Building A Fan Base: Supporters Groups And Atlanta United – Part 3 Of 4
By Jon Nelson
You’ve seen in the first two parts of this series how the Atlanta United supporter’s groups got off the ground running and Multiplex has gotten into their ideals, cooperation, and visions for the franchise and themselves…
A reminder as to who the four SG’s are for Atlanta United…
Terminus Legion and
Here’s Part One of the Series where we were introduced to them all and
Here’s the Second part where we got into the in-match chants you have heard this season…
This week, we get into a part of the game day that is always seen and can make an impact even before a match to give the fans another point to rally behind…
The tifo and the art behind it…
The background of those renderings and massive artwork anyone has seen in the north end zone this season comes from Italian soccer:
"Tifo [ˈtiːfo] is the Italian word for the phenomenon of supporting a sport team. In some countries (but not in Italy) it is mostly used as a name for any choreography displayed by fans in the stands of an arena or stadium in connection with a sport event, mostly as part of an association football match."
And Portland seems to be the MLS standard that everyone is chasing…
What we decided to do this time is ask the Atlanta United supporters groups what goes into their thinking of it and what the response has been…
What’s consultation like for the topic among the groups for the topic to be unveiled?
Austin Long/Terminus Legion President
For tifo, we have created a committee. We submit ideas, choose one, and then start getting materials. Then gather volunteers for several nights of work, which starts with sewing, then moves to painting and then transportation. We have rented a space that will get us through 7/30. Finally, we have a group which is in charge of the tifo unveil at the match to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.
Allison Noffsinger/Resurgence Board of Directors
We have an inter-sg tifo committee where ideas are submitted and voted on. So far, Resurgence is the only group that has submitted any complete designs. Resurgence, however, is unique compared with the other SGs in that we are 100% dedicated to the in-game experience and don’t have a lot of pre-planned tailgating events. Tifos, chants, capos, and the march—that’s where we invest our time and energy. The first tifo was designed by Jiho Choi of Resurgence and the second and third tifos were both designed by Vera Zeigler of Resurgence.
I’ve recently made a schedule for tifo submissions through the end of July. Any group wishing to submit a design will get it in by the indicated date, then we vote. We have several designs already in mind for specific games and we’re constantly coming up with new ideas, so the creative process is quite fun.
Kevin Kinley-The Faction Co-Founder
It’s a team effort on all the supporter groups
Curtis Jenkins- Footie Mob President
We have a collaborative tifo group. That works on design and the nuts and bolts for these things. The process is improving with time and practice.
How many people go into assembly?
Long
Sewing takes at least 2 sewers and anywhere from 2-8 helpers
Noffsinger
To answer your question regarding numbers and involvement of groups, I’ll share with you the link that I created to register volunteers (ed. note- we did look and it’s an undertaking…). You can see the quantity of volunteers, as well as the SG affiliation. Resurgence was the dominant force in this tifo, as we had at least 3x the number of volunteers than the next group. However, we were happy to have volunteers contribute from the other three SGs so that it was a united front. Our two seamstresses, Jenna and Emily, are both from TL and are absolute lifesavers. I think we had around 40 Resurgence volunteers and 1-2 volunteers from Faction, 7-8 from TL, and 10-15 from FM this tifo.
We are getting better and better at tifo creation. We actually finished last night, so today was canceled.
Kinley
It all depends on how large the tifo is. I’ll refer to Resurgence on they manage the majority of the construction.
Jenkins
Things have gotten better as we’ve gone along so the number has gone down, but productivity has gone up. All in all, I’d guess 60-80 hands? Some show up every night, others once per tifo.
Any growing pains in assembling it? Has the tifo misbehaved yet?
Long
I would say not yet but will defer to the group.
Noffsinger
Hahahaha…. If you didn’t notice, then no.
Kinley
Refer to Resurgence
Jenkins
No real growing pains, just standing in whatever paint store at any given time wondering if that gold is the right gold.
When it’s unfurled, what’s the satisfaction level?
Long
I sit in the opposite end zone and have very satisfied. Wish there was a better angle at BDS but think it will better at MBS.
Noffsinger
You have no idea how satisfying it was to pull off the first tifo. We worked our butts off, scrambling to find space, volunteers, supplies, transportation, storage etc… It is an enormous undertaking and I think I would have just cried if the phoenix had been upside down in-game one. Haha
This tifo has quite a bit of choreography, so I am nervous. I’ve come up with a system of instructions and volunteers, and I’ve bought captain armbands to distinguish the volunteers in the crowd, so we’re getting more sophisticated each game. Fingers crossed we pull off the effect we’re looking for this game.
I created a separate volunteer list for volunteers helping within the game. Following our MO as rowdy in-game SG, most Resurgence members have supporter section tickets and are able to help with tifo execution. According to the sign-up, 18 volunteers are RSG, 4 are TL, and 2 are FM. We’ll be the ones making sure that it opens as planned and in the proper order.
Kinley
We have a great feeling of “Hey, we all did that together”
Jenkins
It’s always great. It’s always fun to hear the reaction of people around who aren’t in SGs, or don’t know how they get made. It’s like being the butcher at a barbecue. You get to see everyone enjoy what you had a hand in making.
Portland has set an amazingly high bar for these displays… has there been any consultation around the league with your group on the how-to’s and what may or may not work in putting one together?
Long
All of the SGs have submitted a wish list to the ATL UTD FO for the Benz. If we get some of those items, we should be able to some amazing things moving forward.
Noffsinger
Meh… not really. I mean, maybe the other groups have spoken to other teams’ SGs, but Resurgence is more or less doing our own thing. We’ve submitted a massive list of requests to the Front Office for the Benz, so we’re looking forward to having increased rigging capabilities. Our first tifo was 8 pieces, spanning 3 levels of the stadium, and stretching 85 feet in width. We’re learning quickly and have a fantastic relationship with the front office, so Portland may have some competition soon.
Kinley
Refer to Resurgence as they have been constructing the tifo and getting ideas from other SGs.
Jenkins
Not really, it’s been a lot of trial and error being in a temporary home and having our primary facility under construction. So many stadiums around the league are different, so there’s no real “mechanical” info that can be shared. On the creative end there’s nothing we or anyone else would really *want* to share.
What’s the reaction been from the team- whether we’re talking about players of the front office?
Long
I know the players have mentioned to all fans their appreciation of our support on match days at Bobby Dodd and their interactions before and after the matches speak to that.
We have had great support from the Front Office but creatively and financially. The 7/4 was a great example as they got us access to the top deck, which is closed off for construction. Because of the vertical nature of that one, the top-down approach was pretty awesome. They are also chipping in for each tifo and also hiring a company to do card stunts throughout the season. As we move to the Benz, we have discussions regarding rigging and pulleys that will us to take these pieces to the next level.
Noffsinger
Yeah, we’ve seen some nice feedback in a few articles where players were interviewed. We look forward to incorporating specific players into a few future designs.
Kinley
They love it
Jenkins
I think they’ve loved them all so far.
That’s three parts of the four… Next time out, Multiplex has noticed that the Supporters Groups have really gotten involved in the community and are active in spreading their wings in community service in the Atlanta area.
We’ll ask about that and how important it is to all four groups…