Comments on: You’re not going to see that at an NBA game

By: The Nitch Devil

The Nitch Devil — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:29:33 +0000

I don’t remember any flares at Portland but look out for the future! I am stoked at what Mr. Paulson and the city of Portland is doing for the Portland Timbers and with us stepping up into a bigger stadium the flares might go aflying!!

By: Cap Ap

Cap Ap — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:50:05 +0000

We had one Flare display in Portland but that was a protest against a horribly run time and some incompetence at the top. No serious injuries that I heard of at the time, though I think a jacket or two were trashed. Sec8 looked abso-f*ckin’-lutely amazing with those flares, by the way.

Wow.

RCTID!

By: Seb

Seb — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:23:18 +0000

They’ll be overtaking us soon.

By: Elliott

Elliott — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:40:51 +0000

I love those pics and the bar has been set for my beloved Cauldron. Only roman candles that land on the field and inspire Claudio Lopez to actually run will suffice. Beware Garber, bewaaaaare……..

By: Bobby

Bobby — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:23:33 +0000

Has there ever been an injury in Portland involving flares? I can’t seem to remember one and they’ve used them a number of times.

By: Tom Dunmore

Tom Dunmore — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:03:55 +0000

I personally think pyro displays are tremendous shows of support. They certainly need to be handled responsibly; as with any DIY fireworks effort, there are legitimate concerns about safety, even if the accident rate for pyro seems to be low in Europe (it’s certainly above zero, though). Anytime something is burning at 500F in the middle of hundreds of people, there’s a public safety issue.

That’s why in Section 8 we have been working with the club to find a legal and safe solution. It’s an expensive and difficult path, but one that hopefully will be achieved sometime. We’ve been promising supporters for two years there would be progress on this, but for various reasons the front office goes from supportive to obstructive and the path hasn’t been smooth. Supporters have held off these displays for a while, but it’s part of the culture here and has been for a long time, and some obviously decided not to wait around any longer.

By: Adrian Ludbrook

Adrian Ludbrook — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:41:21 +0000

Chris in DC, accident waiting to happen? Come on, flares have been common on Continental Europe since the 70′s… total accidents = 0.

Euroleague Basketball games have singing sections and atmospheres well beyond what you get in the NBA, with many of the Greek, Spanish and Turkish football giants having Basketball teams operating under the club name. In Serbia the basketball is of a much higher standard than the football, the result packed houses with whole ends resembling Section 8 in the clip. Just because it’s different to the NBA doesn’t make it wrong. Ask a sportsman, they’d rather play in front of a passionate crowd anyday, in fact any supporter worth his salt should be the ‘extra man’ on the field.

Support = Passion. The MLS is bringing out the best in your country, those fans could grace any stadium be it in Europe, Asia or South America. Unlike the sterile, corporate worlds of your main domestic sports. Let’s be honest, if the NFL was any good you’d be bringing it to Europe rather than us bringing football to you.

By: Tom Dunmore

Tom Dunmore — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:38:12 +0000

Being indoors doesn’t stop ultras in European basketball, Brent…

http://forums.interbasket.net/showpost.php?p=189870&postcount=18

By: brent

brent — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:28:00 +0000

Not to stop anyone from snarking on the NBA, but pointing out you’re not going to see flares anywhere they play INDOORS is a little obvious.

By: Tom Dunmore

Tom Dunmore — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:32:58 +0000

Chris, you might find this article on the Fire supporters’ ISA attempts to work out a regulated, safe pyrotechnic display interesting: http://section8chicago.com/jm3/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=206:isa-efforts-underway-to-bring-legitimacy-to-flares-and-smoke-at-toyota-park&catid=47:chicago-fire-news&Itemid=157

Unfortunately, the team have repeatedly failed to follow through on promises to make this happen.