To boot out the booing
executive Peter Miskimmin wants to see fan behaviour improve. ‘‘I’m not trying to be prissy. I’m not trying to be the moral police,’’ Miskimmin said. ‘‘I just think it’s about celebrating sport in the right way and that’s what we want.
‘‘We are trying to teach good sideline behaviour from grass roots all the way through to high performance. We want to teach our kids to be great sportsmen and we want to teach them to be great spectators.’’
Fans would be called upon, over the stadium PA systems, to back their team without displaying boorish and ungracious behaviour.
The concept has been successfully used in Britain: announcers ask fans to respect the game and its players, and not to boo. Often now, a quiet hush descends on the crowd as a player lines up a penalty kick – a move New Zealand fans are being asked to emulate.
New Zealand Rugby’s head of community rugby, Brent Anderson, said the organisation encouraged and supported sideline behaviour at every level of the game ‘‘so that players and fans alike can enjoy rugby’’.
‘‘Whether you are a junior player or top level athlete, everyone deserves to be treated with respect on the field,’’ said Anderson.
Eden Park chief executive Guy Ngata believed fans and local rugby unions would get on board with the anti-booing campaign.
‘‘This is a great initiative that the team at Eden Park are very happy to support. I agree this behaviour has crept into society in New Zealand when traditionally it was considered unacceptable.’’
He planned to raise the matter with hirers of the venue next week.
‘‘Setting a better example to our young people is indeed worth driving,’’ Ngata said.
FMG Stadium Waikato general manager Sean Murray supported all efforts to encourage spectators to behave responsibly and ‘‘support their team with great gusto and passion’’.
‘‘Any crowd-related campaign we’d get on board with would aim to bring more energy and fun to the matches in a positive way,’’ Murray said. ‘‘We want people to have a good time.’’
Auckland Stadiums has both Albany’s QBE Stadium and Mt Smart Stadium, the home venue for the New Zealand Warriors league outfit, on its books.
Its head of stadium events, David Williams, said they’re supportive of any initiative to make sure the behaviour is appropriate.
‘‘It’s definitely something that we would discuss, for argument’s sake, with New Zealand Rugby, and for the game going forward with New Zealand Football,’’ Williams said.
These viewpoints were in contrast to the position held by Westpac Stadium chief executive, Shane Harmon, who didn’t think administrators should become involved in discouraging booing and that officials needed to ‘‘think very carefully about imposing changes.’’
However, Harmon said he would support the anti-booing measure if it was rolled out by New Zealand Rugby.