Cheering?

[Thomas MacFinn]

I do this more at demos than some other events, but I actively encourage cheering when I fight.

Win or lose, I have fun when I fight. I like it when the crowd to gets in on the fun too.

[Aaron]

Sometimes the cheering can be funny. One time my son and daughter (when they were younger) shouted, "Go Mommy! Beat him up!"

Both Maureen and her opponent just couldn't focus with children cheering Mommy.

[Proxus]

One of the best "cheering" I have seen was a squire who's knight was fighting in the later rounds. Said squire was on the sidelines quietly cheering while holding one of those big foam No 1 fingers you get at sporting events. He had the finger in his knights colors and had altered it to look like an hourglass gauntlet. It was fantastically funny.

I cheer my friends, but even more fun is heckling them.

I think I have a pic of that somewhere....Jethro (Reverend) cheering for Sir Muns von Gorhausen (sirmunz). Was AWESOMELY funny. Lemme see if I can post that.

[CiaranBlackrune]

One of the best "cheering" I have seen was a squire who's knight was fighting in the later rounds. Said squire was on the sidelines quietly cheering while holding one of those big foam No 1 fingers you get at sporting events. He had the finger in his knights colors and had altered it to look like an hourglass gauntlet. It was fantastically funny.

I cheer my friends, but even more fun is heckling them.

I think I have a pic of that somewhere....Jethro (Reverend) cheering for Sir Muns von Gorhausen (sirmunz). Was AWESOMELY funny. Lemme see if I can post that.

If you have a good pic of that we should make it into a poster!

[Blaine de Navarre]

One of the best "cheering" I have seen was a squire who's knight was fighting in the later rounds. Said squire was on the sidelines quietly cheering while holding one of those big foam No 1 fingers you get at sporting events. He had the finger in his knights colors and had altered it to look like an hourglass gauntlet. It was fantastically funny.

I cheer my friends, but even more fun is heckling them.

I think I have a pic of that somewhere....Jethro (Reverend) cheering for Sir Muns von Gorhausen (sirmunz). Was AWESOMELY funny. Lemme see if I can post that.

If you have a good pic of that we should make it into a poster!

I have often thought it would be fun, just once, to dress up several ladies in perfect period costume from the waist up...and cheerleader skirts made approximately in the style of the period garments. It wouldn't be funny after the first time, though.

[Nissan Maxima]

I have had cheerleaders at some scraps. Severed heads make great pom poms.

[Ewan]

Long time ago, I had my three boys at an event with me. They hadn't seen me fight in "real" tournaments much before and this was the principality champions. They cheered like mad until someone from the sidelines went all "shuuussssssssssshhhhhhhhh" on them.


Once, only, have I fought harder than I did at that event.

Who shushes a kid cheering for their dad? What a prude.

I used to get bent about stuff like that but now I know better. People who do not have children do not understand. They were not being mailcious or rude, grouchy etc just have no "kid filters". Those with kids usually have built in filters that allow them to actually hear or ignore the sounds or noises kids make.

:shrug:

[Steve S.]

I don't think we cheer enough.

It seems to me there is a phobia of appearing partial to one fighter, as if it slights the other. It seems as if no one wants to appear ungracious to one fighter by cheering too loudly for the other. You get the generic "yay!" from the crowd when each fighter is introduced by the herald, but usually, it seems, no energetic cheering in earnest. Likewise when someone wins. There are exceptions, of course, like the last bouts of a crown list or other important tournament.

I have decided to buck this trend actively. I am a man-at-arms in the household of Sir Maximillian Racheengel. Whenever he or his squires fight I cheer loudly. My knight and his squires have my unwavering support in things martial, and however I can contribute I shall.

Steve

[Padraig O]

I have decided to buck this trend actively. I am a man-at-arms in the household of Sir Maximillian Racheengel. Whenever he or his squires fight I cheer loudly. My knight and his squires have my unwavering support in things martial, and however I can contribute I shall.

Steve

Just do us a favor Steven and leave the poodle skirt and pom-poms at home OK?

(j/k)

Padraig

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

After I did that I got ugly looks from about 3 directions.

Pretty much no matter what you do you will get these looks on occasion so you may as well play your SCA game however you want. These people are communicating to you that they should be summarily ignored. Isn't that thoughtful of them?

[Hrolfr]

Long time ago, I had my three boys at an event with me. They hadn't seen me fight in "real" tournaments much before and this was the principality champions. They cheered like mad until someone from the sidelines went all "shuuussssssssssshhhhhhhhh" on them.


Once, only, have I fought harder than I did at that event.

Who shushes a kid cheering for their dad? What a prude.

My kid would clock them

[Hrolfr]

I was once an opponent to someone with a loud, organized cheering section. It distracted the hell out of me as a relatively new fighter and clearly gave her a psychological advantage. I suppose I could have responded by organizing my own loud cheering section to follow me around to fights, but somehow that seems like taking performance-enhancers because "everybody else is doing it".

Tasha, I am just the opposite. (Guess I am just a villian )

Jeering motivates me, in a I am old fat and slow but I can kick your butt six ways to sunday way

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[Hrolfr]

I was reasonably newish myself at the time, fighting for a couple years. I was a squire. So we were in this long bear-pit tourney. There was this really nice kid, and everyone was cheering for him every fight. He kept losing and kept losing, and we kept cheering for him... myself and the other fighters in the list included. It was fun. Like I said, he was a good kid.

At any rate, and I did NOT throw the fight, in about his 27th fight of the day, he beat me. I was the first person he ever beat in a tourney. I thought that was kinda cool. Another fighter came up to me and was giving me a bit of a hard time about it...after all the kid had lost 26 times in a row... I just said, "Let me ask you this... 5 years from now, do you think he'll remember YOUR name on this day?"

Excellent story, Sir!

[Hrolfr]

After I did that I got ugly looks from about 3 directions.

Pretty much no matter what you do you will get these looks on occasion so you may as well play your SCA game however you want. These people are communicating to you that they should be summarily ignored. Isn't that thoughtful of them?

Screw'em!

You should have heard Leo and myself cheering for our kids (they were on the boffer list).

But we both commented (and congradulated) on how well BOTH kiddos did.

If you need to HATE someone in a tourney, perhaps you should keep your ass at home.

[Thomas MacFinn]

If you need to HATE someone in a tourney, perhaps you should keep your ass at home.

I think that neatly sums it up. I love it when I can convice somebody to cheer for me, but I'm also the first to yell "Well done!" when my opponent nails me particularly skillfully.

[Hrolfr]

If you need to HATE someone in a tourney, perhaps you should keep your ass at home.

I think that neatly sums it up. I love it when I can convice somebody to cheer for me, but I'm also the first to yell "Well done!" when my opponent nails me particularly skillfully.

I believe we shall meet fairly soon minous music:

I cheer FOR people, not AGAINST them.

[Lucian Ro]

I was reasonably newish myself at the time, fighting for a couple years. I was a squire. So we were in this long bear-pit tourney. There was this really nice kid, and everyone was cheering for him every fight. He kept losing and kept losing, and we kept cheering for him... myself and the other fighters in the list included. It was fun. Like I said, he was a good kid.

At any rate, and I did NOT throw the fight, in about his 27th fight of the day, he beat me. I was the first person he ever beat in a tourney. I thought that was kinda cool. Another fighter came up to me and was giving me a bit of a hard time about it...after all the kid had lost 26 times in a row... I just said, "Let me ask you this... 5 years from now, do you think he'll remember YOUR name on this day?"

Awesome story, Morgan. Well done.

[Marco-borromei]

I remember a Pennsic rapier champions tourney where the was a cheering section on the "other" side. I suspect they were NOT officially sanctioned, but they were not stopped either. As each fight was announced, they stood up and cheered out a little rhyme. Half of these were in praise of their own champion, sing song bits like "Robert robert he's our man/ if he can't do it no one can!" Those were sometimes cute, but a shockingly modern distraction. The other half were specifically denigrating our champion by name. Those was rude. It gave the whole tourney a very "Wrestle Mania... lets get rrrrready to rrrrrumble!!!!!" feeling. Eventually, a few people from "our" side tried to organize people to drowning them out by chanting our kingdom battle cry. This seemed to encourage the "other" side's cheer section. After a few bouts, our Queen asked us to stop, as it was turning into more of a screaming match than a champion's tourney.

If it was JUST medieval-ish battle cries, I doubt it would have been a problem.

I'm just glad that, with poor hearing and a helmet, I coulnd't make out what they said when it was MY turn in the list.

[Steve S.]

I think there should never be "anti-cheering" or denigration of a combatant on a list field.

Steve

[rhys]

its funny that people shushed your kids , but will be the first ones that give a really loud obnoxious Huzzah when the final blow is struck in a crown list (providing their fighter one).

So what do people think about cheering the final blow? I see it two ways... the cheer because it was an epic fight and the killing blow was amazingly thrown, or are you cheering your favorite . even though you like both fighters? we have heard those finals that once over you could hear a pin drop maybe a golf clap or two but then closing court is not to well attended.... How do you cheer?

I give a warm round of applause and say well done to both. but outwardly cheering during the fight nope.. I find it distracting... but I won't keelhaul anyone for doing it as long as its in good taste...

[Diglach Mac Cein]

By the by -

At Candlemas, you heard cheering, shouts of support and encouragment, even a little "coaching" from the fighters and the spectators, throughout the day.

It frankly, ADDED to the event IMO.



.

[Steve S.]

All I know is when I watch "A Knight's Tale" the crowds there is what I think of when I think of actual crowds watching knights fight. I imagine it was like a modern-day sporting spectacle.

I think that's cool.