When in full flight and voice, the Melbourne City FC active supporter bay is a sight to behold.
In amongst the wave of City scarves, banners and spine-tingling noise is Matt, a four-year member of the Club’s dedicated active supporter group.
After renewing his active membership for the 2016/17 season, Matt describes his typical match day experience, which involves a pre-match journey from the Imperial Hotel in Bourke Street to the electric atmosphere at AAMI Park.
“This is where the fans come before the game on match day. Myself and my mates will get here pretty early, hang out at the pub for a bit and then head down to the ground from there,” he said.
“The atmosphere on match day at AAMI Park is sensational. Just singing and chanting for 90 minutes, jumping up and down just having a great time, there’s nothing like it.”
On the pitch, City took the Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League by storm this season with an entertaining and exciting brand of football.
In the stands, it is the Club’s band of passionate and energetic active supporters who ensured the terraces were just as eye-catching.
“One of the roles of active support is to create as much colour and sound for the team as possible,” Matt said. “One of the things we do to achieve that is make tifos. They’re big banners we might hold out in front of the terrace. “
“We did a couple of really good ones this year but my favourite was definitely the Captain America one we did for the Perth home final. We had Captain America super imposed over the Melbourne City skyline. I thought it looked absolutely ace.”
After a long night of standing and chanting, Matt relishes the opportunity to interact the players post-match, emphasising the unique bond between the City fans and players.
“The players will come over after games and thank fans in the terrace which is fantastic because it’s not something you really get with a lot of other sports.”
“They’ll come over and celebrate a win with us, have a chat to you, shake your hand and sign some autographs. It really makes you apart of the fabric of the club. You’ve got that closeness with them on match day. It’s fantastic.
It’s time to sing, chant and paint AAMI Park in City colours. Become a Melbourne City FC member for the 2016/17 season. This is Our City.
