We need your help, Mr Whyte

[Guest BrickHands]

The Thoughts and Ramblings of DarcheVinny

 

Yes, I'm talking atmosphere again and I know a lot of this is over discussed on forums but I can't let it go.

 

Scottish football is on a serious decline. The once famous roar of the Ibrox faithful has all but become a murmur of groans and negativity. Of course The Blue Order and Union Bears play their part in their little corner of the ground, but that's the problem for me. These organised singing supporters groups are tucked away in a corner whilst the rest of Ibrox sits on their backside in relative silence bar the moments of good or bad play.

 

Why are we all so silent? The noise needs to be bursting out of the ground every other Saturday. A noisy ground is all part of the exciting matchday experience. Songs being sung from all quarters breeds positivity in to the crowd. It means the groans and frustrations for losses of possession and wasted opportunities are transformed in to roars of encouragement, driving our players on the park to victory. For me like many others, our supporters have now become scared to sing. The attacks from our enemies from the east end of Glasgow, in the media, in law enforcement and in government have caused this. It almost feels like flying a union flag or singing our songs have become serious crimes! Of course there are words and phrases we as a support have had to eradicate from the songbook, not eradicate singing altogether! I have read too many posts on internet forums and social networks - as well as the Bears I talk to and know - that have said they won't be returning to watch The Rangers play. That is the saddest part.

 

How do we fix this? How do we get Ibrox rocking again? Penny Arcade had a very good impact at the tail end of last season. The club got behind a fantastic cause and the support responded in the way you would expect a loyal support to respond. On Easter Sunday, the noise pre match at Ibrox was incredible. It was the club leading the way that led to the fantastic noise that day. Again, the club needs to take the lead in restoring the Ibrox roar. We do not need to lose our anthems of decades, such as 'The Billy Boys' - please don't interpret this post as another one of those 'Bring back The Billy Boys' posts. The noise Bears have created over the decades singing that song in particular is something for all to be proud of. Changing one line from that song could well revitalise our support and showing our enemies that we will not be defeated, no matter what element of ourselves that the obsessed victims try to take away. If the club led the way by publishing songs with 'acceptable' content we would not have to lose any anthem be it The Billy Boys or any other. Our enemies would not have anything to attempt to destroy us. In the past I have been uncertain about changing the lyrics of some of our songs, why should we change I thought? Now I know, to save our game and help restore the roar.

 

Look at it from a chairmans point of view. A home support that is loud, noisy and exciting, encourages more supporters to attend more games. Obviously that in turn leads to more money for the club and more encouragement for the team on our quest for dominance on every front. This is as much the chairmans responsibility as it is a supporters because we all want the same thing - Ibrox to once again be a fortress feared by our opponents on the pitch and in the stands.

 

So Mr Whyte, we need your help. We need your help to once again be the greatest home support on our shores and beyond. Work with the supporters groups and decide what is acceptable in this modern day 'sticks and stones' world we live in. We must not surrender our history and former status of being the world's greatest support to the enemies we have before us.

[ian1964 10,416]

I think the fans themselves need to participate more. TBO,and now along with the UB joining up do try and create a better atmosphere,and are successful IMO,but very often one of the songs TBO would sing is '' Copland Copland give us a song '' last season. I'm not sure what difference where the singing section is inside Ibrox?,although I've yet to attend this season but the fact that TBO was sitting close to the away fans was always good for banter,now that we have moved away from the away fans I think it will lose a bit of rivalry,I could be wrong of course.

[Guest BrickHands]

Sure fans including myself aren't playing our part. A pro-active atmosphere improving stance from RFC would go a long way to changing that.

[Frankie 8,151]

Good article mate.

 

I think blaming the police is a cop out though (sic).

 

Far too many of our fans don't contribute to the atmosphere (at Ibrox at least). Football fans are a different breed of people nowadays though and many just want to sit for 70-90mins and enjoy watching the game which is their entitlement.

 

That's frustrating for those of us who seem the experience improved by singing etc but we can't make people join in so we have to just keep trying to find songs (new and old) which will take the fancy of more people.

[Guest BrickHands]

Well with the inclusion of police, I'm referring to when fans are being filmed or watched in a way that makes you feel you are guilty before proven innocent.