Supporters First - Replacing The Scourge of Stadium Announcers

[FLIP]

The atmosphere thing is tricky. I do think Irish fans tend to be very conservative and don’t tend to get too into that stuff, unlike the French. But as the French have proven, it doesn’t need to be complicated or flashy or even original. It just needs buy in.

I’ve always liked the idea of an Irish chant. English ones can sound really cheesy (think the Yank “Let’s go team name, let’s go” stuff). Irish can be a lot more forgiving in that sense. Something like (and my Irish isn’t great so this may need checking!):

Bua do Laigheann
Laigheann abú

Can be done as a call and response or just a singular chant. Basically mean Victory to Leinster, Leinster to victory. It’s simple, rhythmic and doesn’t sound cheesy (IMO).

But unless something gets buy in it’s a waste and it’s hard to know what would get that.

I went to an NHL game a few years ago and the atmosphere could only be describe as a theatre. It was fantastic. Lights, lasers, music, crowd cams, songs, the works!

And to be fair to our North American cousins, culturally they're much more outgoing and like to make their personalities known.

So despite me thinking at the time I'd never be caught dead dancing on a crowd cam to win a tshirt, it was tremendous entertainment to see people do it.

I compared it to Leinster games and most everything they did would never fly because the Irish are much to culturally reserved and cynical. We don't like to get too emotive for fear of being judged (unless of course it's anguish at mistakes or refereeing decisions because that adds to our reserved cynicism!!) Where as over the pond they care much less about that. They'll sing, chant, whistle and just generally express how good at time they're having.

As a result its much easier to manufacture an atmosphere.

I went to an NHL game and yes the atmosphere manufacturered was huge, but during play it was quieter than the Ospreys stadium. Manufacturing atmosphere only works when it's constant.

[backrower8]

The atmosphere thing is tricky. I do think Irish fans tend to be very conservative and don’t tend to get too into that stuff, unlike the French. But as the French have proven, it doesn’t need to be complicated or flashy or even original. It just needs buy in.

I’ve always liked the idea of an Irish chant. English ones can sound really cheesy (think the Yank “Let’s go team name, let’s go” stuff). Irish can be a lot more forgiving in that sense. Something like (and my Irish isn’t great so this may need checking!):

Bua do Laigheann
Laigheann abú

Can be done as a call and response or just a singular chant. Basically mean Victory to Leinster, Leinster to victory. It’s simple, rhythmic and doesn’t sound cheesy (IMO).

But unless something gets buy in it’s a waste and it’s hard to know what would get that.

We are on the same page.

[molloyjh]

The atmosphere thing is tricky. I do think Irish fans tend to be very conservative and don’t tend to get too into that stuff, unlike the French. But as the French have proven, it doesn’t need to be complicated or flashy or even original. It just needs buy in.

I’ve always liked the idea of an Irish chant. English ones can sound really cheesy (think the Yank “Let’s go team name, let’s go” stuff). Irish can be a lot more forgiving in that sense. Something like (and my Irish isn’t great so this may need checking!):

Bua do Laigheann
Laigheann abú

Can be done as a call and response or just a singular chant. Basically mean Victory to Leinster, Leinster to victory. It’s simple, rhythmic and doesn’t sound cheesy (IMO).

But unless something gets buy in it’s a waste and it’s hard to know what would get that.

We are on the same page.

That Irish fans aren’t great on atmosphere or that the chant is great!?

[backrower8]

The atmosphere thing is tricky. I do think Irish fans tend to be very conservative and don’t tend to get too into that stuff, unlike the French. But as the French have proven, it doesn’t need to be complicated or flashy or even original. It just needs buy in.

I’ve always liked the idea of an Irish chant. English ones can sound really cheesy (think the Yank “Let’s go team name, let’s go” stuff). Irish can be a lot more forgiving in that sense. Something like (and my Irish isn’t great so this may need checking!):

Bua do Laigheann
Laigheann abú

Can be done as a call and response or just a singular chant. Basically mean Victory to Leinster, Leinster to victory. It’s simple, rhythmic and doesn’t sound cheesy (IMO).

But unless something gets buy in it’s a waste and it’s hard to know what would get that.

We are on the same page.

That Irish fans aren’t great on atmosphere or that the chant is great!?

Your entire post - although I am not sure about the post 'as Gaeilge'. It depends on the execution.

[Workhorse]

This probably isn't going to make me any friends but the problems with atmosphere at Leinster, and Ireland for that matter, games aren't really anything existing fans can fix.
I'm going to speak in general terms btw so there will obviously be exceptions but in general its accurate.
In general the people that make noise at sporting events (not just rugby) fit the following criteria:
1. Young (16-39)
2. Standing up
3. Well oiled
4. Enthusiastic about the game
5. Regularity

And Leinster and Ireland games aren't very well suited to accommodating the first 2, the 3rd one wears off as games go on due to running out of organs to trade for pints (especially at Lansdowne Rd) and the 4th one has other issues when it comes to getting 1 & 4 together. (I'll explain that later) And the 5th one I'll explain later.

An example of how things could be is this seasons AIL final, Terenure's crowd fit all those criteria and was the best atmosphere I've heard at a rugby game in Lansdowne Rd since it was rebuilt.

I'll take them 1 by 1.
1 Young
The cheapest ticket for Leinster games is 25 quid for the terrace, they normally sell out pretty sharpish due to high season ticket numbers there, then 35 for the ends. If you're a student or just starting to work 35 quid is a lot to spend to be in an exposed, temporary stand. Its not unlikely you'll get wet, it'll probably be windy and games are late and in winter so you'll probably be cold. For Ireland games the price issue is even worse, young people simply can't afford to go to games and young people are those best suited to helping criteria 2 be fulfilled.

2 Standing up
It takes a lot more effort to make significant noise while sitting down compared to standing up. You also cant hop up and down, move around, etc. These things sound strange but they all combine to help make noise. Outside the Anglesea terrace at the RDS you can't stand at Leinster games in RDS or Lansdowne Rd so straight away you kill all noise potential.
Easily solved by having a terrace section (or rail seating as it's called now)

3 Well oiled
People are more likely to sing when in big groups and after a few drinks. and drinks are too expensive for the younger fans at rugby games, pretty simple that.

4 Enthusiastic about the game
The issue here is that the young people who are enthusiastic about rugby tend to be involved in clubs and quite often club games clash with Leinster and Ireland games. Also if you're a club member its an added level of expense to add, especially for Ireland games.

5 Regularity
People need to be at games week in week out to know the songs. Leinster and Ireland fans tend to have a lot of event junkies at the bigger games which dilutes the regulars.

So essentially to get better atmosphere at games Leinster needs to get young people, regularly getting cheap tickets and standing together at games and when games get moved to Lansdowne Rd.

Compare Leinster to the League of Ireland, where the atmosphere at games is very good.
Essentially a young person can go to a Shamrock Rovers game for 12-17 euro (or 200 for an adult season ticket), and stand in a designated area where they know every second week they'll see the same faces and be able to wave flags, hop up and down, hug people when they score.

Now football and rugby atmospheres are different, but the principles are the same. Get young people in and let them express themselves. Leinster games have a massive gap in the 16-35 year old age range at games and its obvious why.

[The Doc]

What Leinster crowds lack isn't fan appetite or a quality team, it's jeopardy.

This is an under-appreciated point. Many of the games are a social and a chance to catch up with friends and the crowd only gets into it if the other team has the temerity to score against us - how very dare they.

[Keith]

This probably isn't going to make me any friends but the problems with atmosphere at Leinster, and Ireland for that matter, games aren't really anything existing fans can fix.
I'm going to speak in general terms btw so there will obviously be exceptions but in general its accurate.
In general the people that make noise at sporting events (not just rugby) fit the following criteria:
1. Young (16-39)
2. Standing up
3. Well oiled
4. Enthusiastic about the game
5. Regularity

And Leinster and Ireland games aren't very well suited to accommodating the first 2, the 3rd one wears off as games go on due to running out of organs to trade for pints (especially at Lansdowne Rd) and the 4th one has other issues when it comes to getting 1 & 4 together. (I'll explain that later) And the 5th one I'll explain later.

An example of how things could be is this seasons AIL final, Terenure's crowd fit all those criteria and was the best atmosphere I've heard at a rugby game in Lansdowne Rd since it was rebuilt.

I'll take them 1 by 1.
1 Young
The cheapest ticket for Leinster games is 25 quid for the terrace, they normally sell out pretty sharpish due to high season ticket numbers there, then 35 for the ends. If you're a student or just starting to work 35 quid is a lot to spend to be in an exposed, temporary stand. Its not unlikely you'll get wet, it'll probably be windy and games are late and in winter so you'll probably be cold. For Ireland games the price issue is even worse, young people simply can't afford to go to games and young people are those best suited to helping criteria 2 be fulfilled.

2 Standing up
It takes a lot more effort to make significant noise while sitting down compared to standing up. You also cant hop up and down, move around, etc. These things sound strange but they all combine to help make noise. Outside the Anglesea terrace at the RDS you can't stand at Leinster games in RDS or Lansdowne Rd so straight away you kill all noise potential.
Easily solved by having a terrace section (or rail seating as it's called now)

3 Well oiled
People are more likely to sing when in big groups and after a few drinks. and drinks are too expensive for the younger fans at rugby games, pretty simple that.

4 Enthusiastic about the game
The issue here is that the young people who are enthusiastic about rugby tend to be involved in clubs and quite often club games clash with Leinster and Ireland games. Also if you're a club member its an added level of expense to add, especially for Ireland games.

5 Regularity
People need to be at games week in week out to know the songs. Leinster and Ireland fans tend to have a lot of event junkies at the bigger games which dilutes the regulars.

So essentially to get better atmosphere at games Leinster needs to get young people, regularly getting cheap tickets and standing together at games and when games get moved to Lansdowne Rd.

Compare Leinster to the League of Ireland, where the atmosphere at games is very good.
Essentially a young person can go to a Shamrock Rovers game for 12-17 euro (or 200 for an adult season ticket), and stand in a designated area where they know every second week they'll see the same faces and be able to wave flags, hop up and down, hug people when they score.

Now football and rugby atmospheres are different, but the principles are the same. Get young people in and let them express themselves. Leinster games have a massive gap in the 16-35 year old age range at games and its obvious why.

Good post and I'd agree with everything there. Interesting to hear the point about the AIL final. I remember seeing a video on a club game in Argentina and like that it was one of the best atmospheres I've ever seen.

Edit heres the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJkwfFuTpJs
The fans are standing and bouncing creating a great atmosphere.

[Oldschool]

This probably isn't going to make me any friends but the problems with atmosphere at Leinster, and Ireland for that matter, games aren't really anything existing fans can fix.
I'm going to speak in general terms btw so there will obviously be exceptions but in general its accurate.
In general the people that make noise at sporting events (not just rugby) fit the following criteria:
1. Young (16-39)
2. Standing up
3. Well oiled
4. Enthusiastic about the game
5. Regularity

And Leinster and Ireland games aren't very well suited to accommodating the first 2, the 3rd one wears off as games go on due to running out of organs to trade for pints (especially at Lansdowne Rd) and the 4th one has other issues when it comes to getting 1 & 4 together. (I'll explain that later) And the 5th one I'll explain later.

An example of how things could be is this seasons AIL final, Terenure's crowd fit all those criteria and was the best atmosphere I've heard at a rugby game in Lansdowne Rd since it was rebuilt.

I'll take them 1 by 1.
1 Young
The cheapest ticket for Leinster games is 25 quid for the terrace, they normally sell out pretty sharpish due to high season ticket numbers there, then 35 for the ends. If you're a student or just starting to work 35 quid is a lot to spend to be in an exposed, temporary stand. Its not unlikely you'll get wet, it'll probably be windy and games are late and in winter so you'll probably be cold. For Ireland games the price issue is even worse, young people simply can't afford to go to games and young people are those best suited to helping criteria 2 be fulfilled.

2 Standing up
It takes a lot more effort to make significant noise while sitting down compared to standing up. You also cant hop up and down, move around, etc. These things sound strange but they all combine to help make noise. Outside the Anglesea terrace at the RDS you can't stand at Leinster games in RDS or Lansdowne Rd so straight away you kill all noise potential.
Easily solved by having a terrace section (or rail seating as it's called now)

3 Well oiled
People are more likely to sing when in big groups and after a few drinks. and drinks are too expensive for the younger fans at rugby games, pretty simple that.

4 Enthusiastic about the game
The issue here is that the young people who are enthusiastic about rugby tend to be involved in clubs and quite often club games clash with Leinster and Ireland games. Also if you're a club member its an added level of expense to add, especially for Ireland games.

5 Regularity
People need to be at games week in week out to know the songs. Leinster and Ireland fans tend to have a lot of event junkies at the bigger games which dilutes the regulars.

So essentially to get better atmosphere at games Leinster needs to get young people, regularly getting cheap tickets and standing together at games and when games get moved to Lansdowne Rd.

Compare Leinster to the League of Ireland, where the atmosphere at games is very good.
Essentially a young person can go to a Shamrock Rovers game for 12-17 euro (or 200 for an adult season ticket), and stand in a designated area where they know every second week they'll see the same faces and be able to wave flags, hop up and down, hug people when they score.

Now football and rugby atmospheres are different, but the principles are the same. Get young people in and let them express themselves. Leinster games have a massive gap in the 16-35 year old age range at games and its obvious why.

I'm going to dump you right in it.
I 110% agree with you.