Was stood on 305 for the Udinese game and will be practically in the same spot for the Anzhi game. Paying £19 a ticket and getting to stand in a section with a fairly decent atmosphere considering the competition we are playing in is value for money.
There are so many contributing factors to why the atmosphere is so bad that it's almost futile to blame any one cause. I know that personally, standing up gets me more in the mood for singing songs, you can hardly bounce to FOAR while you're sat on your arse can you? So maybe the safe-standing that is used in Germany is a way we can get a bit more atmosphere into the ground; it's a controversial topic but with teams in the SFA pushing for it, as well as Everton (I think?), then maybe that is just around the corner.
I don't think it's the OOTers that are the problem, more the daytrippers and tourists that come to soak up the atmosphere, and why shouldn't they? We've got one of the largest fan bases in the world because of our history and our culture, and we should be glad we can rely on the income from tourists. However, if all of the daytrippers and tourists were designated to sections in the ground like the upper centenary, then they'd be getting a good view of the match, and a good view of the atmosphere they've come to experience. Leaving the Kop end and the Road end to fans that want to have a sing song. An example of this would be the Udinese game, there were a family of about 10 Norwegians in front of me with about 5 or 6 kids on 305; the fathers of the group were joining in the singing for the most part but the kids were having to stand on chairs and looked visibly frustrated at times; that poses the question, why can't families be situated in family enclosures?
I've also noticed that a lot of the people on the Kop don't know the words to some of the best songs, like 'every other saturday' and 'poor scouser tommy' so they're bound to be quieter, and that's the main reason the easy ones are the loud ones. My auld fella told me that he thinks he remembers people passing sheets with the words on around the kop so everyone could join in.
I've probably written this a bit incoherently, I've got a banging headache. But these are just a few thoughts, I've been wrecking my head thinking about ways to improve the atmosphere but it's not gonna happen over night. A steady improvement regards to results, as well as a bit more careful planning from the club and a concerted effort from the people going the match would see us have an atmosphere to be proud of again, unfortunately, I can't see that happening for quite some time.
Failing that, a few pints before the game for every man, woman and child would soon see the lungs functioning a bit better!