The Ponsford Stand

[domus]

I know it has been said before, but I need to vent. Why do Collingwood supporters pay big bucks to reserve a seat behind the goals at the Ponsford end and then refuse to turn up, week after bloody week? It looks so soulless and bare and I find it depressing. I was watching a replay of a clash between North and Richmond (2012) on Fox and the ground level of the Ponny was jam packed with North fans. When they kicked a few quick goals it looked sensational as the whole level rose as one. They also have a cheer squad with decent numbers, banners, flags and floggers.

What is wrong with our cheer squad? How can a club our size fail to produce the biggest, loudest, most intimidating squad in the league?

What the hell is going on?

 

[Robroy22]

I know it has been said before, but I need to vent. Why do Collingwood supporters pay big bucks to reserve a seat behind the goals at the Ponsford end and then refuse to turn up, week after bloody week? It looks so soulless and bare and I find it depressing. I was watching a replay of a clash between North and Richmond (2012) on Fox and the ground level of the Ponny was jam packed with North fans. When they kicked a few quick goals it looked sensational as the whole level rose as one. They also have a cheer squad with decent numbers, banners, flags and floggers.

What is wrong with our cheer squad? How can a club our size fail to produce the biggest, loudest, most intimidating squad in the league?

What the hell is going on?

great post mate....what is going on?

 

[mattys123]

Most of us don't reserve seats behind the goals because that's exactly where we don't want to sit.

Most of that bottom deck hasn't been sold, pretty simple really.

The "barrackers end" idea has failed.

 

[76woodenspooners]

I know it has been said before, but I need to vent. Why do Collingwood supporters pay big bucks to reserve a seat behind the goals at the Ponsford end and then refuse to turn up, week after bloody week? It looks so soulless and bare and I find it depressing. I was watching a replay of a clash between North and Richmond (2012) on Fox and the ground level of the Ponny was jam packed with North fans. When they kicked a few quick goals it looked sensational as the whole level rose as one. They also have a cheer squad with decent numbers, banners, flags and floggers.

What is wrong with our cheer squad? How can a club our size fail to produce the biggest, loudest, most intimidating squad in the league?

What the hell is going on?

IIRC ...

Late last year somebody (could have been Joffa?) came up with the idea of turning the Ponsford into a "Barracker's End". It was going to rival Borussia Dortmund's Yellow Wall ...



The club approached the Ponsford stand ticket holders offering them to (1) Apply to become part of the "Active Supporters area" or (2) Get moved somewhere else. They set up a plan and ...

... you see the product of it today. As mattys123 said, the idea seems to have kind of failed.

My guess about what went wrong? The club is doing its best to try to create something ...

... the problem is that Collingwood supporters don't like being told how to barrack, least of all by their own footy club.

 

[TheWoodsOf72]

Most of us don't reserve seats behind the goals because that's exactly where we don't want to sit.

Most of that bottom deck hasn't been sold, pretty simple really.

The "barrackers end" idea has failed.

Happy to sit in the Ponsford Stand, but Ticketek does not let you have a preference as a collingwood supporter.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

The Barrackers End hasn't taken off for various reasons.

I sit at the Ponsford End every week and so do tonnes of others I know and many of them are annoyed with the current situation as you are Domus. I even gave up my seat directly behind the goals when the club mailed me a letter requesting that I sit I few aisles down from my usual spot so the active area would be a success.

Something needs to be changed but who knows what that is to be honest.

 

[beez]

Something needs to be changed but who knows what that is to be honest.

The answer is actually really simple. Have rows A-M in the three bays behind the goals as reserved seats, then the rest of the bottom tier general admission. There is clearly a supply/demand disconnect at the moment and there are enough reserved seats available in level 2 of the Ponsford and in M and N in the Southern Stand to facilitate a more liberal seating arrangement in the bottom deck.

 

[Bard]

I'm a useless General Admission pleb and don't have the opportunity to sit there, my post is pretty much irrelevant to this thread but I felt like posting anyway....

If you give me free reserved tickets though... This can all be changed :3

 

[mondaynight]

It seemed to be working well up until maybe 3 or 4 years ago something's gone wrong somewhere I guess

When did the Ponsford stand suddenly become "our end" anyway? I'm sure we always used to fill the southern stand end. Actually the they showed some of the 1980 GF on the weekend and the Richmond cheersquad was in the Ponsford stand while the Pies were in the southern stand.

 

[mattys123]

I'm a useless General Admission pleb and don't have the opportunity to sit there, my post is pretty much irrelevant to this thread but I felt like posting anyway....

If you give me free reserved tickets though... This can all be changed :3

I know you post in jest, but it's actually the solution to this whole problem.

2-3 bays of general admission seating on the bottom deck for every game, but only for Collingwood club members.

The best atmosphere at any sport in the world is when it's unplanned, when people enter an area and just sit wherever they want, and that area fills up randomly. Usually it's full of the die hards that get their early, or are at least there at every game.

A general admission area for Pies members only would create a great atmosphere in that area.

Of course it won't happen because Eddie and Pert want us to pay top dollar for our seats, just like every other club and sport wants now too.

 

[jjsmitty8]

I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but about 7 years ago when I was 16, I used to get to most games. I used to get there with my mates at like 11, we'd wait for the gates to open and then sprint up the escalators to get the front row of the top tier of the Ponsford Stand. I remember lots of occasions where we turn to the crowd and start chants. The atmosphere of the Ponsford stand then, is exactly what I wish it was now.

I seem to have the ability to start chants, and I used to love getting the whole stand involved and excited. People used to look down at me and wait for my cue to start the chant, I even had people after the game come up to me and say how good I was. Then we'd all go down to the winners circle and continue the party.

After that year, I joined the newly reformed cheer squad. But I'm not in it anymore, there was too much politics and a lot of people playing favourites. Add to that a few ego's who were too proud to share the spotlight.

I really wish we could have multiple cheersquads. Different stands, differents levels, genuinely passionate supporters who can engage in chants with other groups around the stadium. I'd happily sit on level 3 of the Ponsford stand every week if it meant being a part of a truly passionate group of supporters. I just buy general admission now, and still go to the Ponsford stand, but just look down at lots of empty seats and no atmosphere.

 

[jackcass]

Most of us don't reserve seats behind the goals because that's exactly where we don't want to sit.

Most of that bottom deck hasn't been sold, pretty simple really.

The "barrackers end" idea has failed.

Agree, give me an elevated seat HB to HF and I'm happy. Centre wing level 2 orgasmic!

Was raining a bit Friday night so maybe people also retreated under the shelter of the stands.

And a crowd of 50-55,000 hardly packs the G.

 

[Pies_10]

I'm with you, I was just saying that last week.
I sit in M36 which is full most weeks but 35 and 34 are bare some weeks.