Attention Paul Sullivan ref Match Day announcing.

[terry hunt]

Sorry to put Sully on the spot but i cant be the only winging old git unhappy with the existing

setup.

Jason was a great announcer in the WNIR but i think is out of practice.

Scores and penalties need to be more accurate.

50/50 and shirt draws need to give fans more warning before announcing the winner.

Most important the fans need a kick up the arse when the season starts.There is no Block 3 or2

effect at the moment.

Sully needs to give the announcers some lessons how to get fans to open their mouths.

Barring that perhaps we need a gospel choir to get everyone going.

 

[DevilDom]

Its not down to the announcer to get things going its down to the fans. It is going to take a while to recreate the sort of atmosphere we had in the BBT, plus the atmosphere we did have there was not created overnight it was developed over years.

I agree there is no Block 3 / 2 to get things going and a lot of these people have been spread about although some sorted things so they got to stick together. A lot of people siting in the equivalent of these blocks aren't people who sing / chant so the effect we had in the BBT which concentrated these together has been for a large part lost.

The IAW is a great facility but personally at the moment I find it quite soulless. Concentrate floors and higher roof doesn't help with creating an atmosphere but that's just a function of a modern facilitiy. I believe will get an atmosphere back but it may take 2 or 3 years for it to happen and it won't be because we have a great announcer or brilliant on screen graphics it will because the fans will sort it out themselves.

 

[drummer-sean]

Completely agree Dom, it'll take a while to get going.

Panthers fans created a fan block a year or two back and it worked wonders for their atmosphere for the brief stint it existed. I wonder if it could work for us?

I also think maybe some on screen prompts may work? Give me a D flashes on screen, crowd shout D, etc etc just to spark something.

It'd be great to get some new chants going at home, as our own fans get a little bored of the same constantly, but it has to be something that is easy to get involved with.

 

[Milky]

I agree with you on the announcer (I've mentioned it before, he just doesn't do it for me). Bring back Todd.

But as regards the crowd, sorry but what has it got to do with Paul Sullivan? It's nothing to do with him and purely a fan thing. What's he going to do???

In my opinion there are a couple of reasons the atmosphere isn't great at the moment;

1) numbers. Small crowds and everyone spaced out isn't conducive for noise and atmosphere. Bums on seats = more noise. simple

2) the ridiculous season ticket holder list created by the previous owners. people are now split up all over the rink which dilutes the atmosphere and singing. Can't see people now voluntarily giving up their first choice of seats to sit elsewhere just to create an atmosphere. I would love to be proved wrong though.

3) the sound system. It's just poor. I said at the first game in the rink (a Cardiff fire game) last season that the sound purely coming from above the screens in the middle of the rink wouldn't fill the building. Iaw need to install speakers around the edges of the rinks or directly above the stands pointing down (they even had them in the BBT).

All these contribute to generating an atmosphere.

 

[DevilDom]

Completely agree Dom, it'll take a while to get going.

Panthers fans created a fan block a year or two back and it worked wonders for their atmosphere for the brief stint it existed. I wonder if it could work for us?

I also think maybe some on screen prompts may work? Give me a D flashes on screen, crowd shout D, etc etc just to spark something.

It'd be great to get some new chants going at home, as our own fans get a little bored of the same constantly, but it has to be something that is easy to get involved with.

I thought about the fan block idea too but many of the loudest fans want to sit on the halfway and / or blue lines. This would mean they either have to move to lower grade seats behind the goal or you move a load of people who don't want to sing from these blocks (which isn't going to happen!). I think it will come as the louder fans will (over time) migrate together but will take time.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of artificial prompts / graphics to get things going but that may work for some.

 

[DevilDom]

2) the ridiculous season ticket holder list created by the previous owners. people are now split up all over the rink which dilutes the atmosphere and singing. Can't see people now voluntarily giving up their first choice of seats to sit elsewhere just to create an atmosphere. I would love to be proved wrong though.

This.
No fault of the current management or fans or who took advantage of it just another legacy of the Ragan era.

 

[august04]

I don't have any problem with Jason Harrold at all but he (or Todd Kelman) are not helped by the PA system, which for a new facility, is absolute garbage. Last night the mic was breaking up and as has been commented already, the sound isn't projected very well at all from the centre ice speakers. It isn't conducive to getting everyone involved, nor is only a half full arena by the way. I'm sure the atmosphere will improve when we get going for real next week but there are so many areas where the developers of the arena have taken the cheap option - it should be so much better - but no obvious avenues to improve things while IAW ownership remains as is. No screen prompts please though - ever!

 

[ASHIPP]

Acknowledge that the PA system is bad. I said last week that Jason Harold was good in WNIR....in an environment where the fan atmosphere was already buzzing because of itself. But right now, in the IAW we desperately need an MC with personality who understands the game and has a connection with the crowd to help contribute to the atmospherre. If Todd is too busy on match night, Paul Sullivan is a fine, proven MC who understands the moment and the crowd brilliantly.

An example from last night....TK would have asked the crowd 'anyone wanna see a replay of that goal?' to be greeted normally with an enthusiastic loud cheer from the crowd. Last night, Harold just said blandly 'btw, here's a replay of the last goal'.

What happened to half the spoken intro last night? 'Saturday is hockey night at the IAW in fabulous Cardiff Bay' annd 'put your haaaaaaaaands together for your team, the home team' etc completely missing.

 

[Angusdevil7]

I agree with the people saying more speakers, whenever the intro is running I feel like it's happening over at centre ice and not actually reaching me, I can talk to the people around me without having to raise my voice at all and for me being able to do that through the intro to a sporting event is wrong.

I also think it may be the games we've had, while its been good to have so many preseason games for the team, I personally haven't felt 100% invested in them as there is nothing on them, once there's points up for grabs from next week onwards that may help.

 

[Mooney#16]

Any atmosphere worth anything of any value comes spontaneously from the viewing crowd. People have to join in with chants. Cheer your teams good play and cheer even louder when it's not clicking and get on to the oppositions backs and give them some serious hard treatment.

People want atmosphere. Produce it.

I hate manufactured gimmicks to encourage it. They are cringe worthy. People like to label Devils as having this amazing fan base. You want that accolade then the fans need to prove it.

 

[DevilDom]

Any atmosphere worth anything of any value comes spontaneously from the viewing crowd. People have to join in with chants. Cheer your teams good play and cheer even louder when it's not clicking and get on to the oppositions backs and give them some serious hard treatment.

People want atmosphere. Produce it.

I hate manufactured gimmicks to encourage it. They are cringe worthy. People like to label Devils as having this amazing fan base. You want that accolade then the fans need to prove it.

Yep. Agree 100%.

 

[wildthing74]

Ironically I thought last night was the loudest it's been pre season and our block(9) definitely had a go and the drummers were on it straight away.

I agree with the comment that most of us me included have not been fully invested in these games as at the end of the day nothing is at stake and I am sure as soon as competitive hockey is back next weekend the fans will be more pumped and no doubt the crowd will be bigger.

That stupid list did cause a lot of the problems in fans not being able to stay in their groups and it should have been buried with the previous ownership.By the new regime trying to do the honourable thing it did no favours and even if it meant unhappy fans getting their £15 back it would have been worth it to lose the damn thing and let people stay pretty much as they were.

 

[DevilDom]

Ironically I thought last night was the loudest it's been pre season and our block(9) definitely had a go and the drummers were on it straight away.

We couldn't hear you in 8! :lol:

Saying that, some were started in 8 which I bet you didn't hear either as they died out pretty quickly even though the drummers tried to keep them going. At the moment they are just not loud enough to travel around the rink like they used to but it will come.

 

[drainage]

I agree with you on the announcer (I've mentioned it before, he just doesn't do it for me). Bring back Todd.

But as regards the crowd, sorry but what has it got to do with Paul Sullivan? It's nothing to do with him and purely a fan thing. What's he going to do???

In my opinion there are a couple of reasons the atmosphere isn't great at the moment;

1) numbers. Small crowds and everyone spaced out isn't conducive for noise and atmosphere. Bums on seats = more noise. simple

2) the ridiculous season ticket holder list created by the previous owners. people are now split up all over the rink which dilutes the atmosphere and singing. Can't see people now voluntarily giving up their first choice of seats to sit elsewhere just to create an atmosphere. I would love to be proved wrong though.

3) the sound system. It's just poor. I said at the first game in the rink (a Cardiff fire game) last season that the sound purely coming from above the screens in the middle of the rink wouldn't fill the building. Iaw need to install speakers around the edges of the rinks or directly above the stands pointing down (they even had them in the BBT).

All these contribute to generating an atmosphere.

Whilst I agree the small crowds have had an impact I don't agree with point 2 , fans paid in good faith to be on the list. Not honouring it would have been wrong I agree it pre dates the current ownership but that's hardly the fault of the fans that paid ?? You get told it puts you in list for new arena and want to pay then that should be honoured , also there was not a like for like option for many who rightly excercised their right to choose their seats ..... As a ST at front of block in BBT I for one did not want a front of block seat in IAW one was above the ice the other level hardly a like for like option

As someone said the BBT atmosphere didn't happen overnight we have had relatively few games and pre season was at best half full I think we need to wait and see !

 

[ASHIPP]

There is no doubt that the re-seating of vocal groups of fans in the new arena has affected the atmosphere (hopefully only a temporary lull)
So important that those groups still want and need to be vocal.....but the biggest problem is getting new fans to join in.
It's fantastic seeing so many new fans (many of them new ST holders) at the games......but many don't understand what/why the chanting. And many just don't want to chant or sing.

How can more people be encouraged to join in?

What would be a massive contribution to the opening game/s atmosphere would be the re-issue of those fantastic clappers! Any chance of those?

 

[Wannabe2]

Wether the atmosphere gets going or not in the IAW is purely down to us, we guys made it in the WNIR, we guys made it in the BBT, and we guys will make it in the IAW, of that I have no doubt. This amazing team will aid us big time, so let's get behind our amazing club, we ain't lost our voices just because we moved. We are Cardiff and we are Welsh the land of song, let's get our beautiful new home rocking, it's our 3rd home, let's make it the noisiest.

 

[Temme]

On the subject of fan blocks - Coventry have gone with block 8 (old away block) as their "noisy block" this year, with drummers etc there.

I'm the first one to go on about the car auction atmosphere in the Skydome, but the noisy block works wonders there in my opinion.

 

[Nitra]

Why does Todd not do the announcing anymore?

 

[Mooney#16]

I assume Todd wants to get an honest feel for what the current match night experience is like for the fans and that involves being in and amongst the fans not on a Commentary gantry. He did the same in the BBT and came up with lots of great changes. It was something I gave great credit to Todd for that he learnt and saw it for himself not just listened to people's opinions but took the time to form his own based on a true reflection.

 

[august04]

Why does Todd not do the announcing anymore?

Hasn't he been on holiday? I assume he'll be back on the mic when he returns.