Fans Behaviour

Tom_Naz the Tiger · Post by **Tom_Naz the Tiger** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:29 am

Away from what happened on the pitch on Saturday (which has been discussed on countless threads already) I wanted to pay a bit of attention to the fans who travelled to Twickenham on Saturday.

First of all well done for so many people making the journey to support the side, and the majority who stayed to the end. In the section that I was sitting (M39 East Stand) the vocal supoport was good imo.

However, I just wanted to highlight one incident that happened on the Tube after the game going back towards St Pancras. My girlfriend and I went to a pub after the game to try and avoid the inevitable rush for trains, so it was a bit quieter by the time we got to Richmond. However, there were a few Tigers/not so many Ospreys still there, and the behaviour of about 3/4 of the Tigers' fans was disgusting. Mainly shouting and swearing, and just showing themselves (and Tigers'in general) up. They verbally abused one female memeber of the public (nothing to do with the rugby at all) to the point that she was in tears. I'm a 21 year old student and I was embarrassed to be near them in a Tigers shirt, so I haven't got a clue what others thought of them. I know I should of made a complaint at the time, and don't know why I didn't.

Im sure the majority of fans there were well behaved (like most rugby fans are) but it is the minority that always make the biggest impression.

NP · Post by NP » Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:46 am

Not sure if it's the same lot...we had some nightmare Tigers 'fans' sitting behind us on Saturday (all wearing stuffed Tigers on their heads).

They were really drunk, swearing repeatedly even when we asked them to give it a rest in front of our 8 year old, constantly passing really stinky wind from both ends, kneeing us and poking my son, getting up to get beer every 2 minutes and coming up with increasingly vulgar nicknames for all our players.

Not sure why they came, but they were a really bad advert for us!

Tigerbeat · Post by **Tigerbeat** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:06 am

Did anyone come across a group of fans dressed in purple suits, purples hats and some with wigs and moustaches. They also wore medallions and some of them were carrying cane poles.

There was 43 of them and they were from Barrow.

Spotted them sat in the North stand?

Tom_Naz the Tiger · Post by **Tom_Naz the Tiger** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:18 am

NP wrote:Not sure if it's the same lot...we had some nightmare Tigers 'fans' sitting behind us on Saturday (all wearing stuffed Tigers on their heads).

The same fans I encountered were also wearing stuffed Tigers hats. However, I would imagine there was more than one group of Tigers fans with headgear drinking beer excessively! Hopefully not all of them displaying the same behaviour we experienced though.

hughes · Post by **hughes** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:22 am

Sounds like the part time supporters came out of the woodwork on Saturday,nothing to do with the true Tiger supporter!

gman · Post by **gman** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:17 pm

We were in M39 near the most obnoxious drunk Osprey fan goading us like a true hooligan, the steward had to come and sit next to him for 5 minutes. After the game a group of saints fans in Richmond were particularly rowdy and rude and upset a local woman and her child when she tripped over a pint glass they had left on the pavement.

The small conciliation I had on Saturday afternoon was the decency of Tigers fans compared to others, glad I didn't share your experience I'd have been even more depressed.

Tom_Naz the Tiger · Post by **Tom_Naz the Tiger** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:35 pm

[quote="gman"]We were in M39 near the most obnoxious drunk Osprey fan goading us like a true hooligan, the steward had to come and sit next to him for 5 minutes. [quote]

I forgot about him - were were sitting on the same row about 10 seats to the right of him! I'd managed to block him out by half-time by worrying about what was happening on the pitch!

fallingwithstyle · Post by **fallingwithstyle** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:41 pm

Threads like this one are becoming far too common on this forum and others. In the past the only hassle I had was from Gloucester fans, but now it seems to be spreading. This season I've put up with some pretty boorish fans - mostly outside of the ground and often wearing Tigers colours. I'm not alarmist but I really would welcome the clubs doing more to stop it growing before we get to segregated seating, a massive bill for a police presence, and a fear of allowing your kids to come to games.

There's no point burying our heads in the sand - we are getting worse than a lot of clubs.

Kirstyf · Post by **Kirstyf** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:56 pm

I was in M39 as well, in front of an Ospreys fan with about 5 kids, all of whom kicked my friend repeatedly throughout the game.

To be honest, the worst behaved supporters I encountered were the Saints fans - I'm really glad I didn't see any Tigers fans misbehaving. Generally, whether we win or lose we try to be civil to the visiting fans, especially when they've come from a distance. Seeing some of these comments I'm starting to fear I'm in the minority.

BTW - did see the purple suited guys - my husband spoke to them but I can't remember what it was all in aid of!

MR · Post by MR » Mon Apr 14, 2008 1:02 pm

This situation comes with the fact that Tigers have a massive fan base. Our minority who spoil it appear bigger than others. On big games the part time supporter does tend to come out of the woodwork. I had a great group of Osprey supporters around me and my family in M49 on Saturday. We shared good humoured banter during the match and shook hands at the end of the game.
Having segregated seating in rugby grounds would, i agree, be a disaster.
Leicester should lead the way in making family rugby the way forward.

justicefingers · Post by **justicefingers** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 1:05 pm

Allow an Ospreys perspective? The Tigers fans I have personally encountered at 4 matches have been unfailingly fair minded. Passionate Tigers fans yes but genuine fans/students of the game.

This thread did make me smile a little as I recall the righteous indignation of a fenmale Tigers fan last year who made a formal complaint about (if I recall correctly) an Osprey fan and an open toilet door! and sought to tar all Ospreys fans with the same brush.

I am painfully aware that we have idiots who crawl out of the woodwork for big games. I saw and heard pretty poor behaviour from some of our fans on Saturday and the thing that really grates with me- taunting opposition fans after a victory. Kiplings views on the way to treat those "twin imposters" seems to have been lost in the mists of time for some.

I agree entirely that behaviour standards are slipping. Maybe not among the hard core traditional fan but certainly with the nouveau fans that any semblance of success seems to attract.

Speak as you find, rotten apples in every barrel, every village has an idiot etc etc are still truisms

glenn · Post by **glenn** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 1:21 pm

yes we came across the guys in the purple suits after the game near the tube station, we were near the biltongue bar and the little offy opposite and trhey took our winding them up about being pimps very well!!!
also we did see the guys trap their mate in the portaloo.... very funny just glad it wasnt me!!!

mabush1986 · Post by **mabush1986** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 1:45 pm

Firstly were i sat on staurday in L4 the tigers fans sang excetionally well and cheered the team on!

This is know were the moaning begins:

Firstly we were sat about three seats from the end of the row and i seemed to spend more time standing up for people to go to the bar and the toilets than i actually did watching the game

!!! It was at this point, that the people behind started yelling at us dont they understand that we were not the ones who could'nt control our bladders

The next thing i encountered were a bunch of northampton fans, earlier in the day we had spoke to others who had been having a laugh and joke telling us their Division 1 tales and the grounds that were situated on playing fields. As we walked from the west stand out the west car park about 7 Northampton fans began chanting "hows it feel to be losers and wet" this then lead to what W****** all Tigers fans are. This was ignored by all the tigers fans in ear shout but the abuse steadily became worse. As we were walking across the bridge over the dual carriage way toward the stoop the abuse increased to "get the tigers ***** off this bridge" and "whos the ******* in the tigers top"
I really do hope that these were just narrow minded idiots who only attend big games to get drunk and act like chimps in the zoo and not a new breed of rugby fan who are intent on turning rugby into 70's style football brawls.
After the idiots encountered at Twickenham a planned trip to Franklins Gardens next season will be cancelled as i would not want my girlfriend to be subjected to this sort of language and abuse. I do hope Northampton Saints find these idiots and ban them from the ground before they ruin a very friendly club!!

Felicity Arkwright · Post by **Felicity Arkwright** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 2:58 pm

There are always idiots who let the side down who emerge from every team's fanbase. People getting blind drunk doesn't help cos it makes them more aggressive.

I was spat at by both an Osprey and a Scarlets fan last year, didn't have any repeat this time. What I did get annoyed about was the bunch of elderly men in front of me yelling at our players at the end, stuff like "effing useless, disgraceful *****" and worse - all aimed at the players. One bloke yelled "I pay good money to come to these games and you're always effing ****" He and his mates really made me angry. If you think they're always that bad why go at all?

I jabbed him with my flag on the way out, just surreptitiously you know

tiger7 · Post by **tiger7** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:04 pm

you can see the vast difference in the tigers supporters depending on which matches you go to! for example the first team fixtures are full of impeccably behaved fans who are there for a day out, a few drinks and a bit of banter. But if you go to a development match a lot of the games I have seen its more like a football crowd. Younger audience, with plenty of abuse sent in the direction or opposition players.