North American Pro Soccer 2017

[BlackBolt3]

As someone who's seen a football game in Bobby Dodd, I'm incredibly intrigued in seeing how the layout fares. Are they going to play the whole season in there? I'm pretty sure the metal sphincter opens up in August.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

They just said on FS1 that Bobby Dodd is 70 yards across. That's Yankee Stadium level, right?

 

It's cool to see a full house in Atlanta. It's a small field, but it looks like an intimate place to watch a game. I like Atlanta's uniforms quite a bit too.

[4_tattoos]

24 minutes ago, BlackBolt3 said:

As someone who's seen a football game in Bobby Dodd, I'm incredibly intrigued in seeing how the layout fares. Are they going to play the whole season in there? I'm pretty sure the metal sphincter opens up in August.

The new stadium is supposed to open later this season. Commentators said ATLU will play their first 8 home games at Georgia Tech.

 

Soccer actually looks pretty good in Bobby Dodd Stadium (watching on TV). Is it true GT's football team rarely sells out home games? Claim made by one of the commentators before the game started.

[dfwabel]

4 hours ago, 4_tattoos said:

The new stadium is supposed to open later this season. Commentators said ATLU will play their first 8 home games at Georgia Tech.

 

Soccer actually looks pretty good in Bobby Dodd Stadium (watching on TV). Is it true GT's football team rarely sells out home games? Claim made by one of the commentators before the game started.

Tech is generally at 86-88% of capacity for football.  Their average attendance is higher than the FBS average, but slightly below the ACC average. They sell out the Clemson or Georgia game every year as they host one of the two.

[Gothamite]

1 hour ago, DG_Now said:

They just said on FS1 that Bobby Dodd is 70 yards across. That's Yankee Stadium level, right?

 

Yep.  The Yankee Stadium pitch is 70 yards wide.   Which is FIFA's minimum width for competitive matches. 

[HedleyLamarr]

3 hours ago, dfwabel said:

Tech is generally at 86-88% of capacity for football.  Their average attendance is higher than the FCS average, but slightly below the ACC average. They sell out the Clemson or Georgia game every year as they host one of the two.

Yeah, was gonna say....it always takes a team in red and black to sell out Bobby Dodd.  Georgia fans will buy season tickets for Georgia Tech the year Georgia plays there, just to get that one game's ticket.  They'll either sell the rest of them or, as I've seen some do in the past....trash the other tickets.

 

And there is not much room between the field and the ad walls at Bobby Dodd.  Maybe a yard or two, max.

[PrimalCookie]

3 NYCFC fans were arrested following the match, one of them attempting to choke an officer and the others picking fights with City fans. Another NYCFC fan was caught trying to steal a seat from the stadium (how do you even do that?). When they were doing all the ceremonial "new stadium yay" stuff, the NYCFC fans started a " OR-LAND-O" chant.

 

Stay classy, New York.

[TBGKon]

7 minutes ago, Magic Dynasty said:

3 NYCFC fans were arrested following the match, one of them attempting to choke an officer and the others picking fights with City fans. Another NYCFC fan was caught trying to steal a seat from the stadium (how do you even do that?). When they were doing all the ceremonial "new stadium yay" stuff, the NYCFC fans started a " OR-LAND-O" chant.

 

Stay classy, New York.

Every group has their bad eggs.  I was at a Rowdies match against Orlando a few years ago and the purple clad group had a few incidents with officers as well.

[Gothamite]

Yeah, we've got our share of bad fans.  

 

The reports of attacking an officer have been disputed, though, including by Orlando fans who noted that the purple side of the stadium was also picking fights.  I wasn't there this time, but we had more than a couple drunk idiots in 2015 who tried to pick fights with us after the match.  Didn't sour me on the Orlando crowd as a whole. 

 

And lets not forget the Orlando SGs that the club itself had to suspend for starting fights in St. Petersburg.

 

But yeah, that chair thing is inexcusable.  I hope they ban him from all MLS stadiums. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

American "ultras" is a really bad look. Soccer, for all intents and purposes, is 20 years old here; especially when the knuckleheads doing this stuff are in their late 20s/early 30s.

 

Hooliganism is the worst part of the European soccer experience, especially when its coupled with nationalism and ethnic identity.

 

People make fun of Americans aping soccer traditions, and generally I think that critique is overblown. But taking the worst of European soccer fandom is totally deserving of us looking down our nose. Knock it off, dummies.

[PrimalCookie]

3 minutes ago, AstroBull21 said:

Every group has their bad eggs.  I was at a Rowdies match against Orlando a few years ago and the purple clad group had a few incidents with officers as well.

And that's understandable, as I understand the Ruckus is not exactly a role model when it comes to authorities. But I've never seen anything like this.

 

2 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

Yeah, we've got our share of bad fans.  

 

The reports of attacking an officer have been disputed, though, including by Orlando fans who noted that the purple side of the stadium was also picking fights.  I wasn't there this time, but we had more than a couple drunk idiots in 2015 who tried to pick fights with us after the match.  Didn't sour me on the Orlando crowd as a whole. 

...That would be the Ruckus. While they provide a great atmosphere, they are also very drunk idiots that don't have lives.

 

And I understand that this is a very small group of fans. NYCFC fans, although I've never actually been to one of their games, seem very good overall. Just that 1% who aren't will get under your skin and it's incredibly annoying.

[Gothamite]

It doesn't take many  s to ruin it for everyone.  

 

I thought Iron Lion Firm was the "hardcore" group?

 

At some point, I hold the league responsible.  They need to come down hard on these idiots.  That could be one reason why we don't seem to have these problems at Yankee Stadium; security doesn't mess around, often erring on the other side. 

 

A season-long ban should be automatic for anyone who threatens or tries to instigate violence, five years for anyone who actually throws a punch, and a lifetime ban for anyone who inflicts any damage.  We'll see less of this terrible behavior. 

[Jer15]

Agreed 100% @Gothamite

 

Of course, there's the other people too who are not a part of any supporter's group but decide they want to come to a game a cause :censored: under he guise of being part of the supporter's group.

 

The question is what makes people actually want to be like this?So stupid.

 

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

1 hour ago, mr.negative15 said:

Agreed 100% @Gothamite

 

Of course, there's the other people too who are not a part of any supporter's group but decide they want to come to a game a cause :censored: under he guise of being part of the supporter's group.

 

The question is what makes people actually want to be like this?So stupid.

 

 

 

You may have noticed that trolling has recently paid off pretty well for folks.

 

I once thought that the league coming down so hard of YSA at Red Bull Arena was an overreach, but I'm actually glad they did it. You don't hear it at other stadiums, and when you do, you've got a pretty clear idea of who the :censored:s are. That, and it avoids getting into the whole PUTO problem you deal with during South American competitions. It's just ugly and unnecessary to have a good time.

[HedleyLamarr]

4 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

 

You may have noticed that trolling has recently paid off pretty well for folks.

 

I once thought that the league coming down so hard of YSA at Red Bull Arena was an overreach, but I'm actually glad they did it. You don't hear it at other stadiums, and when you do, you've got a pretty clear idea of who the :censored:s are. That, and it avoids getting into the whole PUTO problem you deal with during South American competitions. It's just ugly and unnecessary to have a good time.

Speaking of which....this was uttered by numerous Atlanta United fans last night.  Team has already said they aren't going to tolerate this going forward.  But this was kind of expected....giving fans all day to get lubricated up after waiting three years for this game to take place.

 

This has been my reluctance to joining a supporter's group.  Big soccer fans, being festive during the games.....looks like they're having a blast.  But there are bad eggs with every group, and I don't want to be associated with a group should bad behavior result in some disciplinary measures when I didn't take part.  So my ass is on the opposite side of the stadium.

[JTernup]

2 hours ago, HedleyLamarr said:

Speaking of which....this was uttered by numerous Atlanta United fans last night.  Team has already said they aren't going to tolerate this going forward.  But this was kind of expected....giving fans all day to get lubricated up after waiting three years for this game to take place.

 

This has been my reluctance to joining a supporter's group.  Big soccer fans, being festive during the games.....looks like they're having a blast.  But there are bad eggs with every group, and I don't want to be associated with a group should bad behavior result in some disciplinary measures when I didn't take part.  So my ass is on the opposite side of the stadium.

Don't let that concern stop you from joining an SG. C38 (Rapids SG I'm part of) is a great group of people who are likely known as :censored:s by some other fan bases. Sometimes there are things that I don't personally approve of i.e. Puto, fighting and drunk idiots but that is a very small minority and at least in C38 those people don't last too long. Being a part of an SG for my favorite club is the most rewarding experience I have ever had as a sports fan.

[Gothamite]

I hesitate to blame supporters groups for these bad apples.  SGs are actually held to codes of conduct, since they partner with the clubs.  They get special privileges, which can be taken away, which means that they have a strong incentive to self-police. 

[Norva]

Orlando City fans have been pretty well behaved since entering the MLS. The supporters groups especially, we have had a couple of small incidents but I don't think any of them linked to the SGs. And I just have to say the new stadium is beautiful and that crowd was amazing. Orlando is a diehard soccer/football town no doubt about it.

[Gothamite]

1 hour ago, Norva said:

the new stadium is beautiful and that crowd was amazing. Orlando is a diehard soccer/football town no doubt about it.

 

Without question.  And I'm very glad to see it.

[Jer15]

3 hours ago, Gothamite said:

I hesitate to blame supporters groups for these bad apples.  SGs are actually held to codes of conduct, since they partner with the clubs.  They get special privileges, which can be taken away, which means that they have a strong incentive to self-police. 

 

I agree with that sentiment as you said there are codes of conduct and, if it deemed the whole group is the issue, the club itself can shut it down. 

In my experience, the groups and clubs mostly work together.

 

I find more often than not the real issue is someone who has chosen to come out to their one game a season (which isn't an issue) but has this idea that going to a game, getting drunk and, acting like an ass is fun (this is the issue). It's not. You look stupid. 

 

@HedleyLamarr, honestly man, join if you like the game. It just adds to the experience. It's not just about watching your MLS club. A lot of groups arrange community events for charity, play in rec leagues together, ect. It's well worth it.