i want to solicit some opinions on what we think are good and bad qualities for badminton fans like us when we watch and comment on professional tournament and players.

the qualities i am looking for are qualities that fans display during match and outside of matches. fans cheers, fans yells, in some countries fans spits and throw water bottles, call names, etc. what in our opinions are encouraged and accepted, and what are discouraged?

in general, i think positive behaviors are good (eg. cheering), and negative ones are bad (eg. name calling). but where is the dividing line?

GOOD:

- cheering
- singing
- flag waving
- respect the winning players

BAD:

- name calling
- throwing objects at players

Borderline:

- BOOing

what else can you think of?

The only thing that I can think of as this moment is:

During the play (or rally), people started to yell "IN" or "OUT" when the shuttle is still in air. This might affect the player's decision, but it might not apply to everyone. It's just plain annoying.

Or, when the palyer is serving, and the crowd just scream really loud all the sudden :(

Personally I think the crowd should be quiet while the person serves. Then make as much noise as they like, especially cheering everytime a player goes for a smash in doubles, that's great to watch.

You don't need to throw big objects at the players, tiny bits of paper are enough to disrupt the game :rolleyes:...

If it doesn't affect basketballers when they take their free throws (it does of course but that's part of the parcel), I don't see why it should affect badminton players from making a good serve. As for shouting 'IN' or 'OUT', I think the crowd can do all they want, it's the player's own fault if they cannot deal with it.

This will differentiate between a mentally strong person and one who is easily swayed by distractions. It's fair game, really.

I think IN and OUT shouts are borderline.

Throwing objects is a total nono.

all athletes at a high level have to deal with crouds... look at the riot in Detriot at the Pistons Pacers game back last year. When i play in front of crowds usually nothing they say or do unless its physical will affect me.

i want to solicit some opinions on what we think are good and bad qualities for badminton fans like us when we watch and comment on professional tournament and players.

the qualities i am looking for are qualities that fans display during match and outside of matches. fans cheers, fans yells, in some countries fans spits and throw water bottles, call names, etc. what in our opinions are encouraged and accepted, and what are discouraged?

in general, i think positive behaviors are good (eg. cheering), and negative ones are bad (eg. name calling). but where is the dividing line?

GOOD:

- cheering
- singing
- flag waving
- respect the winning players

BAD:

- name calling
- throwing objects at players

Borderline:

- BOOing

what else can you think of?

stuff i'd really like to see (more of)

really good= name chanting! not Lin Dan jia yu..... but just Lin Dan! Lin Dan! in unision! that would be great!

awesome= Lim Dan or someone salutes to the crowd after winning a match.... and the crowd responds with a salute of their own.... plus standind ovation.... plus name chant!
and that would like blow my mind!

8man

I remember in the 1987 world championship MXD final China vs Korea the crowd booing was really quite awful.It was in Beijing with 18 000 in attendance and everytime the Koreans served or won a rally the crowd just wouldn't stop.As I recall the anouncer made a plea for the crowd to show better sportsmanship and appreciation for all the players.The old Indonesian matches were quite wild as well as it seemed the crowd literally were just 10 to 15 feet away from the players courtside.An armed presence was necessary to keep the crowd from a possible mob debacle.I think cheering and ooing and aweing is great and chants for your country is makes for an electric atmosphere .The throwing of things is completely unacceptable.I myself generally just applaud for excellent play regardless of who is playing.

bad: flashing of torch with the intention to blind a player during play.

Personally I think the crowd should be quiet while the person serves.
I think the crows should NEVER be quiet!! :D
Top players should be able to concentrate even with the crowd singing and shouting, this is part of the game.

I would love to see the kind of atmosphere of the last Thomas Cup in Jakarta everywhere in the world.
European crowds are just so used to tennis habits, that they tend to keep quiet and just clap (or cheer) at the end of the rallies... :rolleyes:

i think BOO-ing should never be tolerated. why must we sink back to the days when barbarians thrive?
I think the crows should NEVER be quiet!!

I would love to see the kind of atmosphere of the last Thomas Cup in Jakarta everywhere in the world.
European crowds are just so used to tennis habits, that they tend to keep quiet and just clap (or cheer) at the end of the rallies.. 'gree with that. i just hope, when i am part of the crowd, my cheerings would not be deafened by the crows! :p

If it doesn't affect basketballers when they take their free throws (it does of course but that's part of the parcel), I don't see why it should affect badminton players from making a good serve. As for shouting 'IN' or 'OUT', I think the crowd can do all they want, it's the player's own fault if they cannot deal with it.



Personally, I find the NBA crowd waving madly to try and distract the basketballers while taking free throws rather childish, lame and unsporting.

'gree with that. i just hope, when i am part of the crowd, my cheerings would not be deafened by the crows! :p
Oops, the S and D keys are just too close on the keyboard! :o :p

i think BOO-ing should never be tolerated. why must we sink back to the days when barbarians thrive?
'gree with that. i just hope, when i am part of the crowd, my cheerings would not be deafened by the crows! :p

isnt football the biggest sport in the world? if fans can streak into the fields (tho result in apprehension) whats a little booing :confused: ;)

the livelier the crowd.......... the better for the sport..... as long as it doesnt get physical

8man

isnt football the biggest sport in the world? if fans can streak into the fields (tho result in apprehension) whats a little booing :confused: ;)

8manit isn't a matter of can or otherwise. it just isn't acceptable, in My opinion anyway :rolleyes: besides, it's not fottball i'm interested in ;)

jug/ 8man: how'd you like it if i suddenly signed "tolii" at the end of my posts :p

tolii (just trying for measure :D)--> how ludicrous lol

it isn't a matter of can or otherwise. it just isn't acceptable, in My opinion anyway :rolleyes: besides, it's not fottball i'm interested in ;)

jug/ 8man: how'd you like it if i suddenly signed "tolii" at the end of my posts :p

tolii (just trying for measure :D)--> how ludicrous lol
Mmm. A bit of sound effects is nice in the game but it can get annoying. Sometimes you see the booing and you'd feel like shouting STFU over their chanting. The players may have all the mental strength in the world but we as spectators also have some rights you know!!!

Missiles from crowds should never be tollerated. If a crowd member throws a missile at the players, I suggest that the people around the missile thrower apprehend the perp and take him to a secluded area and BEAT THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF HIM!! Not so physical if the missile thrower is a woman. :D:D But anyhow, jokes aside missile throwers should be reported immediately and immediate action should be taken to remove the perp.

And all the good things we want to see in matches mentioned by kwun are a definite must. I feel that currently the cheer crowd is not as it was a decade ago. Seems to have died down IMHo.

BEAT THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF HIM!! Not so physical if the missile thrower is a woman. :D:D gender equality! gender equality! gend.. :D

I can't remember which one, but at one tournament it is tradition that the audience wears two layers of shirts: one dark, for when the "home players" are facing the crowd, and one white, for when the "away players" are facing the crowd... That's not very nice, but it signals crowd involvement and it's so creative I just have to love it.
:rolleyes:

Personally, I find the NBA crowd waving madly to try and distract the basketballers while taking free throws rather childish, lame and unsporting.
I won't call it that since a missed free throw can win or lose you a game. Unsporting is only true if what they did is a disgrace to the spirit of sportmanship. Come on, players can't take a little distraction? I hope the millions paid for their sponsorship would soothe them enough much later eh? ;)

For those who need a dose of fan's unified chanting, singing and banter - try the English Premier League. Badminton can really make use of a lot of that. Here's a sample from Scotland, you will not believe it.

http://www.servecast.com/asx/celtic/mail/ynwa.asx

Those who follow the English or Scottish league knows what a crowd of unified noise can do to the atmosphere of a game.

I know I'd love it if the crowd of 10,000 goes "Jonas Jonas, Lars Lars, you rock Copenhagen, yeah, you do, you do", in some Danish language or something, when they hit a good smash to win a rally or what.

For sports such as table tennis and badminton- or all racket sports, it seems that you need much more concentration than sports like soccer or football. It also seems that crowds are usually more quiet at racket sports simply admiring the finesse of the player's shots. However, I think the crowd really shouldn't call IN or OUT as one can get confused as to if their partner is saying it or the crowd is saying it.

it isn't a matter of can or otherwise. it just isn't acceptable, in My opinion anyway :rolleyes: besides, it's not fottball i'm interested in ;)

jug/ 8man: how'd you like it if i suddenly signed "tolii" at the end of my posts :p

tolii (just trying for measure :D)--> how ludicrous lol

i would like that very much thank you......... they say immitation is the best form of compliment ;)

also: i think the name 'tolii' is very attractive..... i suddenly feel like im speaking to sophisticated french lady. :D

8man

However, I think the crowd really shouldn't call IN or OUT as one can get confused as to if their partner is saying it or the crowd is saying it.It's the player's problem really. Why not make it a law to forbid the words 'IN' and 'OUT' from the stadium then? Simply because it makes no sense - the players we see are highly trained professionals and the fans had to pay to go and see them play, so they can say whatever they want provided it's not against the boundary of decency and proper conduct.

"When I am playing badminton there are only two people in the world,
myself and my opponent". -Erland Kops-, as quoted by BBn in his Famous/Infamous/Inspirational Quotes (http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12522&page=1&pp=18) thread.

This the perfect attitude to have when playing matches, separating the champions from the also-rans.

I won't call it that since a missed free throw can win or lose you a game. Unsporting is only true if what they did is a disgrace to the spirit of sportmanship. Come on, players can't take a little distraction? I hope the millions paid for their sponsorship would soothe them enough much later eh? ;)


We are discussing acceptable and unacceptable crowd behaviour here.



A match involving professional players does not authorise the crowd to behave badly. It doesn’t mean that we can condone such behaviour just because the players are earning big bucks and should be able to cope with such pressure from the crowd.



Loud cheering and clapping are definitely encouraged. Crowd clapping for good play executed by player(s) they are not supporting is also a sign of maturity of the supporters.



I don’t think badminton needs to go down the road of hackling, distraction and booing of player(s) in an attempt to intimidate the player(s) or in the guise of “home ground” advantage.



A good example are those large, cheering and appreciative crowds at the big grand slam tennis tournaments instead of the unruly behaviour and hooliganism displayed at some soccer matches.