SoB Summit Review at
Kildare’s – 136 Perspective
Sunday night, the Sons of Ben held an open forum Summit for
all members to attend and express their feelings about what works, what doesn’t
and potential changes to make things better.
A total of 80 people RSVP’d for the summit, but only 30 people showed up
(including elders). Definitely a much
smaller number of attendees than anticipated, but for those that showed up,
there was some good content brought to the table for discussion.
Matt Ansbro opened up the night by thanking those of us that
attended. Of the 30 people who attended,
Jack Craighead, Jesse Lorenz, Chris Gough and myself represented the 136. (If anyone else was there as part of the 136,
I apologize for overlooking you here this morning.) Matt reiterated the fact that the Sons of Ben
is a non-profit, volunteer organization.
And, again, thanked all those that lend a hand to make the Sons of Ben
what they are.
The night’s first topic of conversation was chants. This is obviously one of the biggest conversations
held not only on 136’s page but throughout the River End:
YSA: We
all hate it but there are clusters of people who do it. Mostly the newbies that come into the section
and don’t understand that this chant has been removed from our repertoire. Spread the word. If you hear someone beginning the “OOOOO”,
tell them to stop. If you hear YSA, let
them know this is not an SoB supported chant.
There were discussions of creating a new goalie chant to replace it, but
nothing was established at this time.
Additionally, starting the “OOOO” to get others to do the YSA out of
personal entertainment is frowned upon.
Someone from 136 was called out by name at the summit. I won’t finger point here, but you know who
you are.
Our Chants Are
Boring: The SoB are looking to upgrade the website and create a portal
for chant submissions. Previously, the
way chants were being shared was through social media (Big Soccer or FB threads)
and it became rather tedious to keep up with what everyone was suggesting. Numerous people would surf the interwebs
(Justin Lee’s name was brought up) to look at what was shared and some of those
chants have been implemented. But that
forum isn’t the most effective. From
what I understand, the SoB plan to have a portal created for submission with
the opportunity for other members to see/hear the chant ideas and vote for what
they like. Makes it a bit more
democratic. This is in process. In order to do this, the SoB need web
designers so if you’re an HTML guru, touch base with the Elders. In the interim, if you have a chant idea,
share it. There are plenty of people
that can get it to the capos. If it’s catchy,
they’ll use it. If not, keep trying.
We Chant the Same
Thing Too Long: This is a catch 22.
There were representatives from non-TRE seats at the summit last night
that talked about their game day experience.
Folks in other parts of the stadium seem to catch on to what the SoB are
doing by the 3rd round of a chant, but then we usually stop. If we maintain the chant, the rest of the
stadium may get involved. I think we can
all agree that full stadium involvement would be awesome. At the same time, repeating a chant for 10
minutes is unrealistic. So there were
discussions of getting the words up on the LED, putting song sheets on the seats
throughout the stadium, better communication that the songs are on the Union
page, etc. Some of these may work, some
not. Finding the happy medium of song
length is something the SoB are working on.
But the one thing everyone, TRE or not, can do is sing. “Just keep singing!”
Obsessive Cursing:
To the knowledge of the Elders, the FO does not have an order out to throw
anyone out of the stadium for cursing. The
FO wants environment. The SoB bring
that. Security is a 3rd party
with their own orders from outside the stadium so there are three different
ideas of what is going on in the stadium.
Come, sing, cheer and help keep TRE passion going for 90 minutes. Straight F-bombs or C-bombs are not frowned
upon, but at least make a better effort to show some creativity and string it
together in a chanting fashion. If for
some reason anyone in TRE gets grabbed by security for cursing, immediately
alert a capo or an Elder. They will send
someone as a representative to buffer between the ticket holder and security. At the same time, if you throw something, the
SoB will not defend you. Moreover, you
will likely be suspended if not season tickets revoked. Additionally, if you stubhub and someone is
tossed for these reasons, you still risk losing your seats. (More on Stubhub to
come).
Racial/Homophobic
Slander: Fortunately, from my vantage point atop 136, these are not
things I hear. But it is brought up so
it’s obviously happening somewhere. If
it’s you, stop it. If you hear someone
near you saying it, scold them. There
are a mix of people in TRE and throughout the stadium and when one person
screams this, it affects everyone. If
you are not the type of person to be vocal to someone and tell them to stop,
alert someone else. Talk to the person
next to you, tweet the SoB, visit a capo, do something. If you do nothing, you’re part of the
problem.
Drums: SoB
are looking at bringing more drums back into the sections. This is not definite but something that has
been discussed. They asked if we like
the snare to which most hands were raised.
There was also an inquiry about the brass that has been hit or miss in
the section. Unfortunately, that person
doesn’t always come to matches. I would
suggest that if you are a drummer or a brass player that would be willing to
play music during the matches, reach out to the SoB. Nothing definitive was established last
night.
Capos and Section
Reps: Folks in 134 and 135 indicated that they can’t always see the
capos in the middle due to lack of height (apologies to those under 6’
tall). Not anyone’s fault, but the sight
angles make it difficult. Discussion was
there to bring capos back along TRE from 134-140 to help keep the chants
cohesive. Previously, one person was put
below and that often resulted in someone(s) complaining about the person and
having them removed. Talks were to place
2 or 3 people together at the base of each section to increase numbers so one
person isn’t singled out. As the stadium
grows, larger capo pads are a possibility, but for now, we have what we have.
Four Leaf Clover:
There’s a 50-50 split on this chant. It
was started on day 1 and won’t be going anywhere. No further discussion was had.
Keep the Chants
Philly: Zolo and Oh Philly U are original to the city and difficult to
be ripped off by other clubs. So for
those of you who like to create chants, keep it Philly focused and difficult
for other clubs to replace one word to make it their own.
I may have missed something on chants, but this was the bulk
of what was being discussed. It took
almost 2 hours to get through chants alone.
If you have an inquiry about chants that is not discussed here, pose the
question. I didn’t take notes last night
so this is all from memory.
There was a short discussion on potential Stubhub tickets
being sold in TRE. PA State Law allows
an individual to sell tickets in any fashion they like, so PPL cannot prevent
anyone from selling their tickets on Stubhub.
Any tickets sold in TRE must disclose the nature of TRE as a standing
section. Any misrepresentation of the
nature of these tickets leads to a potential of the tickets being revoked. At the same time, if anyone comes into TRE
and presents misconduct, not only does the individual risk being banned from
the stadium but the ticket holder as well risks that same ban. Stubhub is a means to sell tickets. The only suggestion is to sell your tickets
via the member portal, through section pages or directly to your friends that
sit around you.
After a bathroom break, the group moved on to TIFO and other
game day experiences:
TIFO –
Similar to the portal for chants, portals for tifo are going
to be made available. Ideas are always
accepted. Corey stated he’s a little
fried at coming up with new ideas each week so if anyone has one, be sure and
put it out there. The only thing to keep
in mind is that tifo takes time and requires space. An overhead tifo requires about 35 people and
two 12-hour days to complete. Sunshine
and minimal wind are also a must since the organization currently does not have
a warehouse to do any of their work. So keep
your mind forward thinking on tifo and present suggestions a few weeks in
advance if possible. This lends time to
purchasing the materials, getting the labor together and having quality days to
get the work done.
Tifo isn’t free. The
SoB started out the year with 300 blue and gold checkered flags. They currently have 50. Tifo is not to be taken home. It should be brought back down to the
platform to be stored and used again the next week. If you took any of this tifo home, please
bring it back. No questions asked. If you see someone trying to leave TRE with
flags, stop them. The more tifo we lose,
the less we have. SoB is not planning to
continue to replenish the stock just so people can continue to steal it.
The Elders are working with the stadium on ideas to
continually improve expressive tifo in TRE.
Ideas of flag poles being mounted atop the section so that the angles
are improved and more of the stadium can see the banners. Unfortunately, the cost is rather hefty
($10k+) so those types of discussions are on-going.
Tailgates –
Attendance at tailgates has fluctuated over the last 12
months. Everyone seems to be in
agreement that the Teber Lot was the ideal location; especially when the SoB
was able to provide beer for the ‘gate.
Unfortunately, the Lot is no longer available for tailgates and offering
alcohol is a financial liability that the Sons of Ben cannot take upon
themselves. So, for now, the tailgates
are taking place in Lot B by the pods and they need to be a strict BYOB.
The question was posed as to why people do not attend. I, myself, indicated that there is a group of
30 that hang out in A Lot together. This
is what we have done since day 1 at PPL.
It’s our ritual. More folks
indicated similar responses. Suggestion
was made to have special guests “host” the tailgate to bring people from
different lots to participate.
What would get more people over to the current Lot B space
to march in 45 minutes prior to the match?
Best suggestion: Bass Drum. The
FO won’t allow the drum to be brought inside the stadium at that point so it
was suggested that the drum be brought to the gate. Drum can remain outside while being beat, the
members can march in, continue the chant and the bass drum inside the stadium can
pick the beat up. At this point, the
drum outside the stadium can be returned to the pods. This may or may not increase the volume of
people on the march, but the bass drum is definitely loud enough to make folks
aware. A bullhorn was also suggested
along with Corey on top of a U-haul truck.
Finances –
Garrett is the treasurer for the Sons of Ben. The group is classified as a non-profit
organization. Our $35 annual dues
provide us with a scarf as well as full year membership. The remaining money goes into a pot to help
cover costs on tifo, free tailgates, etc.
No one on the Sons of Ben Board is a paid employee. It is all volunteer work.
Question was made about the $35 being claimed on taxes at
the end of the year because of the SoB being a 501(c). Short answer, no. You receive a scarf in exchange for your $35
so you cannot claim your membership as a tax deductable donation.
Question was raised about SoB Membership and Supporters
Section tickets. Currently, the
requirement to buy season tickets in TRE is that the person buying must be
represented. In my situation, my brother
and I both are members but we have a total of 4 tickets under my one
account. There are some folks who have
one membership and six seats. The
proposal was to require each seat to have a paid membership to go along with
it. This would be two-fold: increase the
funds the SoB have to do bigger and better things each year; prevent people
from buying one membership, six seats and stub hubbing their seats. No firm decision was made at that point but
there was concern with implementing this rule because of the transfer policy on
tickets. Some of us share the tickets
with friends or bring non-SoB friends along to grow the experience at PPL. The feeling was that this would be more harmful
than good. But it is something to be
looked at.
Roadtrips –
Kelly talked about current trips. Folks felt the recent
travel to RBNY was successful (except the result). Travel is still scheduled for Montreal and DC
yet this year. Issues with the roadtrips
are individual delinquency on purchasing their tickets. Kelly is required to provide final numbers to
the bus companies and the stadiums in advance so submitting your request to
attend in advance would be appreciated.
Additionally, volunteering to help with registration for the roadtrips
would be appreciated. Getting everyone
checked-in at PPL, bus captains, ticket distribution, etc. One person cannot be responsible for 300
people.
Timing of the trips is based on expected time of
arrival. Traffic cannot be determined. Tailgate time may be too long (DC last year)
or not long enough (RBNY this past weekend) but, again, traffic can dictate
that timing. An idea to send a bus of
volunteers a half hour in advance to get set-up to help speed up the process
once the rest of the buses arrive was suggested. This may help upon arrival.
There was also a word to the wise on road trips: It is a
league policy to remain sitting in your seats for 40 minutes after the final
whistle. This is to prevent opposing
support from any potential conflict in the concourse. If you bitch about waiting, now you
know. If you hear others bitching,
please share the rules with them. They
obviously didn’t read the rules for the roadtrip in their email.
SoB Board
Elections –
Elections are something being looked into at this
point. 2-year terms; working
cooperatively with the current position holder; open voting forum for all
members. Elections are being discussed
but nothing has been finalized. The only
thing that everyone was in agreement on is that in order to get your name on
the ballot, you need to be a volunteer.
Participation within the organization is a requirement. If you volunteer and work cooperatively with
those that have been around since 2007, the vision that was established then
will continue to be carried through.
More on elections to be shared as information is available.
All in all, it was a productive night. Unfortunately, only 30 people showed up, but
those that did had insight and brought constructive information to the
table. I tried to bring all of the 136
topics to the table. Most of them were
brought up by others so the ideas or concerns held in 136 are not specific only
to our section. If you had a concern that
was not noted above, please ask. It may
have been discussed and I failed to report on it here.
In closing, if there is one thing I can share it is that of participation
and communication. Obviously, only 30
people attending a forum for a populous of 2000+ doesn’t quite work. Understood, some people had work, live too
far away or had other obligations that prevented them from attending. But that’s where the communication aspect
comes into play. The Sons of Ben are
going to continue focusing on communicating via all of their social media
channels (Facebook, Twitter, website and email). This is an on-going work in progress. At the same time, as members, we need to
communicate in return. And often, the
best form of communication is participation.
If you truly want your voice to be heard, do it in person.
Hope this was beneficial to those that were unable to
attend.
