Groupon now going for a song on UK football terraces

groupon_crystal_palaceFootball supporters are not the brightest people (I love football), but the terrace chants were always good for topical wit.

When I was a kid at (super) Brentford FC in the Royal Oak end and was occasionally the one to start a chant, it was the most intoxicating feeling when people joined in. It may even be responsible for the way I’ve created my networks over the years.

Football, of course, is much changed from the 1980s, er I mean, 1970s. The creation of mostly all-seater stadia has seen that side of culture become as mundane as the plastic seats its progenitors now sit upon, but occasionally a fabulous one will slip out.

Such was the case at the recent Brighton and Hove Albion v. Crystal Palace match.

Now, these two teams hate each other. They are kind-of local rivals, but the increased enmity goes back to a FA Cup tie in 1976 when a last-minute penalty by Brighton was missed and a feud was born. This YouTube video illustrates it nicely.

So, twice a year they go at each other and if we were back in the 1970s, then it would have been with Stanley Knives and machetes, now they must make do with abuse.

In recent years, Palace have been in finals and the Premiership while Brighton have been in the lower divisions at different homes. More recently, however, Brighton has a spanking new ground and the two are viewing with each other for promotion to the Premiership.

Brighton matches now sell out and attract up to 30,000 fans; Palace struggle to fill their ground. So, when one Brighton fan found out that Palace were using Groupon to attract potential supporters, the outcome for chanting was inevitable.

So altogether now, sing it loud in the same way as Liverpool fans sing that old favourite from the movie Carousel, You’ll Never Walk Alone:

Buy one! Buy One!, Get one free! Get one free!
And you’ll never fill your ground, you’ll never fill your ground!

Group on! Group on! You’ll never fill your ground, you’ll neee-ver fill your ground.
Group on! Group on!

I like that, I like that a lot.

Monty (708 Posts)

Monty Munford has more than 15 years' experience in mobile, digital media, web and journalism. He is the founder of Mob76, a company that helps tech companies raise money and exit. He speaks regularly at global media events with a focus on Africa, writes a weekly column for The Telegraph, is a regular contributor to The Economist, Wired, Mashable and speaks regularly on the BBC World Service.