Supporters Group Meeting - Parramatta

Thanks mack, was wandering how it went, was shattered to have to leave before the meeting started but won't miss the next one

I wish we could have discussed the issue of flares

Lol damn we forgot about the flares.

Hey guys, I only joined this forum, so I was not aware of a meeting today till just an hour ago. I would have loved to come a long. I'll defiantly be there for the next one.

Ok, I'm sure it was done to death, but I am curious, was there any progress/changes on the issue of the flares?

Yep, but too pissed still to make a decent convo.......................

Ok, I'm sure it was done to death, but I am curious, was there any progress/changes on the issue of the flares?

There was repeated discussion of flares, in the end everyone got their views across and the consensus could be summarised thus:

The supporters group does not condone the use of flares, smoke bombs or other incendiary devices. Anyone who lights an incendiary devices does so on their own initiative. Anyone who uses an incendiary devices must take personal responsibility for his or her actions if they subsequently suffer consequences for lighting it.

Ok, I'm sure it was done to death, but I am curious, was there any progress/changes on the issue of the flares?

 

The supporters group does not condone the use of flares, smoke bombs or other incendiary devices. Anyone who lights an incendiary devices does so on their own initiative. Anyone who uses an incendiary devices must take personal responsibility for his or her actions if they subsequently suffer consequences for lighting it.

Good conclusion, not worth risking thousands of dollars and bannings for a 1 minutes worth of fun

Benched ... I'll be expecting a report mate.

Thanks mack, and we'll leave it at that hey

This is the link i was talking about last night

haha that poor bastard.

That's such a better way of getting respect than simply beating the **** out of him. Completely legal, completely fun, completely humiliating.

Completely pathetic ...

I'm going off the list in front of me, so if I get any of these forum names incorrect I apologise:

Mack, Erebus, Benched, JulyAugustReno, Spectacular, Steveycrack, WSdigz, Juveleo, 1988Banana, Mltzer, Servicecrew, Timbo, Azza, Cbowden9000, Jowel, Abbadabba, Redhead, DiscoD, TWSC, Taurus, Mattski, KobbsNo10, Nek, Duckman, The_Dictator, WSSKIN, Noise, BHF, Cgorac. There were also people not affiliated with the forum as yet, but again I hope they have joined up after this meeting and if so I welcome them to the site.

So that's where my list of attendees ended up.

BTW for those who may be interested Lola (Ello Ellay) won her race last night in Adelaide and paid $3.10 for the win.

This is what I took away from the supporters meeting…

Firstly, it’s outstanding that that on a cold, wet Sunday night in Parramatta, 40 odd fans got together to discuss the support of a club which at this stage has no name, colours, jersey, stadium or players.

Absolutely fantastic.

The meeting had a joyful atmosphere. Everyone got along and shared their views in a pleasant setting. It’s amazing once people get together in person that all the BS written online gets forgotten. After all, we were all there for the same reason – we are passionate for the sport and for Western Sydney.

People spoke with passion. We all learned from each other on the night. The hot button issues were discussed – flares, antisocial behaviour, code of conduct. There were people with experience in running a home end who looked to know what they were talking about. The desire is to have 100%, non-stop commitment to support the team for the whole 90mins. I love that. The home end is special and it is tribal. People want an inclusive home end where various styles can be incorporated. Let the support style and culture grow organically and independently. And if it does it will surely be a spectacle.

The more ‘mainstream’ fans had a say, as well as the more ‘ultra’ fans. After all was said and done I think everyone seemed to reach a common point between the two extremes. On one hand, there is the desire to ensure that the supporters don’t cross the line and stuff it up for the whole group. One the other hand I understand that you need to allow the home end to unleash passionate support and that this can only be done in a free environment. It’s a fine line between both. And in the end nothing is perfect. All we can really do from here is move forward, grow the supporter base and the culture of the group will develop organically.

Leadership of the group appears to have been generally agreed - some former SCC people with WSSKIN and others. Most of the code of conduct stuff decided was basically common sense stuff. There was general agreement for a basic charter for the supporters to be put together. Note that the supporters group does not condone the use of flares. A name is pretty much preferred but I think we’ll confirm it after the club name and colours are announced?

Well done to Benched for organising the venue and for all the hard work in chairing the meeting. It was chaotic at times but seemed to have a direction. Woolpack are happy to have us for game days and looked very interested. It was great to meet a lot of you and put names to faces.

This is all very exciting. Can’t wait for kickoff!

Can some of the leaders PM me or contact me, I would like to speak to them.

Great wrap up of the evening Jowel. Sorry I didn't say hi last night btw, I was buggered and had to get home to go sleepy byes.

I didn't quite catch the name of the guy who was doing most of the talking from Boris's corner (chilean guy, I think he was wearing a hat), but I'm 99% sure he was the same guy that got everyone up and chanting at Mounties, and his passion and ideas for what it means to support a football club are unrivalled. The dude knows his ****. I'm really stoked he was there because he was level headed, and kept his cool when it came to those hot button issues that arose, and provided a voice for those guys that don't post on here who are going to want a lot of input into the active support.

Benched, Taurus, TWSC and Mack all did a great job chairing the meeting too. I would probably suggest having the next meeting whilst everyone is sober(ish) however. Not because anyone was offensive or stupid (even abbadabba behaved himself!), but I felt that the meeting went around in circles a lot - i.e. people saying something, everyone agreeing, and then someone adding the exact same point to the conversation. Just dragged on a bit much for me. That being said, we covered what needed to be covered and it was fantastic. Next time - meeting first, beers later

Well I just got home, and still feel a bit seedy. I must have been a bit drunk because 3 cabs refused to take me to Kellyville last night from Parra station! Bloody mongrels.

Well boys and girls, I had a great night. I think we have a lot of passion amongst our supporters. JAR, I tend to agree, I feel we could have achieved more if we were sober...ish, however, it was still a great social event. Plus, what was said and discussed needed to be aired.

Everyone spoke openly and passionately about their views.

Next meeting I'm not turning up 4 hours early with Taurus and hitting the cans.

I was smashed. Think I sided with Croat flare boys?!?!?

Yeah definitely don't want to take anything away from the meeting, I have no problem with people being drunk as long as no troubles caused, and none was. You held it together pretty well anyway benched! And it was of course nice to meet you and everyone else.

Probably the best thing to come from the meeting was that the active support guys were able to have their say and quite frankly, I agreed with just about everything they said they want to do. The fact that everyone agrees on the flares situation left me in utter shock, I thought that could've torn us apart but instead we all just went 'yep, sounds good' haha.

Also, Redhead - I'm not sure if you're familiar with the movie 'Grease', but theres a part where Coach Calhoun is talking about what he wants to do to the other team and hes going 'we're gonna rip em up to pieces, and then we're gonna slaughter em' and the lady from the school is next to him with a real grimace on her face, pretending to tear something or someone up into pieces. Well, you reminded me a bit of that lady. And that's not a bad thing.

Overall, I feel a whole lot more positive about the group as a whole, and someone on here mentioned that we're probably the only group of supporters that's going to rival the BWB in size and sound - I don't think they're far off the mark.

I was smashed. Think I sided with Croat flare boys?!?!?

You clapped and cheered for everyone

I was smashed. Think I sided with Croat flare boys?!?!?

what was said?

any official supporter group names spoken about?

Thanks for the wrap boys, I'm massively encouraged by what everyones said. Damn I'm pumped for the season

I think the name of the supporters group will be decided once the club name is revealed. There is little point otherwise. Plus it gives us a reason to get together

I enjoyed meeting y'alls last night and look forward to much banter on here and seeing you again at the next one.

Thanks again

I think the next meeting we have will be a vote for Active Support Leader and for the official name. Then once that's done, we can start organising the working groups etc for game one!

And draft up a basic charter to vote on too. Would be good for it to include some passionate words from that awesome Chilean dude who did a lot of the talking.

Yep, forgot about that.

Well I just got home, and still feel a bit seedy. I must have been a bit drunk because 3 cabs refused to take me to Kellyville last night from Parra station! Bloody mongrels.

Next meeting I'm not turning up 4 hours early with Taurus and hitting the cans.

Felt great this morning after I sweated out all the VB during my 5km stroll.