A friend of mine asked me the other day if I was one of those hard core crazy Southsiders. I said, "Yeeeeeeesssss...wait what do you mean?"

"You know," he said. "Screaming and shouting, chanting and swearing and carrying on, you know, the hooligans...?"

"Whoa." I said.

Okay, so let's get this clear. In many parts of the world supporter culture has a violent element to it. Many people at least know of the scourge of hooliganism that swept through England and Scotland in the 1970s and 1980s. Folks maybe able to point at Serbian nationalists who proclaim fascism from the terraces. They might see rival fans violently clashing in the Athens derby or hear stories of Brazilian ultras murdering officials. There are places in Turkey where some referees won't go. Increasingly, black players are refusing to play in Italy such is the racism coming from the stands.

And just this past week in Toronto, three guys wearing TFC shirts made the most repulsive comments in a live broadcast and were roundly criticized by the reporter and scads of others who saw that. Were they compelled to do that because "that's what supporters do?"

No that is not what supporters do. We need to separate "supporters" from "idiots." Wearing a shirt and being a part of a big crowd enables you to lower your inhibitions. In general supporters groups use that for good.

The essence of what happens in the Southside is that we participate, not for our own ends, but because when thousands of people sing together, it lifts the team on the field. And when the team in struggling on the field, a strong supporters section can make the difference, lift them up, intimidate opponents by getting in their heads. That's what we aim to do. ESPECIALLY when we are down.

Last Saturday was a case in point. Down 1-0 early, the singing started to wane pretty early on. I was one of the two floor drummers in the Southsiders section, playing with Phil and Grace until we had blisters on our fingers. As a result I don't know how it sounded (my ears are still ringing) but it FELT like we were trying to drag the section through glue. With the ECS roaring in the away supporter's section, it felt important to represent well. They were offering up "It's all gone quiet over there..." and we were countering as best we could, resorting to wit by late in the second half. From "Sing when we're winning, we only sing when we're winning" (which is usually directed at the opposition we finally settled on "Don't sing, if you love the Caps, don't sing if you love the Caps..." Looking around it was clear that many love the Caps.

But perhaps it was a long weekend, regulars were away, having been at BC Place twice in a week already and there were lots of tourists in our section, who came to see but not necessarily sing. And maybe our repertoire needs some spicing up and we need to print some song sheets for a few weeks so everyone knows what we're singing. Maybe people were so pumped up on the march to the match, which was awesome, that the stadium experience was a let down. Perhaps, perhaps...

Or maybe we just need to realize, that like the team itself, in a long season there will be times of magic and times when it feels like a chore. That doesn't stop the drumming or the hard core from singing on, for even a sad body needs a beating heart.

It is important to participate. I wish the Whitecaps would change their slogan from "Come experience the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver" to "Come help us create the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver." Because Vancouver is a city massively driven by consumption. People like to check things out. We like to gawk at the cool things unihibited people are doing, but somehow we shy away from being the uninhibited person doing the cool thing. When Luminares becomes a spectacle rather than a community building event, you know we've tipped over to the dark side.

And so, here is an invitation to come and join us. Join us because you want to sing and stand and support. We will teach you the songs, we will give you the courage to sing along with us, you'll get a nice acknowledgement from the players at the end of the game. Don't be intimidated by the "hard core" because what we are hard core about is getting people involved, and making it easy to participate. You will have a good time because there will be lots to laugh at, and you'll get your voice into the mix. Come and be a part of creating the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver, and help us make it one of the best in North America.