A Shift in This Journey

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?

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

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!

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

Columbus X Houston

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

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

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.