How to turn city of bad sports into great fans

[Shane]

Article by Art Sapphire from theroar.com.au

http://www.theroar.com.au/2011/03/04/ad ... upporters/

Adelaide: How to turn city of bad sports into great fans

I consider myself to be a reasonable, tolerant person, but last Sunday was the final straw. There comes a time when enough is enough. For example, the day an ex-girlfriend tried to make me watch “The Secret”.

This time I’ve had enough of Adelaide sporting public. Let me explain.

Bruce Djite is a nice guy who played for Adelaide United between 2006 and 2008. He made 20 appearances and scored 6 goals. Bruce then moved to Turkey for Genclerbirligi.

After two frustrating years he returned to the A-League this season to reignite his stagnating career with Gold Coast United.

On Sunday, Bruce scored a goal in an A-League final against his old team. Bruce, being the nice person that he is, did not celebrate his goal as a mark of respect to his old fans. Gold Coast ended up winning the match 3 goals to 2 courtesy of a late penalty. The result signaled the end of Adelaide’s season.

After the final whistle Bruce was approached to make a few post match comments. Bruce’s handsome face filled the Hindmarsh jumbotron. Upon seeing this visage, the Adelaide fans reacted with a cacophonous chorus of boos.

Bruce struggled on with the interview but the look on his face was one of utter, utter disappointment. And it was perfectly understandable.

This was not a bad guy ala Muscat being interviewed. This was not a player that had swapped teams to play with the enemy. This was nice guy Bruce who had earlier paid his respects to the Adelaide fans. In return he received NO RESPECT!

I very much doubt Bruce would have received this treatment in any other major city in Australia.

What is it with the sporting public of Adelaide?

Regardless of code … why are they such bad sports?

What makes their teenagers throw coins at Hindmarsh or their adults dispute every sensible refereeing decision?

What is it that makes them behave as if they have all been reared by Bad Boy Bubby’s mother*?

I have to give to them credit for turning up in good numbers and supporting their teams (take note fickle Sydneysiders) but they seem to bring along some pretty large chips on their shoulders.

I want to get rid of these chips and I think I have worked out a solution.

First, let me categorically state – I don’t have a problem with Adelaide. In fact, there are some very good things about the city. It hosts the wonderful WOMAD festival and a biennial Arts Festival.

It has an excellent art gallery, the botanic gardens, a nice zoo, good pubs like the Exeter and the Grace Emily, great beaches, good food and famous wineries.

All the necessary ingredients, one would think, to create and engender a civil sporting public.

However, Adelaide still feels like a large county town. Unlike Perth or Brisbane, the city has not grown over the last few decades as evidenced by its uninspiring skyline.

This has created an inferiority complex and its most evidently played out in the way Adelaide teams are supported in national sporting competitions. Because of this complex, gaining prestige on the sporting field has become an obsession with the locals.

The upshot is that respect gets cast aside and what we are dealing with is not a few one-eyed supporters but a one-eyed city with bad sporting manners.

So, here is my solution. POPULATE!

That’s right, breed like rabbits. Don’t worry about your sporting teams. Worry about your sperm counts. Make babies and lots of them. If it helps, keep the TV on. When United scores make sure Adelaide scores as well.

Secondly, ask the Federal Government to get as many new arrivals from overseas to live in Adelaide. Whether they come by boat or plane, make them all welcome. Senator Cory Bernadi might not be happy. But, you can also fix that by not voting for him.

In 20 years time the population of Adelaide will be over 3 million. The city will look like a gleaming metropolis, resplendent with steel and glass phallic symbols reaching for the sky. This inferiority complex will be a thing of the past.

Adelaide United will have won 6 A-League titles and 2 ACL titles. They will be playing to capacity crowd in a modern 50k stadium and sorry episodes like the booing of Bruce Djite will be consigned to the pretty full dustbin of history.

P.S. After the huge response to my open letter to the A-League Chairmen, I am now asking the people of Adelaide to help make their sporting public great.

I ask for everyone reading this piece to forward it to their friends in Adelaide. I have sent it to mine. The quicker we can get them into the sack, the better.

* NB … Bad Boy Bubby was made and set in Adelaide.

[shinAUFC]

well anyone is entitled to their opinion.

While most of us are not proud of some fans booing Djite, the fact is it was a knock out final and the passion was there for all to see.

The roar fans were not exactly supportive when Kruse came back to town

IMO it almost smells a little bit of jealousy that fans here can create such an atmosphere without any gimmicks while still being "a small country town"

Finally, club captain travis dodd, said in an article at the start of the season that maybe adelaide fans can call Djite "booo's" instead of "bruce". I think some of it may have steamed from that article

[Interloper]

Booing players is a part of all sports. Particularly those that used to play for the home team. The only reason Adelaide seems worse is because people actually turn up to the game here.

Conflating standard partisanship that hurts nobody with violent and dangerous projectile throwing, etc. doesn't help either.

[Agostinho]

The roar fans were not exactly supportive when Kruse came back to town

Kruse was goading them though, whereas Djite made a point of not celebrating his goal.

Also, the Brisbane fans were called out in the media up here for that.

[ZANZIBAR]

hmmm... i remember when the central coast knocked us out in the prelim final of year one and watched fans go to the mariner fans and congratulate them and wish them luck against our then biggest rival,sydney. making a big call saying all Adelaide fans are sore losers etc based on a few events is completely unfair. yes Adelaide is knowm as a paraochial crowd in all sports, because we have an inferior complex? well maybe, we do get ragged on for being South Australian a lot, and we defend ourselves and state.
At the end of the day, NO OTHER SUPPORTER OF ANOTHER A-LEAGUE TEAM SHOULD CRITICISE THE ADELAIDE SUPPORTERS! WE ARE THE ONLY TEAM WITH LOYAL FANS THAT TURN UP IF WE COME LAST OR FIRST!
I live in Brisbane and frequent Roar games, last year i watched them boo their own players!!!!!! and jeer them off!!!!!
But Art Sapphire may not know this as he probably,like most roar fans, only turn up when they're winning

[shinAUFC]

The roar fans were not exactly supportive when Kruse came back to town

Kruse was goading them though, whereas Djite made a point of not celebrating his goal.

Also, the Brisbane fans were called out in the media up here for that.

True, but they also had not just been knocked out of the season.

How its very easy to judge when they have not lost a game nearly all season.

[Stuckey]

Yeah i think maybe this dude needs to do a little more research they what he picked up on the A-league highlights show.

i'll boo anyone who intentionally jogs off the pitch slowly to waste time. I love Bruce but if he got upset like that maybe he need a nappy change.

Booing him after the game is stupid and pathetic and anyone who did that probably can be written off as a sore loser, i did notice though the refs were walking off the ground around the same time so i would be surprised if most of the abuse was directed at boofhead beath!

[RedsUnited]

Once you're no longer wearing the red shirt, you are not there to endear yourself to the Adelaide faithful. Simple as that. Good on Bruce for not celebrating his goal, and for that I respect him. But for scoring in opposition colours, in our home stadium, and actually winning against us - what else do you expect is going to happen?

We Reds fans are parochial and supportive of our own team. Who gives a shit about some guy who "used to" play for us?

As for this guy's suggestions for "populating" our city, we won't ever get the "gleaming metropolis" as our government and city councils lacks vision. That is why we see such an efflux of our youth to interstate and even overseas.

[Nash]

i agree with shin, i doubt Bruce would of received such a negative crowd response if we had just lost to GCU in a regualr season match. i didn't boo myself, that's not me, but i can understand why others did. i was shattered too, and it probably made them feel better.

[flavze]

i replied and it got deleted, my views must not have fallen in line with the author it seems.

[Nash]

i replied and it got deleted, my views must not have fallen in line with the author it seems.

what did you say?

[shinAUFC]

i replied and it got deleted, my views must not have fallen in line with the author it seems.

It would seem the author/website has a "Piss Ant" attitude its self.

Is this similar to how victory fans claim they get treated? Where they claim they are hated for simply being the most passionate, the biggest, the loudest?

I wonder if jason culina will be boo'd when playing against goldy next year?

Its said matt mckay has been tabled a very tasty offer by sydney fc, how would roar react to him putting them out of the finals?

I really get the feeling this article is code for "why the hell cant my club show this sort of passion"

[Interloper]

It's amusing that the author has another article demanding that the a-league submit to all demands of the glorious fan master-race, who according to this article are worthless trash

[flavze]

i replied and it got deleted, my views must not have fallen in line with the author it seems.

what did you say?

i may or may not have suggested that if some people's precious sense of fairness had been insulted that they could foad, our club is growing and if they didn't like Adelaide and how we support our team stay the fuck out of our city. or something similar to that.

[lufcmike]

What a crock of crap
Queenslanders telling us about bad sportsmanship and fan support.
Queensland probably the most jingoistic supporters and biggest bandwagon jumpers in Australia (and that is saying something having been to Sydney).
What have the Roars crowds been over the last 5 seasons compared to Adelaide ???
As far as the one game in question, We had a Queensland ref loosing control of a game where a Queensland team was blatantly time wasting!!! (Could have been interesting if it had been at AAMI park or Docklands and playing MV)

I say forget the flood levy I gave $2 at work is'nt that enough