FC Seoul fans reach 20,000 ratings: why they intuit Seoul home games

“I’m a mom of two boys. My favorite part of life is watching FC Seoul matches with my first son, who is my best soccer friend.” (Mr. Hwang Gyu-ran, 47)

“I’m a high school student living in Daejeon, and my childhood nickname was ‘Jumen’ because of my name. I can’t intuit all the home games due to circumstances, but I go to the stadium to cheer whenever I can.” (Park Joo-hyung-gun, 19)

Despite their different ages, genders, and circumstances, they are united when FC Seoul plays at home. They gather at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, wearing Seoul’s “black and white” striped jerseys, and sing the “Jingun Song. They cheer for the Seoul players, cry and laugh at the outcome of the game. The number of fans who gathered together to watch Seoul’s home games in the 2023 season reached an average of 21,941 per game. As of the 29th round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023, the club is the only club with an average attendance of 20,000. With a cumulative attendance of 329,116, if 70,884 fans come to the stadium for the remaining home games, the club will reach the 400,000 mark for the first time since the counting of paid spectators began. It’s a record that wouldn’t be possible without the fans.

Analyzing the intuition crowd at Seoul home games by age reveals something new. Comparing the 2019 season to this season, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of children fans increased from 14% to 16%, while the percentage of adults fans decreased from 80% to 77%. The percentage of female fans increased from 27% to 32%. The “stake” of children and female fans has increased. The analysis suggests that these changes have increased the pie of home game ratings.

“In August 2019, I intuitively followed my sister to Daegu,” said Lee Ha-neul (27), a fourth-year Seoul fan. At first, I sat in seat E, but the view of seat N (Seoul’s home supporters’ seat) from there was amazing. The passionate fans and colorful flags captivated my heart for the entire 90 minutes. From the third intuition, I was rooting for the team in seat N.” He recently converted a friend into a Seoul fan.

They’re at the stadium on a golden weekend. We talked to four Seoul fans, ranging in age from teens to 40s, about what attracts them. Yoo Ji-hoon (30), who has been behind the goal for Seoul for the past 10 years, said, “The medley that starts with ‘Jingunga’ and ends with ‘Bobsong’ is second to none. Especially when thousands of people sing ‘Seoul Day’ together in the North Plaza, it sends shivers down my spine.” “The smell of the grass, the freshness of the beer, the rush of adrenaline, the taste of soccer intuition with all five senses is addictive,” said Hwang Kyu-ran, who joined Seoul in 2005 and has witnessed many historic moments, including the 2013 Asian Champions League runner-up finish and the 2016 regular season title.

“When I was watching the A match with my high school son, he said, ‘Mom, the Seoul game is more fun,’ and I replied, ‘I love it. When I cheer for my favorite team at the top of my lungs and they win, I’m happy all week.” “When (the opposing team) talks about us with the derogatory term ‘XX’ over a transfer that was done with integrity, we cheer for Seoul with a louder voice. We feel a special sense of belonging when we represent that,” he said. Seoul fans say that seeing the existence of the so-called “allies” who were responsible for Seoul’s relegation in the 2018 relegation playoffs has made them more united. Hwang Kyu-ran said, “What I like about Seoul’s home stadium is that there are no expletives or expressions that parents of children would be surprised to hear,” while Lee Ha-neul said, “It’s good that Seoul doesn’t have blatant anticalls (cheers aimed at slandering opponents).” 메이저놀이터

Seoul broke out of a long winless streak in September with a victory in the pre-A match supermatch. The presence of new head coach Kim Jin-kyu and the possibility of a top-split finish (they are currently fourth) are factors that are building anticipation and bringing fans to the stadium. “Seoul was never graceful,” says Yoo Yoo-hoon. They were the persistent bully of the league. I hope we can regain Seoul’s value of being a hard team to beat, a tough team to face. I want us to have the mindset that we are the best. We are behind them.”