State of the Terrace: The Day After
It’s been just over 24 hours since we got to try out the supporters terrace for the first time. In spite of the Rapids settling for a draw and getting robbed on a terrible no-call by the ref…it didn’t bother me much. I was far too pleased with the turnout and atmosphere to have my good mood spoiled. I can say with confidence that the new terraces are a huge success. Can you remember that last time a standing section had more than 800 people for a Rapids game? I sure can’t. There were some hiccups and a few drawbacks to the whole thing, but they all seem like things that can be fixed with over time. I spent the first half on the west side (burgundy flags) and the second half on the east (blue flags) and took note of what was going on in the terraces. Here were my observations:
- The first thing I noticed was the division of fans. Most of the old-school regulars seemed to end up on the east side while the west seemed to consist mostly of newbies. As one could expect, the veteran supporters on the east were much louder and more energetic, while the west was much quieter and awkward. In order to remedy the situation, we need to do two things: First is to spead our veterans more evenly on both sides to encourage the newcomers to be more boisterous. Second is to grow our membership and expand our numbers beyond the limits of a single side.
- This relates to my first point. Another thing I noticed early was a lack of coordination between the two sides. In spite the of best efforts of the guys leading cheers up front (hats off to them!) we had a very hard time getting everybody to work together. There were even coordination issues on the same side – several times the east side was doing two chants simultaneously – and this was the side with all of our most experienced supporters. Practicing chants and giving our “CAPO”s more experience will help this.
- The drumming was off as well, and that had to do in large part with where the drums where located. Instead of having them in random spots all over the terrace, we need to have them at the inside corners on either side (by corner railings flanking the bottom stairs). This will allow the drummers to see and hear each other and allow better coordination as a result.
- The tiers of the terrace are nice, but they need some tweaking. The first problem is that they are not long enough. I think we need move the tables back and have them occupy the entire length of the space – especially on the east side where the TV cameras are pointed. I also think there is too much space between the railing and the first tier. That extra space made people mob the front row and pulled people into closer quarters leaving the outsides partly unoccupied. I plan to talk to the FO about how we can rearrange the layout to make it more functional for us.
- I got wind from one of our members that the Chicago supporters in the traveling section had some issues with some of the people in the terrace, namely that missiles (beer cups, etc.) were thrown at them from below. I seriously doubt that any of our members had anything to do with it since virtually all of us gravitated towards the other side. Odds are it was some of these new people that are not in any way affiliated with any of the organized groups. Under the circumstances I plan to help the FO and stadium staff investigate the situation. Initially I thought that the proximity of the visiting supporters section to the north terraces wouldn’t be a problem, but it does appear now that they are close enough to create a potentially unsafe situation. It doesn’t take much to imagine a situation like that turning very ugly, especially if there is a lot of traveling supporters like when RSL comes to town.
- One thing that caught my attention late in the game was that I saw flag (pole and all) thrown towards the pitch after a bad call by the ref. Under no circumstances should that kind of behavior be endorsed or supported. I have no idea who threw it, but in a situation like that we need to call out the people that pull crap like that. I don’t mean to sound like a nagging twit and a snitch, but thats the kind of thing that can bring the security and police down on us and have the FO pull the plug on the terraces. For the good of sustaining the north terraces and the supporters groups, we can’t allow that kind of stuff to happen.
- Finally, banners seem to be a bit problematic – mainly the fact that there isn’t a particularly good place the hang them. I’m not so sure the chain link fence is actually visible, and we haven’t really had a chance to hang them from the upper walkway. I’m going to try and figure out the best way we can have banners in a good visible place.
Overall I think the terraces were fantastic for the first day and we have something positive to build on. Now that we are in a place where we can be successful and have a rockin’ atmosphere, I encourage everyone to try and bring a friend to a game. This is our chance to show people that going to a Rapids game isn’t about mascots, free t-shirts, youth teams, or any of that crap – its about supporting your colors, getting loud, and having a damn good time doing it.
Naturally, if you have any questions, comments, or would like to volunteer – let us know.
See you next time!
- Quinn
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