Cursing In Chants And Songs

BToto920

Registered
Seasoned Supporter
Mar 19, 2014
264
234
43
41
Astoria, NY
Hey guys,

I wanted to post this as its own thread so everyone can see it. And if any of the staff can pin it, that would be great.

After meeting with the representatives from the team, they were adamant about NO cursing in chants or songs. It is a league mandate and not a club or Yankee Stadium mandate. They will be training their security guards to allow individuals to curse. Can't really stop that at a soccer match, but the league comes down hard on the club and the supporters club for group chants that include cursing, i.e. "You Suck Asshole" chants and the like. It is an issue with TV broadcasts and sponsorship opportunities.

I wanted to say this explicitly so when people are thinking about song/chant ideas, we have to keep this on the forefront of our planning. I am with you all in being disappointed with this mandate, but this is the world in which we live.
 
MLS has done a good job getting the 'YSA' goal kick chant out of the game. Well done by them.

The first time I heard that was at Harrisson and couldn't believe that this was common practice. Glad we've moved on past it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Drainyoo
YSA was a pretty big deal. It got to a point where RB was clamping down on Viking Army and ESC threatening to remove them from the arena permanently.

While I (sort of) agree with the precedent they are setting, I didn't think YSA was that bad. Is asshole really that bad of a word?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Christopher Jee
Personally I thought it was low class. I never thought about how it played out on television but I guess that's the most important thing these days.

I forget if it was Howler or I'll Hang Up and Listen's podcast that talked about chasing this stupid chant out of the game. I'll have to see if I can find it again and post here. It was very informative.
 
This is a very depressing thread.
This is the state of affairs in a country where showing a breast on TV is a riotable offense.

Right now I am officially warning myrself to keep the discussion on topic and will remove any posts hereafter that does not stay on topic. However, feel free to start a discussion on American Politics and the 'Pussification' of our country, as @Section1Guy has called it.
 
As a parent of a kid who's A) about to go to school and b) likes to repeat every word he hears, I'm ok with this. If you want die-hard fans, one of the bests ways to get them is to grow them. That means allowing for an environment in which parents can take their kids and letting those kids associate the club with their youth.

As for whether YSA is a particularly bad chant, it probably depends on whether you think the chant is YS,A or YSA.
 
This is the state of affairs in a country where showing a breast on TV is a riotable offense.

Right now I am officially warning myrself to keep the discussion on topic and will remove any posts hereafter that does not stay on topic. However, feel free to start a discussion on American Politics and the 'Pussification' of our country, as @Section1Guy has called it.

I, too, will divert the topic just a tad, and then apologise to allow it go on its natural course.
Too many people in this World have not traveled and experienced life elsewhere - three countries I've lived in, and experienced many others. People need to realise that what we call home is home to many cultures, and what one culture perceives as intolerable is perfectly fine in another.

Apologies. As you were.
 
I'd prefer to be singing some pretty nasty shit at opponents players and fans but I understand that parents probably don't want their kids hearing that stuff at a game and then have em sing it at school or in front of friends/family.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MikeDatTiger
I'm not a big fan of being cruel to opposing fans either. I was at a Saints game when the next seat was taken by a Falcons fans (this would be the equivalent of a City fan sitting by a United fan). We had a blast together joking about each other's teams, but never got cruel or personal. I understand that that's different in soccer because you have different sections but there's an ok level of teasing and trash-talking and there's a not ok level. Botttom line, fans should feel safe regardless of the colors they where. I don't think we want to get to the point where policeman have to line the edges of the opposing section.
 
At the USMNT game, a bunch of guys in the AO section yelled YSA at one point. I refrained, just knowing the controversy that surrounds it. Personally, I don't have a problem with chants with swearing in it, but YSA is just uncreative.
 
MLS has done a good job getting the 'YSA' goal kick chant out of the game. Well done by them.

The first time I heard that was at Harrisson and couldn't believe that this was common practice. Glad we've moved on past it.
Is that true? I was there 2 weeks ago and it occurred at every goal kick.

It doesn't bother me either way. I wouldn't chant it simply because I prefer more creative, colorful insults. But the swearing doesn't bother me.

People swear at sporting events. If MLS soaks their tampon over people swearing, it's just another thing they need to overcome in their growing up process. I'm not advocating it. I'm saying that when you have passionate fans, they tend to swear.

How many times a year is an NFL game soundtrack taken over by 70k shouting "Bullshit". It's at least a couple of times a week. Also, no swearing at Yankee Stadium? The bleachers wouldn't exist. They can't go 3 innings without a fight, much less swearing.

Like I said, I wouldn't do it anyway. I prefer to yell, "you fucking shitbag. You're the worst ref in history." all on my own. I may have had around 12 such outbursts during the match vs. Turkey. My Lord, that guy was miserable. At one point, I actually wondered aloud if he had come from MLS.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vito and einwindir
Is that true? I was there 2 weeks ago and it occurred at every goal kick.

It doesn't bother me either way. I wouldn't chant it simply because I prefer more creative, colorful insults. But the swearing doesn't bother me.

People swear at sporting events. If MLS soaks their tampon over people swearing, it's just another thing they need to overcome in their growing up process. I'm not advocating it. I'm saying that when you have passionate fans, they tend to swear.

How many times a year is an NFL game soundtrack taken over by 70k shouting "Bullshit". It's at least a couple of times a week. Also, no swearing at Yankee Stadium? The bleachers wouldn't exist. They can't go 3 innings without a fight, much less swearing.

Like I said, I wouldn't do it anyway. I prefer to yell, "you fucking shitbag. You're the worst ref in history." all on my own. I may have had around 12 such outbursts during the match vs. Turkey. My Lord, that guy was miserable. At one point, I actually wondered aloud if he had come from MLS.

Last time I was at YS a guy in the bleachers started a Fuck Boston chant and pretty much the entire section joined in
 
  • Like
Reactions: Christopher Jee
I know people like AndreT_NY who allow their kids to sing along to the songs, but there'd be hell to pay if they are caught using such words elsewhere. My son knows a lot of the words and sings them often, but the difference is that here in Germany, what many elsewhere perceive to be 'swearing' are just 'regular words' - especially if it is English swearing. That said, I have heard the word "scheisse" ("shit") on children's TV. And during a Borrussia Dortmund match shown on TV, the fans displayed a massive "Fich Dich DFB" ("Fuck You German FA") banner, and no one got into trouble for it, even though the informal use was used ("Fichen Sie" is the 'polite' formal usage).

City have a thing called "City Voice"; it's a standalone website where fans have a platform to have their say on certain things. They also do polls on manner of subjects, and a fairly recent one was "Your favourite fan song".

The winner? "Oh, Pablo Zabaleta" by a long, long way.
This was, in effect, the club acknowledging that many of the more popular songs contain swear words, and that it is just a fact of football life.

On UK TV you often hear these songs being sung during matches and little to nothing is done to mute the sound by the producers, although up in Scotland there was a case of a match being shown live on TV that was actually delayed until after 10pm because the broadcaster said that there was just too much swearing going on - this is the first time I have ever heard that this has happened.

In summary, some people don't like swearing and some do, but this is football and this is our game, and this is how it has been , how it is, and how it always will be. We swear. A lot.