Lately there has been an issue thrust into the fore of the football community—at least the English football community. The rest of the world doesn’t appear to be debating whether or not to allow standing areas in their stadiums. So, what’s the big deal England?
Okay, calm down—that was tongue in cheek. I understand the history behind the side of the debate that says ‘absolutely no’ to allowing standing room in stadiums. From day one I have built this blog to deliver something different than what I’ve found out on the web to date. Everyone has an opinion on the club, but not all of those opinions have to sound the same—so I’m not about to allow myself that luxury.
I want to tackle this with a little perspective; a little of my perspective, if you’ll indulge me. I am an American; I grew up in farm country in the middle of nowhere. I was born and bred a true American boy; I played and watched all American sports. This may come as a surprise, but football isn’t considered an “American sport”. I cannot tell you how many summer nights I spent at the local minor league baseball stadium following our local team. Looking back it’s still easy to remember how bored I was, even as a serious fan, watching those games through my adolescent years. Then something magical happened; I joined the United States Air Force and was sent to Germany as my first duty station. There I had German friends who insisted their new American mate needed to see a football game. I was 18 at the time, and sure that I wouldn’t enjoy this “sport”; quotes to denote the lack of serious consideration the game received from me, though I’d never watched or played it. I finally gave in and attended my first match, which saw host 1FC Kaiserslautern beat FC Bayern Munich. I don’t remember the score, but I do remember standing the entire game in the Weste Curve while 42,000+ Germans stood around me, drinking and singing songs I couldn’t understand for 90 minutes. It was a revelation for me; I’d found something, forcibly or not, where the sport was the interest, not what happened in between television commercials or those annoying cheerleaders. It was a new dawn for me and I have not turned back since the fateful day twenty plus years ago.
Why was that experience so enjoyable? Surely I didn’t understand the game or even why beating this club from Munich was such a big deal. Hell, I didn’t even know why clubs would put the words “Football Club” in their name at that point. But I knew I’d just been exposed to a sport that was going to be a new part of the rest of my life. My love for football quickly grew exponentially because of those early games at the Betzenburg, watching my first professional football team. The passion that followed has been deep and consistent; I LIVE for football now. It’s a part of my life 365 ¼ days a year and I attribute that to the early experiences of standing among all those life-long fans, learning about their club, their songs, and their culture.
Would things have turned out differently if all of my early experiences had been sitting versus standing-experiences? Would have I have jumped into following this sport had I taken a seat, passed bratwurst to my buddy and stood only during goal celebrations and the occasional rant at the referee? There is no way to ever know the answer to that. But I do know that following the sport is much different now in the all-seater world.
Other countries still allow standing areas in their stadiums. Before anyone slanders the countries who do allow it, consider who they are. They are some of the most refined leagues on the content of Europe with football histories as steeped in tradition as the English. Like many things in the world of football, Germany sets a good example; they have fans just as passionate as the English, just as in love with their clubs and their alcohol and stadia that are just as big/small/old and new. The Germans are so smart that they have standing areas that are convert to seating areas for European nights! The Germans (and others) stand week-in and week-out without incident. Why couldn’t England?
The arguments are often based on emotion. Lower leagues in England already (still) have standing areas. The “study” by the licensing authority was hardly that; you need to look at more than ONE, modern stadium to make a determination. It’s a ridiculously presumptuous statement when so severely restricting your research pool. What if, all those years ago, I had given soccer one game to make an impression on me and I’d attended the dullest 0-0 draw imaginable? I probably would have never returned if I’d limited myself to a one-off, right? We have all seen plenty of stinkers of games where we question whether or not we truly had nothing else more pressing to do with those two hours of our lives, yet we come back each weekend. Why is it any different when addressing the standing issue? How does “studying” one stadium justify any rational argument against a return to standing? The numbers do not support the myth that standing areas in stadiums are a dangerous venture. Not every club is made equally and not every stadium is either.
The challenge, then, is understanding the vociferous voices which preach a message of opposition to the idea of any return to standing. One cannot help but feel for their position, because we know it comes from their heart and their hurt. Too many bad memories are associated with the concept of standing areas and, like most tragic memories; the cultural impact is long-lasting and difficult to change. There is no fault in taking that position; any humanist would easily understand it, but to limit the options of ALL football fans because of a relatively restricted population’s desires is unfair.
Football associations should not be able to dictate policy on what is best for each club in regards to a policy. What is good for one club or set of fans isn’t necessarily good for everyone. Clubs should be given the power and freedom to decide for themselves what is best for their fans. The fans should be able to tell their clubs what they want and what they think is best for them and the club they care about. A general policy against standing areas blatantly ignores the restriction of flexibility for the clubs to build a business model which best suits them. The policy restricts the ability of clubs to design a ticket and pricing policy which could realize financial gains those clubs can only dream about. Additionally, if those voices continue to want to address the safety aspect; they need to research the types of standing areas currently being utilized around the world, many of which are much safer than thousands and thousands of fans who every Saturday continue to STAND in seating areas. Until they conduct a fair consideration of what is working week-in and week-out around the world they need to stop standing themselves in seated areas while complaining about the danger associated with dedicated standing areas. The nonsensical nature of those arguments is mind-boggling.
Many clubs and fans suffer when a governing body doggedly clings to a decision point without a greater effort to determine the fairness and viability of its own decision. The policy is rooted in tragic events of history, before evolution of stadium safety, ticketing and oversight measures being used around the world today. It is out-dated and unnecessary in many perspectives. Time should be called on this restriction and bring the game back to what it was to allow a new generation of fans to fall in love with it in its natural state.
Until we meet again,
The Red Yank
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