In the short time that the Philadelphia Union has been around, the Sons of Ben have made their presence known. Hell, they were making their presence known all over MLS even before Philly had a team.
With six home games under their belt, the SOBs are starting to become more and more organized in their chants and songs. (Little disclaimer: I am a member of the group and do sit in the supporter’s section, but I’m a rookie.) The group is getting louder and louder and gets recognition on TV at least a few times a game. It’s a great thing to see the group growing.
However, one chant in particular has seemed to rile a few feathers. I’ll let the video show you.
(Video from greggyd717)
I think it’s all harmless fun and you’ll hear much worse language at any other sporting event in Philly. The fact that this chant has a couple thousand people yelling “asshole” at the same time is what’s likely bothering some people.
This had led to an active discussion over at the Sons of Ben section on the Big Soccer forums. While the foul language is one issue, it seems that the lack of originality is a big factor as well. As the SOBs get more experience, I’m sure there will be more original chants, but for the time being, simple chants like this will get more involved.
When it comes down to it, I think it’s all just simple fun and people in the other parts of the stadium seem to get a little chuckle at the fact that 2,000+ are calling the GK an asshole.
By Philly standards, it’s pretty tame, in my opinion, what do you think?
(Photo: Flickr users nils9three & dangorman16)
