Most epic troll ever.
March 18, 2012 6:58 PM Subscribe
Turkish football fans have probably kept many flare companies in business over the years, but when the Turkish FA banned flares from stadiums, their brand of pyromaniac fun seemed to be over. The fans of Super Lig club Eskisehirspor had other ideas, though.
View from under the banner
View from the bottom of the banner
View from under the banner
View from the bottom of the banner
[Single tear forms in eye]
posted by Threeway Handshake at 7:23 PM on March 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Threeway Handshake at 7:23 PM on March 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
![[planning.jpg]](https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/sbutler1/www/planning-somehow-i-dont-think-you-thought-your-cunning-plan-all-the-way-through.jpg){kind=link}
That New Yorker article on that one Turkish soccer fan club was amazing... sorry to be vague I can't find the link right now. But it was great
posted by jcruelty at 7:35 PM on March 18, 2012
posted by jcruelty at 7:35 PM on March 18, 2012
(and, this is awesome)
posted by jcruelty at 7:36 PM on March 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jcruelty at 7:36 PM on March 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
The View From The Stands: Life Among Istanbul's Soccer Fans. (Unfortunately paywalled, too bad it's an unexpectedly great read) Most diacritics I've ever seen in a New Yorker article!
posted by jcruelty at 7:39 PM on March 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by jcruelty at 7:39 PM on March 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
Quality! Used to enjoy reading about the work of Çarşı at Besiktas, now sadly defunct it seems.
posted by Abiezer at 7:52 PM on March 18, 2012
posted by Abiezer at 7:52 PM on March 18, 2012
Everything went better than expected.
Never thought I'd be posting that here, but seems apropos.
posted by furtive at 8:02 PM on March 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
Never thought I'd be posting that here, but seems apropos.
posted by furtive at 8:02 PM on March 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
Fucking.Awesome.
But, that isn't much different from the one major soccer/football match I've been to, in Mexico City. Smoke bombs, barbed wire fences, riot cops confiscating belts ... man, now that was a vacation to remember.
posted by mannequito at 8:07 PM on March 18, 2012
But, that isn't much different from the one major soccer/football match I've been to, in Mexico City. Smoke bombs, barbed wire fences, riot cops confiscating belts ... man, now that was a vacation to remember.
posted by mannequito at 8:07 PM on March 18, 2012
When soccer supporters have large staged banners like that, they're called Tifo. Good tifo is a sight to behold. And, as a member of the Emerald City Supporters, I've had my share in helping to make and deploy tifo for our team, the Seattle Sounders FC.
Corgi, chances are, if you do go to a soccer game, you won't be in the sects that deploys tifo like that. Tifo is restricted to the Supporters Sections of e stadium, and the people who are in that section are either familiar with Soccer Supporter Culture (so flares and tifo won't freak them out), or they're willing to learn. At least in our stadium, if there's people there who look overwhelmed or confused, we try to help things out by explaining it to them, and the stadium security tries to explain what goes on in the supporters sections.
I've been under tifo many times, last time was last night in fact. It's only displayed for a couple of minutes, a few minutes at the very most. You're not under it for the whole game.
posted by spinifex23 at 8:18 PM on March 18, 2012
Corgi, chances are, if you do go to a soccer game, you won't be in the sects that deploys tifo like that. Tifo is restricted to the Supporters Sections of e stadium, and the people who are in that section are either familiar with Soccer Supporter Culture (so flares and tifo won't freak them out), or they're willing to learn. At least in our stadium, if there's people there who look overwhelmed or confused, we try to help things out by explaining it to them, and the stadium security tries to explain what goes on in the supporters sections.
I've been under tifo many times, last time was last night in fact. It's only displayed for a couple of minutes, a few minutes at the very most. You're not under it for the whole game.
posted by spinifex23 at 8:18 PM on March 18, 2012
And their tifo? Just awesome. What a great display.
posted by spinifex23 at 8:19 PM on March 18, 2012
posted by spinifex23 at 8:19 PM on March 18, 2012
Was the idea that the cops could not bust specific people while they were obscured by tifo?
posted by Meatbomb at 8:26 PM on March 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Meatbomb at 8:26 PM on March 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
That New Yorker article on that one Turkish soccer fan club was amazing...
That was my first thought also. I've been to big soccer games (though never in Turkey), and the intensity of the crowd is both wonderful and terrifying.
posted by Forktine at 8:30 PM on March 18, 2012
That was my first thought also. I've been to big soccer games (though never in Turkey), and the intensity of the crowd is both wonderful and terrifying.
posted by Forktine at 8:30 PM on March 18, 2012
I saw stills of this and didn't want to watch because I assumed it ended in tears. Just thinking about being in that stadium is giving me an anxiety attack. I sincerely hope somebody was on hand with a fire extinguisher.
posted by ob1quixote at 8:42 PM on March 18, 2012
posted by ob1quixote at 8:42 PM on March 18, 2012
More background on flare usage at matches...
Besiktas, another Turkish club
and other assorted club supporters, ultras, and what not using flares
posted by Raqin at 8:53 PM on March 18, 2012
Besiktas, another Turkish club
and other assorted club supporters, ultras, and what not using flares
posted by Raqin at 8:53 PM on March 18, 2012
Oh, they're using a banner to say whatever it was they were going to say with flares.
...
Oh, hey, cool, it's Trollface! They even put holes in it so it wouldn't blow away.
...
Wait, those holes...
...
/slow clap standing ovation
posted by obiwanwasabi at 10:13 PM on March 18, 2012 [6 favorites]
...
Oh, hey, cool, it's Trollface! They even put holes in it so it wouldn't blow away.
...
Wait, those holes...
...
/slow clap standing ovation
posted by obiwanwasabi at 10:13 PM on March 18, 2012 [6 favorites]
As much as I love the atmosphere at football games, I would have had one hell of a panic attack if I were in this section. Amazing and scary as heck at the same time.
posted by viramamunivar at 11:35 PM on March 18, 2012
posted by viramamunivar at 11:35 PM on March 18, 2012
Soccer/Football fans creep me the fuck out. All the shenanigans I see on the internet and (over)hear about makes me think they're a whole bunch of glassy-eyed zombies, all riled up over...something. The fervor displayed that never seems to die down no matter how much inactivity is happening in the game is just weird. I admit, I can't stand the game, so rip me up all you want. But the chants and songs and flag waving and chants and new to me, pyrotechnics by *fans*, is just, I don't know, too much. It verges on cult like in my mind.
posted by rainperimeter at 12:16 AM on March 19, 2012
posted by rainperimeter at 12:16 AM on March 19, 2012
rainperimeter: I'm not sure what sports, if any, you may be into, but let me try to explain. While that definitely has a place, soccer fandom isn't characterized by reaction to events in the game. This is why we seem oblivious to the "inactivity" you've noted. The gameplay, whatever its relative worth, is continuous instead of being punctuated by the ongoing promotional announcements and "watch the kid shoot the puck/make the kick/basket" distractions which feature so prominently in other American sports. For this reason, the supporters bring the atmosphere themselves. Waving flags and jumping around and chanting beats the shit out of watching cheerleaders, a marching band, or advertisements, at least in my book.
I'd make an analogy I borrow from a musician friend: rock music is about going on a journey together, whereas jazz music is about being in the same place together. Traditional American sports and entertainment, like rock music, provide their consumers with a narrative. Jazz music and soccer exist as a background and allow their crowd to appreciate it, themselves, and the experience, on their own terms.
You avowedly don't care for the game, and that's fine. I'm not sure whether you care for jazz music, either. Admittedly the people drawn to both seem to be somewhat self-selecting and foreign, though "cult-like" might be going too far. If you're not into it you're not into it and that's cool. But if you think you understand a culture just far enough to disparage it, I'd encourage you to reexamine.
posted by 7segment at 12:57 AM on March 19, 2012 [10 favorites]
I'd make an analogy I borrow from a musician friend: rock music is about going on a journey together, whereas jazz music is about being in the same place together. Traditional American sports and entertainment, like rock music, provide their consumers with a narrative. Jazz music and soccer exist as a background and allow their crowd to appreciate it, themselves, and the experience, on their own terms.
You avowedly don't care for the game, and that's fine. I'm not sure whether you care for jazz music, either. Admittedly the people drawn to both seem to be somewhat self-selecting and foreign, though "cult-like" might be going too far. If you're not into it you're not into it and that's cool. But if you think you understand a culture just far enough to disparage it, I'd encourage you to reexamine.
posted by 7segment at 12:57 AM on March 19, 2012 [10 favorites]
The fervor displayed that never seems to die down no matter how much inactivity is happening in the game is just weird.
While in Japan for a week last year I saw a baseball game (Yokohama vs. Tokyo). The fans did the same thing, constant chants and special songs for each batter. It was exciting, and fun, but a lot different than the American baseball games I'd been too.
posted by sbutler at 1:14 AM on March 19, 2012 [3 favorites]
While in Japan for a week last year I saw a baseball game (Yokohama vs. Tokyo). The fans did the same thing, constant chants and special songs for each batter. It was exciting, and fun, but a lot different than the American baseball games I'd been too.
posted by sbutler at 1:14 AM on March 19, 2012 [3 favorites]
Rowdy fans cause Polish kids game to be abandoned.
posted by Infinite Jest at 1:22 AM on March 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Infinite Jest at 1:22 AM on March 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
celtic fans are pretty good for doing crowd stuff - this link pauses for some reason but never mind :)
posted by sgt.serenity at 1:26 AM on March 19, 2012
posted by sgt.serenity at 1:26 AM on March 19, 2012
Soccer/Football fans creep me the fuck out. All the shenanigans I see on the internet and (over)hear about makes me think they're a whole bunch of glassy-eyed zombies, all riled up over...something.
Football fans can be mindless neds (or even out and out fascists, as with certain Italian clubs), but on the whole most fans have a sense of humour best illustrated by the following incident:
After it was reported in the press that Goram had a mild form of schizophrenia, fans responded with a chorus of "Two Andy Gorams, there's only two Andy Gorams".
Mind, these were his own team's fans who sung that about him...
posted by MartinWisse at 2:14 AM on March 19, 2012
Football fans can be mindless neds (or even out and out fascists, as with certain Italian clubs), but on the whole most fans have a sense of humour best illustrated by the following incident:
After it was reported in the press that Goram had a mild form of schizophrenia, fans responded with a chorus of "Two Andy Gorams, there's only two Andy Gorams".
Mind, these were his own team's fans who sung that about him...
posted by MartinWisse at 2:14 AM on March 19, 2012
Mind, these were his own team's fans who sung that about him...
I think England's Greatest Singing moment came during the last World Cup, when they played the USA in the group stage. This was during the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
So, what were they singing?
You're not swimming
You're not swimming
You're not swimming any more...
posted by eriko at 6:17 AM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I think England's Greatest Singing moment came during the last World Cup, when they played the USA in the group stage. This was during the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
So, what were they singing?
You're not swimming
You're not swimming
You're not swimming any more...
posted by eriko at 6:17 AM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yeah, another great spontaneous chant (and I'm not a fan of either club) came in a match a few seasons ago between Newcastle and West Ham. Both teams were doing badly that season, both risking relegation, and to rub it in, the Newcastle fans started taunting their rivals with chants of "Going down, going down". To which the West Ham fans retorted "So are we, so are we!"
posted by ob at 6:45 AM on March 19, 2012 [8 favorites]
posted by ob at 6:45 AM on March 19, 2012 [8 favorites]
That picture took forever to download.
posted by orme at 7:51 AM on March 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by orme at 7:51 AM on March 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
Are those guys in orange the security staff? To block these fans from the rest of the fans? If so, that's a lot of security.
posted by smackfu at 8:36 AM on March 19, 2012
posted by smackfu at 8:36 AM on March 19, 2012
Terrace humor and other aspects of football support can have its ugly side, but my personal favorite anecdote about a rivalry comes from a match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton. Brighton has a large and active gay community, and so the Albion supporters were subjected to chants of "you're just a town full of faggots!" The Seagulls' response to this was "IT'S A CITY!"
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:52 AM on March 19, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:52 AM on March 19, 2012 [5 favorites]
Are those guys in orange the security staff?
Yep. A 'normal', common thing to see in football matches in Turkey. In some small but potentially violent games, it is even possible to have more policemen in the stadium than supporters. The police are wearing now these cameras attached to their helmets, too, so they can identify the hooligans afterwards.
posted by procrastinator at 9:55 AM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yep. A 'normal', common thing to see in football matches in Turkey. In some small but potentially violent games, it is even possible to have more policemen in the stadium than supporters. The police are wearing now these cameras attached to their helmets, too, so they can identify the hooligans afterwards.
posted by procrastinator at 9:55 AM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Blasdelb: Some more background on the club itself
Uhm, no, that's a different club from Ankara—not even from the same city :) This is the correct link. They were big in the late '60s, then went into a long decline until 2000 something. They are currently placed 6th in the league chart.
"Eskişehirspor supporters unlike most football clubs are not renowned for their hardcore, fanatical ultra groups. The Red Lightning are unique in having the league's first and only organized supporters band called the Bando-ESES. Founded in 2006 in the 'Samba Bar', Eskişehir, what started as a group of friends has grown into one of the most well known and respected supporter groups in Turkey."
posted by procrastinator at 10:06 AM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Uhm, no, that's a different club from Ankara—not even from the same city :) This is the correct link. They were big in the late '60s, then went into a long decline until 2000 something. They are currently placed 6th in the league chart.
"Eskişehirspor supporters unlike most football clubs are not renowned for their hardcore, fanatical ultra groups. The Red Lightning are unique in having the league's first and only organized supporters band called the Bando-ESES. Founded in 2006 in the 'Samba Bar', Eskişehir, what started as a group of friends has grown into one of the most well known and respected supporter groups in Turkey."
posted by procrastinator at 10:06 AM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
When soccer supporters have large staged banners like that, they're called Tifo. Good tifo is a sight to behold.
PitchInvasion's Tumblr is an excellent source for good pics of tifo.
(And incidentally, I'm really happy to see the extent to which the Pacific Northwest is supporting the local MLS teams. The Timbers' season opener was impressive for the level of fan support, particularly given how damn rainy it was. Hopefully someday San Jose will catch up.)
posted by asterix at 11:19 AM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
PitchInvasion's Tumblr is an excellent source for good pics of tifo.
(And incidentally, I'm really happy to see the extent to which the Pacific Northwest is supporting the local MLS teams. The Timbers' season opener was impressive for the level of fan support, particularly given how damn rainy it was. Hopefully someday San Jose will catch up.)
posted by asterix at 11:19 AM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Somehow I think if the Occupy Wall Street protesters were just a tad more theatrical, like this bunch, things might have turned out differently.
posted by Kokopuff at 1:03 PM on March 19, 2012
posted by Kokopuff at 1:03 PM on March 19, 2012
In 1992 a flare was shot in Sarrià stadium in Barcelona, diring a Primera Division match. It flew above the field and into the opposite bleachers, instantly killing a 13 year old who was there with his father supporting the home team.
They would've banned flares from stadiums, had they not been already explicitly banned in Spain since 1990.
In my mind, justifying tifos is pretty much like justifying drunk driving because "hey, we do it responsibly". fuck that.
posted by valdesm at 3:08 PM on March 19, 2012
They would've banned flares from stadiums, had they not been already explicitly banned in Spain since 1990.
In my mind, justifying tifos is pretty much like justifying drunk driving because "hey, we do it responsibly". fuck that.
posted by valdesm at 3:08 PM on March 19, 2012
Valdesm,
Tifo and flares are two different things. The Tifo is just the 'banner' part of the display. The flares were extra, and not all groups use flares.
posted by spinifex23 at 3:31 PM on March 19, 2012
Tifo and flares are two different things. The Tifo is just the 'banner' part of the display. The flares were extra, and not all groups use flares.
posted by spinifex23 at 3:31 PM on March 19, 2012
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Also, I plan to never see a soccer game. Ever.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:15 PM on March 18, 2012 [1 favorite]