of 4 or 5 behind!  

Those wanting to stand were definitely in the MINORITY at the front so their attitude was alienating the surrounding fans when they could easily have joined the main group at the back.

There are also many people who do not like being told how to support
Don't worry, I'd never dream of encroaching on the Home End but an all-ticket Final series game is a different matter.  Telling people to f**k off on the forum doesn't win friends either.

 

[Pete]

Adz,
Whatever your view of the situation was, those who were standing in the rows further to the front were seriously pissing off those seated behind.  Two blokes were still arguing about it after the final whistle.  The view "I'll stand 'cos I want to" leads to anarchy and the people who lose are children and families and those who don't want to take part in the resulting free-for-all for seats.  It only took one person standing to block the view of 4 or 5 behind! 

Those wanting to stand were definitely in the MINORITY at the front so their attitude was alienating the surrounding fans when they could easily have joined the main group at the back.

There are also many people who do not like being told how to support
Don't worry, I'd never dream of encroaching on the Home End but an all-ticket Final series game is a different matter.  Telling people to f**k off on the forum doesn't win friends either.

Just a suggestion here, please don't shoot me down in flames:

Maybe next time when something like this happens, someone from the Marinators could approach those who want to sit down and have them swap seats over to another Bay with one who wants to stand up in that Bay? If the numbers of standing and nonstanding supporters was about even or close to it, it would be a straight swap. Start at the top of Bay 10 at EAS work down to the front, swapping with Bay 9 or Bay 11.

If the FFA and ground security aren't going to help folks enjoy the match by allocating appropriate seating, maybe it's up to us, the supporters, to help ourselves?

The last thing anyone of us would want would be to go to a match and end up having arguments with our own bunch of supporters. Once folks are seated with other folks with like minded supporting passions, the match would be enjoyable for many more.

 

[Reserved Seating Fan]

We came to give our support to the mariners and were told we could not bring in Horns and streamers into the stadium the kid had been wofrking all week preparing.FFA & Security should have a good hard look at themeselves and  stop acting like the fun police and give the A League back to the fans like it was in season 1

 

[skilbeck]

The function of the FFA these days is to be the fun police. I bet they basically have an army of Matthew Breeze clones working for them. The only important thing with regard to football is that Sydney win the championship and since they have easily qualified for the final series they have to turn their attention to other things such as world domination and taking candy from kids (or in your case reserved seating fan streamers and horns)

 

[rich uncle skeleton]

give the A League back to the fans like it was in season 1

death to modern football

 

[thanman]

well to be honest i dont think we'll get through to the FFA for a good couple of years until they get someone in a position of power who goes 'hey do reckon the really energetic fans should be seperated from families so its more lively ad better for everyone' because honestly if they did that, they might get consistent level of fans to one day (properly not for a fair few years mind you) to rival international fan bases.. one day.

i have to say that was probably the best breeze has reffed. but i didnt say i liked it.
hope he didnt make it back to sydney in one piece is all i can say.

The function of the FFA these days is to be the fun police.  bet they basically have an army of Matthew Breeze clones working for them.

Skilly don't ever use FFA and fun in the same sentence. Matthew Breeze clones? Dear God.. So this is where the fun begins..
Can't believe that the sideline ref was FIFA orientated. Oh well, I emailed my Uncle in England; his mate works for FIFA in recruitment for Refs, so my Uncle will pass on the 'good' news about their dodgy staff sent here haha.

 

[soccersensei]

We came to give our support to the mariners and were told we could not bring in Horns and streamers into the stadium the kid had been wofrking all week preparing.FFA & Security should have a good hard look at themeselves and  stop acting like the fun police and give the A League back to the fans like it was in season 1

Amen! A security woman hunted me down and told me I couldn't bring in my banner due to pole length. I had already had it cleared but she didn't give two hoots. Not only that, she was aggressive and rude about it from the moment she opened her mouth. Good security knows there primary job is to keep peace, and being antagonistic when you go to ask someone to get rid of something that is obviously going to cause some disappointment is just plain STUPID. Had to breathe deeply Guess all I can do for now is write to them and inform them of the views and negative image which they're staff are generating.

Re seating - This issue is not really about allocation or doesn't have to be, yeah sure, seating organisation can and should become more sophisticated to suit everyone of course. But at the moment it is what it is, and as it currently stands it can still easily bloody work. It's not that complicated.  I'm just not sure why people would ask for the "away supporters bays" if you don't think you are going to stand and chant? Go gold! I take my kids, and my parents to games, so much as it disappoints me not be with our main crew and lend my voice, but instead as a consolation prize at least, I get to sit in some great seats where we all have a great view of both halves of the game, and there is ALWAYS plenty of other yellows scattered around. $90 for a family gold pass is very good value and you won't have to be annoyed or annoy anyone. What is that, about an extra $20. It's not absolutely nothing, but it's no mortgage either. For a great view, peace of mind, and allowing your Marinators to be Marinators - surely an extra 20 over a couple of finals is not too much too ask. Otherwise get general, but ask to not be seated in the key away bays. They will help you if you go in. You won't be able to do it electronically but hey we all have to make an effort. Because yes, while we all have a right to enjoy our game, we must also appreciate that the purpose of the Marinators is to be the countries best supporting base. The team and the coast needs this role to be fulfilled. And that requires that they stand and they chant. It's not  a question of consideration or equal rights here. Its just a little forethought and education.

The greater hope is that with greater success for the HAL, comes greater prosperity, which then allows for greater infrastructure and the obviously needed greater supporter organisation and education will then start to be addressed. Till then, we all have to use our common sense and blaming people never solves anything. Even blaming the FFA is going to do you a fat lot of good. Put your energy into thinking of way you can positively impact on a situation and then you make everyones world a better one including your own.

Best Wishes to all

 

[Newieutd]

there were empty seats in the corporate box, empty seats throughout the reserved areas and a big chunk missing from the ground

i thought the crowd figure was fair

it probably points to newcastle overstating their crowd figure all season

LOL

What happened is not all tickets were scanned, some were ripped.

FFA directive

 

[~Floss~]

Why don't you just go up the back and stand with the main group of Marinators?  Add your voice to theirs and you'll be far more effective than trying to inspire (but ultimately annoying the shit out of) spectators who get a different sort of enjoyment from the game....maybe they don't like you either?

I think you'll find most people who wanted to stand and sing tried that, but it was out of their control. It was easier said than done to " just go up the back and stand with the main group of Marinators".

There was a major shortage of space resulting from:
a) seats already taken up by "marinators"
b) "marinators" being moved out by "sitters" claiming rights to their allocated seats
c) security then moving the relocated marinators out of the aisles and stairways.

When moved on by security, the conversation becomes:
Me: "Where can I move to?"
Security: "Don't you have an allocated seat?"
M: Yes but there's people sitting in it, and I don't want my standing and singing to disturb the patrons around me
S: Well that's not my problem, I'm just security, I've gotta keep the stairways clear
M: So what should I do about it?
S: Listen mate, don't start talkin' smart.....
(i've learnt that when you overload a security guard's brain until their tone becomes aggressive like this, it's in your best interest to avoid challenging their intelligence any further)

This was my experience, and as a result i became nomadic - moving around so as not to get caught blocking a stairway or walkway for too long - for the entire match and only saw people i knew (and purposely purchased tickets with) in passing.

Voice of Reason, I agree with what you are suggesting in that those wanting to stand and sing would have been best to do so together and allow those wanting to sit and see to do so without obstruction. I'm sure most others who were there would also agree with this suggestion.

However, your name alone suggests that you are much more sensible than the existing ticketing system and ground staff. The problem was that individual spectators - nomatter how much common-sense they possess - were powerless to do anything about it on Sunday afternoon.

For the reasons explained above, the solution was not "just go up the back and stand with the main group of Marinators," the solution is for the FFA and/or stadium management to create a ticket category for supporters' bays so that those who buy tickets in such a bay are aware of what to expect there.

 

[adz]

Okay so we have one main problem here, the stupidly vague wording of the seating categories. People are saying its called a SUPPORTERS BAY therefore it must be for ALL Mariners supporters. If thats the case, why on earth did they have only two bays each for "home supporters" and "away supporters"? Who does that leave to fill up the rest of the stadium? Does this mean that if you are not in those two bays you neither support the home team or the away team? Of course it f**king doesn't, don't be stupid!

The two home supporters bays were bays 1 and 2. These are known to everyone who has ever been to a game at EAS (and a lot who have not) to be the Squadron bays. That means home supporters = squadron. Its not a giant leap to assume that away supporters means marinators/cove/whatever other supporter group exists is it?

If you had a look around the ground on Sunday you would have seen a whole lot of Mariners shirts around the ground, not just in the "away supporter bays". These people understood what was going in. Why couldn't the dipshits sitting in bays 10/11 work it out?

Adz, Whatever your view of the situation was, those who were standing in the rows further to the front were seriously pissing off those seated behind.
Two blokes were still arguing about it after the final whistle.  The view "I'll stand 'cos I want to" leads to anarchy and the people who lose are children and families and those who don't want to take part in the resulting free-for-all for seats.  It only took one person standing to block the view of 4 or 5 behind!

Uh duh? Of course someone standing will block out the view of 4-5 (pretty conservative estimate from you there) people sitting behind them! Solution? Stand up. Don't like that? Sit somewhere else. The view is not "I'll stand 'cos I want to", it is I'll stand because this is what we do every week, we stand, sing, shout, even if it's pissing down rain, even if it's 400 degrees in the shade, even if our team is (heaven forbid) not winning games. If this is not how you support your team, sit somewhere else.

Those wanting to stand were definitely in the MINORITY at the front so their attitude was alienating the surrounding fans when they could easily have joined the main group at the back.

I dont doubt they were in the minority and good on them for having the nuts to stand up with all those people around glaring at them and telling them to sit down, even though they bought tickets in the right section, and the ones sitting down did not. They could not have easily joined the main group at the back, because we were all squashed in, after those who booked in the wrong section came in and claimed their seats. You will find that there were a lot more people scattered in amongst the families who did not stand up because of the people sitting around them. They were in the right section, and people sitting should have had tickets in a different bay. Sit somewhere else.

There are also many people who do not like being told how to support

Thats right; people dont like to be told how to support. Its rude to tell people how to support. Oh. Unless of course, youre telling people to sit down and shut the f**k up. Then thats okay. People do not like being told how to support, unless they are being told to support in a passive manner?

Telling people to f**k off on the forum doesn't win friends either.

Im just saying what the MAJORITY is thinking. Those bays were allocated to people who want to create the atmosphere, not the people who just want to sit back and enjoy it. I dont care how you support your team, but if you dont want to join in then why get tickets in those two bays? That's exactly the same as going into bays 15-17 at a home game and telling everyone to sit down. (I hope) You wouldn't do it, would you? Then why do it at an away game?

As I said this comes down to the wording of the ticket category and people who took it a little too literally. Im an AWAY SUPPORTER; therefore I must go in the away supporters bay!

A slight change in wording could make a big difference here. Would the families still pile into those two bays if it was called away supporters group?


Discuss

 

[FFC Mariner]

TBH, the "I want an NRL experience" people can just piss off and stop ruining it for a large majority.

They tried very hard to ruin the atmosphere with their whining, selfish attitude. Everytime people tried to move to where people were standing, the police/stewards moved everyone back so it wasnt for lack of trying to accomodate everyone. The only unselfish, wanker behaviour was from the selfish bastards who demanded to sit.

There was almost a fight started by a guy who demanded his right to sit near the back of bay 9 where the majority of the standers were.

People buying GA and then entering the away bays didnt help much either.

All in all, a complete FFA/EAS/Security/Police disaster all round.

 

[FFC Mariner]

BTW, I always stand at games but sat on Sunday because it suited the majority around me. Thats right, I didnt demand MY rights to the detriment of others.

 

[skilbeck]

BTW, I always stand at games but sat on Sunday because it suited the majority around me. Thats right, I didnt demand MY rights to the detriment of others.

Yep I know all about that from last sunday. I tried standing with about 10-15 others in my area but sat down as soon as I was told to sit by people behind me because it did suit the majority behind me as well. I was shocked by how rudely I was spoken to. i.e. "sit down you f**kwit" rather than "can you please sit down" or something along those lines. I hate being told how to support the game I love by bandwagoners that have shown up just for this one game and that sit in the wrong part of the stadium; and some of which will never go to another football game again

 

[FFC Mariner]

Quite right, the personal abuse direct at standers was awful and its about the only time I have thought about belting a fellow Mariners fan TBH.

 

[graaant]

In fact, you'll notice that there was some physical scuffling after the final whistle.
Even when we had to stand up to see what was going on down the other end, people still went nuts. Even when Aloisi "scored", hit the post and had the penalty and you no what? NO! I'm not going to sit down for f***s sake!

I paid the same amount as you do, I go to the game every week - rain, hail or shine and emotions were high, y'know, my legs just didn't wanna sit down. It's an emotional choice, not a conscious decision.

If I go to a game, and I'm sitting (because sometimes I do) and people stand up around me (because that's what happens in supporter sections, eveyweek), do I hurl abuse? Threaten violence or whine and moan? NO! I stand up too!

The atmosphere was pathetic.
And I can tell you what, my seats are allocated for the home leg, but you can bet where I'll be STANDING & singing at that game.

 

[kevrenor]

<lot snipped>
Okay so we have one main problem here, the stupidly vague wording of the seating categories. People are saying its called a SUPPORTERS BAY therefore it must be for ALL Mariners supporters. If thats the case, why on earth did they have only two bays each for "home supporters" and "away supporters"? Who does that leave to fill up the rest of the stadium? Does this mean that if you are not in those two bays you neither support the home team or the away team? Of course it f**king doesn't, don't be stupid!
<even more snipped>

A truly significant post Adz.

A simple change to how (in this case) Proticket (and whoever advises them) allocated tickets would have saved all the shit!

I think they just left 'Away Supporter' on their database as they have every game ... but it is a bit different getting 10 Adelaide fans in there to getting 3-4,000 Mariner fans in a finals game.  Someone wasn't thinking.

They should have estimated that say we would bring at least 4-5 bays and allocated Bay 11/12 (so no-one behind was affected) as 'Away Vocal Supporters Only', and Bays 8, 9 and 10 as 'Away Supporters Only' - or something along those lines.