Latespotting: Vancouver's Unfortunate Pastime

Yesterday's post about the awful number of empty seats before kickoff absolutely resonated with Whitecaps fans who have been suckered into faithfully reading this blog since it started up last month. The post drew triple the typical traffic of my other posts, and for that I say thank you to all three of you. :p

In all seriousness, there's been some great discussion about Vancouver's chronic latecomers over at the Southsiders forum in the JMFC thread. If the situation bothers you as much as it bothers me, I encourage you to stop by for some perspective from other fans who share in your frustrations. 

Since my previous post went live I received a great email from a fellow named Mark Dailey. He's a long time Whitecaps fan going back to the Swangard days, and he has only just very recently joined the Southsiders. I wanted to highlight Mark's impressions of the situation to illustrate the point that it's not just the ornery ol' season ticket holders and long-time Southsiders who feel there's something to grumble about here. 

As you'll read below, Mark has only had the opportunity to attend the odd match here and there since the Whitecaps moved into MLS. As such, I think it's fair to say that the impression he's taking from these games would be comparable to a relative newcomer soaking up the BC Place "Latespotting" experience for the first few times.

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Hey Johnnie,

I read your blog a little earlier about the latecomers to the Caps matches.  I've only been to two of the first three matches this year, but it [the empty seats] was something that I noticed as well on Saturday.  

Now for one thing traffic getting into downtown was total shite for starters.  We made the trek in from the suburban paradise otherwise known as Coquitlam and I was both shocked and frustrated that it took so long to get in.  Add to that the line at the will-call ticket booth (which fortunately was very efficient) had me sweating that we might miss the opening kick-off for my son's first WFC match!  We made it to our seats by the skin of our teeth and did not miss a single kick of the ball and I was very happy.  

After we took our seats I took a look around and saw how many empty seats there were in the stadium. My first reaction was the it was going to totally suck balls and look totally bad on tv when I remembered that there was a mass of humanity lolling about on the concourse and outside the stadium.  Once everyone took their seats attendance was pretty good, and although I didn't see the final figure I would estimate it to be around the 19.5k mark. 

 

Want.

I can't honestly say why this happens here in Vancouver.  I think people are lazy and spoiled and to a certain extent they think their doing the club a favour just by showing up.  This is by no means a phenomena that is purely limited to the Caps, as I have seen it at Lions games as well.  As for the Canucks I cannot honestly say since I have not been to a game in years.

It is quite bothersome to see and wish that people would get their acts together and show a little passion. We're a big club in a big league playing the most popular sport in the world.  If people here don't realize that then they really need to wake up.  

Do NOT want.

As for solutions, well mate I don't know I have any.  I show up to as many matches as I can and I try to bring someone along with me who has never been before.  This past weekend it was my four year old son, who although has been watching matches with me on TV, was a little reluctant to come and watch in person. Now that he's been he has instantly been hooked.  I bought little WFC footballs for him and my daughter and for the rest of the weekend they were running around the house saying things like "Look at me I'm Camilo!" or "Pass it to Reo C!"  That's pretty cool.  

Other than that I wear the colours as often as possible.  Soccer was never discussed at my office before I started working there and now we talk footy all the time.  We'll talk about footy from far and wide, but it's mostly about the Whitecaps, which is cool.  Perhaps I'm rambling, but I do agree that something needs to be done to pump it up like our Cascadian neighbours have.  Hopefully things start to change sooner rather than later!

Keep up the good work.  Enjoy reading the blog.

Cheers,
Mark

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Mark followed his original email up with a few more details about his background, and the experiences that have shaped his viewpoints:

I've been going to the Lions for a long time, so I have always known what to expect at a game there, but when I came to my first WFC match last year I was instantly hooked.  I'm a first generation Canadian who has had the good fortune to have been able to live both here and back 'home' (Holland) and have moved back and forth several times in my adult life.  

When I went to my first match at BC Place I was shocked at how 'authentic' the atmosphere was and how there basically was no difference between the atmosphere between a match here and over there.  So in a nutshell I guess you could say that I've become pretty hardcore over the past year.  I'm not new to supporting our pro soccer teams here though since I used to be a regular at Swangard back in the early 90's (lots of good memories!).  I'm also a new Southsider this season for what it's worth.  I took in the TFC match from the Southside and it was brilliant!  I had a great time!

I think a lot issues here in Vancouver are cultural ones.  People aren't really that familiar with professional soccer here and I think that there is perhaps a perception that MLS is a second rate league and we'll never be mentioned in the same breathe as the bigger European leagues/clubs.  There is also that frustrating attitude that you wrote about in your blog on how people always show up 15 minutes late (and also seem to leave 10 minutes early might I add).  

I'm constantly working on my wife to get more interested in soccer.  When we met it was 100% Canucks, and I successfully introduced her to the Lions and I'm hopeful she will soon become a Whitecaps supporter as well!  

I guess what we can all do is just try and influence those who we come into contact with on a regular basis be that family, friends, co-workers, etc.  I'm passionate about our club.  This may sound a little strange to some, but I'm sure you'll understand where I'm coming from.  I grew up supporting Manchester Unitedand have a whole pile of MUFC kits, but honestly nowadays when I throw on a kit or something else - it's not red and black.  Those are collecting dust.  The blue and white ones are getting worn out because they're getting used so much!

Cheers!

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"...and THIS is how you get to a fucking match on time!"

The Whitecaps are very lucky that there are fans out there like Mark who still see the massive potential for fun and excitement in spite of the thousands of so-called "fans" around him who can't be arsed to get themselves into the building on time.

This issue really makes me angry. It just seems so awfully disrespectful to the players.  These guys - a lot of them young kids - are busting their asses to become elite athletes. Some day the Koffies and Teiberts of our team may be playing elsewhere, perhaps in Italy, France or Germany. They could make the big time under the international spotlight. When the press ask these guys about their humble beginnings in Vancouver, how is it going to reflect on us as a city and as a fanbase when they look in the cameras and say:

"Well.... it was okay, I guess. The fans were all right.... but it's much better here."

In my last post I mentioned how the poor optics of empty seats have the potential to damage the club's opportunities for landing and retaining corporate sponsors. Something I didn't even consider was the impact that this situation could have on the club's ability to draw the next Kenny Miller, Nigel Reo-Coker or Y.P. Lee from a more comfortable and lucrative career abroad to play Major League Soccer in Vancouver.

Make no mistake about it - atmosphere is a selling point for potential players as much as it is for ticket purchasers. No professional footballer wants to play in front of a stadium full of crickets chirping under seatcovers. This sport is their livelihood. If they're going to make the move across the pond, they want to go somewhere they are confident that football matters as much to the supporters as it does to them.

Vancouver and her Cascadia brethren can and should be within the top five picks for any players abroad considering a career in North America. But if the Whitecaps and the supporters who really, truly love and believe in the club can't fire up the reluctant and sluggish aspect of our fanbase, we're in for some real uphill struggles on many different fronts. 

Bad stadium habits have a reputation for spreading like a cancer amongst the casuals, and once they set in, it's difficult to carve them out. Perhaps we supporters need to start a pre-match shame campaign? Something along the lines of "We can see you sneaking in?"  Essentially the opposite of this:

What do you think can be done to get asses in seats before kickoff? Send your suggestions, thoughts, threats and bribes to johnniemonster@gmail.com

Thanks again,

@johnniemonster

Payola$ - "Hands Of A Wanker"

In the good old days at Swangard, the Southsiders stood at pitch level about 10 feet behind the southern goal. That made for some interesting interactions with visiting goalkeepers, as they often found themselves subjected to a barrage of insults about their mothers, girlfriends and personal misfortunes.

Take RSL keeper Josh Saunders, for instance (seen here playing for LA Galaxy). Between 2003 - 2008 he played for several second division clubs, including the Portland Timbers, the Puerto Rico Islanders and Miami FC.

In 2007 the Timbers eliminated the Whitecaps 3-1 on aggregate in the first round of the USL playoffs. The story goes that Saunders hit the pubs with his teammates to celebrate their victory, and later that night he was arrested after he was caught drunk driving at high speed through a construction zone.

From that point forward, this is what Saunders heard every time he touched the ball in Vancouver:

There's another visiting goalkeeper whose name escapes me at the moment... we found out he had briefly dated a smoking hot swimwear model who dumped him to shack up with one of the Backstreet Boys. Now imagine you're that poor bastard, slogging it out for a semi-professional soccer team. You come to Vancouver to earn an honest wage, and suddenly find your personal life has inspired an entire beer garden of rowdy Canadians to taunt you with a special rendition of "Tell Me Why (I'm Such A F---ing Loser!)"

Oh, and did I mention that we held up photos of his ex-girlfriend to remind him what a schmuck he was?

No matter what way you cut it, it's our job as supporters to get under the skin of the visiting keeper. Supporters DO influence what happens on the pitch. If you can get into their head, they are not giving the match their full concentration... and that can mean the difference between a great save for the visitors or a cheeky goal for the Whitecaps.

So without further adieu, I encourage you to partake in this lovely Southsiders classic inspired by one of Vancouver's best bands of the 80s.

To the tune of "Eyes Of A Stranger" - Payola$

Your keeper senses a danger
He's got the hands of a wanker!
Your keeper sees a danger
He's got the haaaaaaaaaands of a wanker!

The best example for this kicks in at the 1:48 mark.

Enjoy!
@johnniemonster

Here We Go, Here We Go, Here We Gooo-oo!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Johnnie Monster FC, where the FC stands for "football chants" and the rest of us stand the full 90 minutes.

Some of you will know me through my long association with the Vancouver Southsiders. I was first introduced to the group during its humble beginnings all the way back in 1999, when a small but determined group of Vancouver 86ers fans came together to support the team the way soccer fans do at hundreds of storied grounds abroad - standing up, cheering, chanting and singing their guts out from first whistle to last.

Though I hardly knew a soul at those first few matches in Swangard's south end beer garden, it wasn't long before I found myself thoroughly swept up in dozens of great friendships that last to this day. Though we were small in numbers, we sang our hearts out match after match... because it just felt wrong not to. I knew very soon after joining in with this tremendous experience that I wanted to work with like-minded fans to bring authentic football supporters culture to "NoFuncouver." Call me crazy, but I had faith that with time, effort and persistence, it was possible to win over the hearts and minds of the doubting masses.

The road ahead was a long one indeed, for in those days our style of support was a truly alien concept to the typical North American sports fan. We endured scores of complaints from the "family friendly soccer-tainment" types. We were harassed endlessly by security. We were dismissed, mocked, ignored and cast aside as nerds and nutjobs with delusions of bringing something to Vancouver they felt we had no business pursuing: a good, noisy time at "the fitba."

Well guess what?

The video above shows the Southsiders on their first ever march from Doolin's Irish Pub to the Whitecaps' first match at BC Place in 2012. This thriving, bustling march just might be the best "I told you so!" moment I've ever experienced in my life, and it was frickin' glorious.

Now fast forward a year later: In the city where hockey reigns supreme, the Southsiders are held up as an example for how fans of the almighty Vancouver Canucks should aspire to be. Not bad, eh?

Over the years I've been proud to lend my support to some of the Southsiders' best moments on and off the pitch. It's not been easy to get where we are today. I've lost countless hours of sleep. I've sat on committees. I've written and reported. I've been interviewed. I've raised funds for charitable causes. I've fought with wealthy developers seeking to destroy our dreams of a waterfront stadium by turning the city against us. I've squared off against corporate executives who have tried to steal from the very people whose hard-earned cash makes soccer such a lucrative business. I've even endured a rancid shower of garbage thrown at me by an angry mob of Honduran supporters... all for football in Vancouver.

This year I fully retired from the leadership side of the Southsiders in anticipation of starting a family with my wife, who just might be the most patient and understanding Whitecaps widow in our city's history. Stepping back has given me the wonderful opportunity to get back to supporting the Caps without feeling like I'm shouldering an Atlas-sized burden of responsibilities around the clock. To my friends on the Southsiders board of directors (and all of our many other volunteers), thank you very much for stepping up and giving back - Vancouver simply doesn't get to enjoy this magic unless somebody is backstage stuffing bunnies into the top hats. You ladies and gentlemen rock. Take a bow.

I've often said that the only permanent jobs in football are the supporters. We'll outlast every last one of the modern football suits, and we will sing with joy as the doors hit their asses on the way out.

And that is where this blog comes in.

The Johnnie Monster FC blog is going to be a bit of an interesting experiment. There was a time not so long ago when my booming voice was loud enough to ensure the 200 people around me in the Swangard beer garden could quickly join in with whatever song, chant or cheeky nonsense I'd just come up with on the fly. BC Place, however, is a much larger beast to contend with... and at times it is a stone deaf, stubborn and immovable bastard.

With our numbers nearing 1,500 paid members scattered across multiple sections, it's only the first few rows of 251 who are subjected to the Monster's madness on match days. Maybe that's a good thing! On the other hand, if you're keen to spread the supporters gospel and make BC Place a little slice of Europa... lend me your ear, and I'll sing you a song... and I'll try not to sing out of key.  =)

Cheers,

@johnniemonster