Rust Belt Tifo

Bundesliga Best: Hertha Berlin

2011-11-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

On 26NOV11, the supporters of Hertha Berlin in their Ostkurve won my attention as the best of that Bundesliga weekend with this display:

Bundesliga Weekend Favorite: FC Ingolstadt's BRC'08

2011-11-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

My German fussball pick of the weekend goes to FC Ingolstadt's supporter group named BRC '08. They started out in 2008 and to this day consist of 14-20 year olds. They spent several months independently saving the money and they consider this their best ever display. RESPECT!

Bundesliga Matchday 12 Favorite

2011-11-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

My Bundesliga display of the weekend goes to FC Koln's away support at Werder Bremen.

Something about that worn look

2011-11-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

Banners looking old, maybe torn, frayed on the edges. The paint on a logo or text is chipped, cracked, maybe even chunks are missing. To some this may look tired, and the banner appears ready to be tossed, replaced, or maybe the need to paint over the cracks and chips. Sometimes this is the case, but often times, this distressed look can be unique to the supporters area and railings because they have worn the test of years. Although these distressed banners are inanimate objects, if one looks at them, they show years of joy and pain, winning and losing. They have been through the elements of all four weather seasons, have been pulled, folded, balled up like twine. Sometimes beer or even stadium food might appear on the banner. At the end of the day and night, these banners remain a vital part of supporter culture. Like the worn look, supporters of the team go through the good and bad, but still remain true to the colors of the team.

Bundesliga Best: Round 13 from BL 2.

2011-10-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

My Bundesliga pick of the weekend goes to BL.2 supporters from FC Union Berlin. Not that elaborate in terms of display, but scarves up was the theme for their match vs. St. Pauli. Club and/or city anthem playing, people singing along, SCARVES UP!

2011 Two-stick flags

2011-10-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

So for the 2011 season, I made some two-sticks but not as many as I had wanted.

Also during the season, some other supporters picked up on the addiction. (photos courtesy of Massive Report

Visually speaking...............

2011-10-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

So after some thinking, I have the itch once again to get into designing scarves for the Nordecke and well, fellow Columbus supporters overall. The ultimate goal is to provide a way for supporters to obtain affordable scarves to display in visual support for Columbus, while also showing pride at home, away, work or school, and any other place in the world. This project will take time, money and dedicated efforts but with true faith, anything is possible.

Bundesliga Best on Matchday 10

2011-10-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend in the Bundesliga was status quo in terms of excitement thanks to full stadia and supporter culture both home and away. My pick, and maybe it is the angle of the photo, but I liked the action from VfB Stuttgart (and no this isn't just because I follow them in the Bundesliga!). The away support at Nurnberg depicts everything one could ever want in a match. Good show for the support of the team!

German Pick of the Weekend

2011-10-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned earlier in this blog, The German Bundesliga has been an inspiration to me in terms of numbers of home and away supporters. Also, the vocal and visual support is something to behold in person, I can imagine. Each week I go to various web sites (mainly stadionwelt-fans.de) and choose a personal favorite visual from any of the German leagues. This past weekend, my pick from the weekend action in Germany goes to VfL Bochum's supporters Bundesliga 2 week 11. Big overhead banner celebrating 100 years of the club playing at the same place, Castroper Strasse.

Stepping it up with flags

2011-09-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today I've completed the painting of my second large flag. I feel excited about this not only because of the concept of the flag's design, but also because of my discovery of the extension pole. This pole is meant for painting at tall heights but I decided to take a chance and see how it would work as a flag pole. Before this, I would use ten-foot tall pvc pipes for my tall flags. Now I have an extension pole that goes up to 12 foot tall!

It's also adjustable in height. The twist grip (as pictured) locks the upper part in place at whatever height.

Fusible thread is a lifeline!

2011-08-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

After several years of toiling at uniting to lengths of fabric together, I discovered something called fusible thread. Before finding this, I used to either use fusible tape that I would have to iron together and then sew to reinforce the bond of the two fabrics. But the tape leaves a somewhat visible line on some displays. Another way that took a long time was putting pins to temporarily attach the fabric and then sew it. But now fusible thread will be the answer. It works like the fusible tape in that an iron is required, but it is thread form and it looks much better since it doesn't leave a line. This will save me a good amount of labor especially when it comes time for me to do longer banners and hopefully large overheads.

Suppo

2011-07-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

The name of this character is Suppo and yes, this name is a derivative of the word supporter. He embodies everything that is Columbus Crew Soccer Club, knowing only the colors of them team. The team is known for being "America's Hardest Working Team" and Suppo lives up to working hard as a supporter. The action of rolling up the sleeves entails that he means business in every aspect of life, which is a typical no-nonsense trait of the people in Ohio and surrounding states. Suppo is an invention of sorts that began in a comic strip, but could eventually be more visible at Columbus matches.

Globally, supporter groups have used cartoon figures (similar to Suppo) for their logos. Who knows, maybe Suppo could be a logo for a newer supporter group in the Nordecke. Here are several logos (club team listed next to logo)

AIK Stockholm (Sweden)

FC Lorient (France)

SC Corinthians (Brazil)

VfB Stuttgart (Germany)

Olympique Lyonnais (France)

A Shift in This Journey

2011-04-24T08:50:00.001-07:00

An early entry in this blog mentioned about the history of my interest in tifo displays and overall supporter culture. I recently reflected upon my journey with those influences that have motivated me to create atmosphere. The journey began in the mid-late 1990's when Serie A was being shown on SportsChannel Ohio. I would admire the work of the choreographies, banners, flags and the unified songs, and overall passion shown be supporters from most Serie A clubs. This motivated me to create banners for the Columbus Crew, but I really never had a knowledge on how to make them big, or as detailed. All of my work was done freehand since I wasn't aware that projectors could make the job easier. But after a while, due to crackdowns on supporter culture (due to fan deaths, racism, etc.) and matches that to me were losing in excitement in style, I would somewhat lose interest in Serie A, and TV companies in the States would also somewhat due to a massive monster looming.

Enter the decade of the 2000's, a time in which the English Premier League set the world by storm with it's exposure. Clubs were expanding their "brand" all over the world and with this expansion came TV packages that would have the world see exciting matches. I fell for the bait myself and would admire the supporters and the amount of passion they would show. The one thing that this league did not have though was the displays that I saw in Serie A. If there were displays, it was for massive Champions League or Cup matches. There came about rulings in the government on down cracking down on supporters standing in the all-seater stadia. This would hamper the atmosphere severely in some cases and cause moments of silence even in some EPL matches. By now there had been several leagues being broadcast not only from Europe but Latin America also, which showed the fervor from the barra bravas and torcidas.

As I type right now, I have fallen almost to a love with the Bundesliga supporter culture. The grounds are always full and there always seem to be a vocal din with visuals from home and away supporters. The use of two-stick flags (doppelhaltern) has been inspirational to the point that the next few months, my aim is to create as many as possible for the Nordecke.

Where's my head at?

2011-04-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Not one blog entry on my part since December. Why is this? Well, my off season was spent brainstorming and creating most of the banners in the photo, which is from the first match of the 2011 season. Also, I have been working on side projects like the chibi/manga comic called CrewIsM, designing scarves, thinking of flag ideas, and just anything imaginative that will benefit the section. Facebook seems to be the place where my inner thoughts have appeared, daily, but the blog entry is a place that I can ramble on deeply I'd say. So here I go again, playing catch up.

The Thinker

2010-12-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

It's winter time, cold outside, 28°F (-2°C), December, 2010. Major League Soccer is in its off season on the field, but the world's beautiful sport keeps the ball rolling globally. I would sit here reflecting on not spending my night like last night in which I would brood about the slight slump I've been in with regards to making banners. Even the simple act of sketching or brainstorming ideas on paper would make me motivated to get things going again.

Stadionwelt.de has been in my eye front as I would scan the fantastic atmosphere on the curves and blocks of Bundesliga stadia. Every time I look at sites like this, so many thoughts go through my head. But there is no thought more important than motivation and putting that motivation into action. I must create!

More, more, more!

2010-10-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

That's right, more two-stick, two-pole, double-holder, whatever you prefer to call them. (completed in September 2010)

Columbus X Houston

2010-07-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

Inspiration for the style comes from the torcidas in Latin America. The simplicity of the font makes this banner stand out. Defender Frankie Hejduk (in the banner's center) is the spirit of the Nordecke. Pure passion for the the colors!

I didn't know HOW the heck the man would turn out with all of the expression lines and shading. Up close it appeared like a grease fire to me. I mixed colors to find that blend though and well the rest is seen here. Inspiration, thought, and idea came from the old WWII posters (I like retro tins, posters, ads, etc.)

Before the match, there were windy conditions due to looming storms later in the late night, but the temperatures were into the high 90's.

Work and Progress

2010-07-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

This week, I've started on a new banner which will have the feel (the man and the font used) of those nostalgic ads from say, the 1920-1940's time frame. So far I have made good use of time, chance, and the summer heat in painting. This will probably be one of my more detailed banners involving the man yelling due to the shading and shadows involved.

On a side note, this has once again been a while since my last blog entry. Besides my day job, I have completed a few items like banners and two-stick flags. Also I am always fervently studying the world of tifo, but mainly banners. I am motivated to doing more and more.

Victory in the Rain

2010-04-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

It rained for the majority of the match versus Real Salt Lake last night. The good guys, Columbus, won the match 1-0 on a penalty goal from El Mellizo (Barros Schelotto). The banners I've made are strong and durable, something that I take pride in. Using exterior latex/acrylic paint is always the paint of choice because of elements such as long rains. Mold and mildew will have a hard time with this paint, but there is still the issue of the unpainted sections of fabric. So I come home and take a risky idea. Instead of having the banners air dry which is a tedious process, I decided to put them in the dryer. Talk about one solid risk with results! Not only did it only take 30 total minutes to dry them, but also the paint didn't chip, run, melt, stain, or destroy the inside of the dryer.

Throwback!

2010-03-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

While doing spring cleaning of sorts, low and behold I found two folders with some sketches of Columbus players from probably around 2001/2002 years. I laughed out loud thinking about then and the current comics that I've been doing now. Looks to me that I had better skills back then, in terms of proximity to accuracy. The uniforms I sketched came from an idea I had while looking at older uniforms from the 1920's and '30's from teams globally. I would imagine if Columbus had a nostalgia night what the uniforms might have looked like.

Preparing For Crewsmas

2010-03-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

The first match of the 2010 season vs. Toronto at home is coming up this weekend and so that means it was time for me to get my banner plans ready for the Saturday. And yest I sit here on this lazy Sunday afternoon, I still find the need to do another banner or two. This week is known as "Crewsmas" by us Columbus Supporters, a play on words with Christmas, and all the goo tidings of joy that holiday brings. Crewsmas is a special time of year to me personally for several reasons. The first is the two and-half hour trip to Columbus and the thoughts of the camaraderie of being amongst the Nordecke, singing and chanting. Secondly, a new season, means new hopes and just seeing our team playing after a long winter off season is good for morale. Another reason I like Crewsmas is because I can start to plan more banner ideas. This first match the supporters in Columbus, Ohio have planned a tifo display for the first match. The details have been kept under strict confidentiality, but I can't wait to do my part in helping with the atmosphere.

The Concept of MASSIVE

2010-03-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Columbus supporters use the term MASSIVE in several ways. But in my humble opinion, Michael Arace from the Columbus Dispatch newspaper best describes the term as such:
To say that Massive is an us-against-the-world thing is to identify the core concept -- and to oversimplify. Massive is uniquely Columbus. It embodies years of frustration. It takes into account the perception that the city is some isolated backwater lacking in the sophistication of those glorious metropolises, Cleveland and Cincinnati. It operates, rightly or wrongly, on the theory that nobody on the outside -- owners, league officials, referees, media -- is prepared to cut the local side a break. It assumes added impediment and girds to go beyond.
To be Massive is to overcome. And to overcome, one must be Massive.

Early 2010

2010-03-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

These are the banners I've made so far in 2010. There's also another 12 yard long banner made that isn't shown here. So with that in mind, the following:

Inspired by rap group Public Enemy, this idea came about as the Nordecke section in Columbus and its supporters have traditionally been under the radar by the league, club, and opponents (for throwing things on the field during corner kicks, a fight with quasi-West Ham supporters in a friendly, vulgar chants, one single ignorant racist fool caught on video, and other small acts of tomfoolery). But in that regard, the section does have overriding positives. But opponents will always point out the negatives, no matter how old in time they occurred. So that makes a supporter of Columbus "Public Enemy".

Cityscape of Columbus, Ohio. I thought about sun rays in the sky, like the State of Ohio's seal, but instead I kept true to the motif of the club, America's Hardest Working Team. The black and yellow warning stripes look better anyhow, don't you think?

The new and improved MASSIVE banner. Once again I use the warning stripes.

Out of extreme boredom, I was watching parts of a Sonny Chiba movie and decided to do a banner of this classic movie turn manga turn anime series turn video game. Can you guess which one that is?

CREWiSM

2010-01-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

This off season I thought I would be making a buffet of banners and two-sticks. I've only made three because a hobby from my past crept back into my life. It's a hobby that has come to the point where this will probably become a full-time thing, if not this season, surely for future ones.

I started drawing cartoon-like caricatures of baseball players in Japan in the late 1990's. I stopped but have brought the drawings back in the form of the Columbus Crew Soccer Club. Part of my several likes of Japanese things is the anime/manga. I would decide that the name of my comic would be CREWiSM. How did I come with this title? Well, honestly, my wife came up with the name and I found the font. The suffix -ism in CREWiSM can best be define this title as things Columbus Crew, but in a gag comic sort of way. The font for the title is called Bad Mofo, which I consider the Columbus team to be, out of my own bias. If broken up, the word Crew Is M in bad English could stand for Crew Is Massive.

2009

2010-01-26T18:21:00.000-08:00

No need to go over why the hiatus from this blog. In a nutshell, I've been working on gag comic/manga called CrewIsM. More on that later. For now, it's time to catch this blog up from where I left off. Columbus had the best overall record in the league once again in 2009, yet due to the second-chance nature of American sports, the Crew didn't win the playoffs. But 2009 saw some nice carryover value in terms of displays of passion. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

What Is An Offseason?

2009-11-29T17:07:00.000-08:00

So it's the holiday season in the U.S.A. and the off season for Major League Soccer. But for this supporter, there is no off season. To support my club Columbus, I must continue to find stay focused on having creative ideas for new banners. this is a perfect time of the year for buying fabric because of the discount prices. While most old hens, cougars, and other motherly type of women shop to make gifts like quilts, clothes, etc. I go to the fabric store to help make my Nordecke section full of color and statements.

The MASSIVE banner was one of my earliest banners made in 2008. Due to wear and tear I feel this banner is in need of being replaced. So the plans are to make a new one, one that is just as visible as the first one.

The Collection in Columbus

2009-10-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

I am highly overdue in my posting of banner or overall tifo work from our Nordecke Supporters section . My epiphany of sorts came this week as I was awarded the 2009 Fan of The Year award from the Columbus Crew Soccer Club. While driving my 138 miles home from the awards ceremony, I was full of thoughts, but one that came to mind was how much the Nordecke and overall supporter culture has grown over the past few years. And while some may have sent me plaudits in regards to banners, there are several others who have played their part by stepping up and doing some form of display, whether by banner, flag, etc. Collectively, and together the Nordecke has and will become a top notch supporters section with vision.

I (photos by Studio79, Ryan, and others) will now feature the workings from other supporters, first from 2008.

Strictly for Cups and the Playoffs

2009-10-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

After a couple of days of easy work, I'm finally finished and this was painted and dried inside my too small apartment. This banner was supposed to have included a more scary individual in the middle of the banner with the words on either side, but I had to improvise. The font called 'MASSACRE', to which I hope Columbus massacres all opponents in it's way during the MLS CUP playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, and the CONCACAF Champions League (and hopefully one day, the Club World Cup.

A break due to..........chibi manga?

2009-10-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

Some may have visited this site wondering why I haven't been doing updates. I have been working on banner ideas, but for right now, I have started a keen re-kindling of my interest in Japanese anime/manga. As of right now, I have done the sketches of the players of Columbus. After the 1-0 away victory vs. New England to get Columbus closer to solidifying the number one position for the regular season, my first 'comic' looks as such

Lamar Hunt: True Original

2009-09-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

If this were the United Kingdom, Lamar Hunt would surely be known as Sir Lamar Hunt. His contributions to soccer and sports in general in the U.S.A. were truly massive. In terms of the Columbus Crew, during his ownership of the club, his top highlight was the funding of Columbus Crew Stadium with his own money. This stadium built, finished in 1999, was the first top flight soccer specific stadium in the U.S.A. Major League Soccer teams have followed and continue to follow in this trend that Lamar Hunt has started.

This banner was done randomly, but as always I aimed to do it with meaning. In banner making, it starts with brainstorming.

Then comes the actually work. For this banner it took me two and a half days to paint. Why? Well, for the simple fact that the font I used required patience in painting it technically correct.

So this is the final result. The font used is called Outlaw. I chose this for a couple of reasons. Lamar Hunt was raised in Texas, hence the Wild Western type of theme. Also all things considered, Mr. Hunt was considered by American sports standards as an outlaw in that he promoted and was dedicated to the sport of soccer from the late 1960's onwards. The NFL thought of Mr. Hunt as an outlaw because they felt that the North American Soccer League was starting to become a threat to the fan base of the NFL. But Mr. Hunt persevered through the ups and downs of the NASL and the fruits of his labor is seen with Major League Soccer today.

The border pays homage to the western theme, as seen with stars. The True Originals idea is for the fact that the very first soccer club announced in Major League soccer in 1996 is the Columbus Crew. The first True Original soccer-specific stadium in Major League Soccer is Columbus Crew Stadium.

The People's Choice in August: What Do You Prefer To Wear At Matches?

2009-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Only 20 people voted, and it's pretty much even. Ten people decided that wearing the club's brand (Official/replica kits, shirts, hats, etc.) is the preference at matches. Nine people wear supporter's group type of gear. Casual clothing was voted by four people, and two people chose Other, one probably in a mascot suit and another probably nude.

Me? Well, I usually lean towards the creative and often inexpensive Supporter's group.

Aggro In Thought

2009-08-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

Columbus Crew Soccer Club have some time away from home, which means that I'll have some time to work on new banners. Everyday this week, my objective is to aim for a banner idea per day. Not too tough in my humble opinion, it's just a thing in which a person simply puts idea to paper.

Painting On Black

2009-08-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

Painting on black fabric seems to be a tough obstacle for me in making banners. No other fabric makes the paint bleed quicker than black. Maybe I need to use a different paint or fabric.

But one thing I've found out in the last week and a half is that determination to go along with trial and error can bring positive results. So I've wised up and recalled my days painting a cutter ship, where we'd use a base coat of Kilz primer and then applies the two-three top coats. It's saved me time, and mental strain.

The People's Choice in July: What is the best type of supporter display?

2009-08-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

In my first ever poll here, only 48 votes were tallied. Now mind you, this obviously isn't a poll that represents the global train of thought for supporter style, but it gives a small insight as to what people prefer.

The numbers were close in regards to each style. Flags received 10 votes and was the winner. Three methods were tied with nine votes, banners, flares, and colored smoke. Scarves and toilet paper rolls/streamers had three votes, respectively while massive flags/banners and two-stick flags had two votes. Mosaic displays had one voter and balloons and confetti received no love.

Naturally my bias is for banners. I love the sight of them and how they can enhance the color of the supporter section and stadium overall. Banners can last for years if not decades. Even when worn or showing tear or faded and cracked paint, that shows that the banner has been through the good and bad seasons of a team.

Six Days Later................

2009-07-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Finally finished. If I had taken time off from my job, I could have finished this in two days.

It's like watching paint dry!

2009-07-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

Something frustrating for me is not having my own warehouse space. Normally I can paint outside with the hot sun beating down, which is excellent for banner painting. However it's been nothing but rain planned this week for most of Ohio. So I have to paint inside of my small apartment. It's weird, most of my largest banners have been painted indoors. With painting inside an apartment comes longer dry times. Humid conditions don't favor well for paint drying, so I have been trying everything in my power to help speed things up. I'm using fans, a hair dryer, air conditioning to beat outside humidity, and even water sprinkles to help spread the paint. But the ultimate drying agent for pant is, well, time.

Influenced

2009-07-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

So once again I've got the itch to do a banner, since it's been a couple of weeks . The theme is somewhat influenced on a typical style that can be seen in Italy's Serie A.Since I do not have large amounts of money to get a company to make my banners, I had to sew the black and gold fabrics together. I've always wanted to do these types of banners, but I guess I was too much of a slacker to sew in the past. I will reveal the final product hopefully before Saturday. This banner will probably be the longest that I've done, totalling about 17 yards. But there's a long way until I can do such work as:

The Collection part 2

2009-07-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

Fabric coupons for discounts? Check!
Cans of paint? Check!
Spending hours measuring, cutting, sewing, ironing, drawing, painting and waiting for the paint to dry on fabric? ADDICTIVE!!
(photos compliments of Sameh Safaa Fahmi-http://www.flickr.com/photos/studio79)

ES TODO O NADA- That means It's All Or Nothing in Spanish

BRING IT!- I guess this is what I'll call this one.

IN IT TO WIN IT- That's the only way I see things.

MIKE HAVELY- One stand up type of guy who stood at the foot of the Nordecke section. He was tough but fair and understanding.
WARZYCHA HARDCORE- Polish head coach comes from the old school Eastern Bloc. You better believe he is hardcore. Also he has been a part of the Columbus Crew Soccer Club as a player and coach since the team's inception in 1996. In this modern game, that's hardcore, dedication.

SEMPER COLUMBUS- Watch this space! EL MELLIZO- This banner was done in a tribute to not only Guillermo Barros Schelotto, bu to the style seen in his native Argentina, with the city he is from. Also the color scheme is similar to the club where his legacy was formed, Boca Juniors.

IRON FIST 100% SUPPORT- give it all or stay home!!CREW- I was watching something on TV about the American Mafia. Northeast Ohio has had an infamous connection to the mob. The font is a classic one found in the 1920's and 30's while the man is wearing a flat/newsboy cap.

The Collection, for now

2009-07-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

After living four years in Charleston, SC I would come back to Ohio in the summer of 2007. The offseason of 2007 going into 2008 would have me brainstorm ideas and angles to create banners again. The decision was to make banners that have meaning, both for myself and for the team. And the result? (photos compliments of Sameh Safaa Fahmi-http://www.flickr.com/photos/studio79)

SEMPER COLUMBUS- Semper is Latin for Always. When it comes to support, it's Always Columbus! Notice the military fonts. This is for a future supporter's group I aim to begin, probably after I retire!

MASSIVE- this is a term in the dictionary sense means big, huge, immense. The term has been adopted amongst the hardcore Columbus supporters to describe not only the team, a way of supporting the team................

..........and a way of living.

GUILLE MVP- the 2008 MVP of Major League Soccer

2000: New Stadium, New Ideas

2009-06-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

In 1999, Columbus would move into a new stadium, the very first specifically built for soccer to a Major League Soccer team. After seeing the amount of railing space, I just knew that banners would make a great scene in showing support. So in 2000 I would make four long banners, Get Goals, Vamonos Crew, Work N' Progress and Glory, Glory To Columbus. Back then I would do everything by freehand, with pencils, a yardstick, and spraypaint.

1998: The Obsession Begins

2009-06-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

After a few years of following the European game, I decided that Columbus could use something to show that I support them. So on a hot and humid summer day in 1998 I decided to create my very first banner with spray paint. And the final product?

From this moment on, I would make banners that would have some meaning and/or connection to the team. 'Mix It Up' was made at a time when Columbus were playing a predictable type of game and I wanted to see them mix their style of play.