If you asked me two years ago then I'd have absolutely agreed with you but over the last couple years Wigan fans have adopted and popularised songs from European Football clubs which have a drum associated with them.

However, I do agree that drums are over played, are out of tune and that there should only be one. To be honest I'm not fussed whether we have them or not.

Brett, you really are being ridiculous. I understand completely, you don't like the drum, but as I've already demonstrated the drum is a neccessity for syncronisation of the songs which people across the stadium like the join in with.

Can a drum really prevent your enjoyment of the game? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Personally, I can't see how, regardless of whether the drum is beating or not, the team are still playing the same game, they're still scoring tries aren't they? You're still getting your monies worth.

I don't particularly like queuing to use the toilet, so should Mr Whelan give me my own reserved spot in the loos? For that matter, I don't particularly like queueing up to get into the stadium, so should the stewards let me in early so I can rest my weary legs?

There's space for 25'000+ people at DW Stadium, and there's going to be things that some of those 25'000 dont agree with, regardless of whether they're done by the Brigantes or not. Let's face it as well, the drums existed well before the Brigantes, and if the drum helps to syncronise the singing, then long may it continue!

Why should we be forced not to bring a drum? Will you break it if we bring one and stand near you?

All this thread has shown is that yet again BK will moan about anything, a 15 year old latics fan was an idiot, and the Brigantes have improved the atmosphere at Wigan games.

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Oh look. Exactly what I wrote.

Oooo, Conroy, you should be on the Countdown panel with a special camera to point at dictionary pages.

Couldn't be more true, especially the last bit. If BK really wants to he can set up his own organisation which is anti drums.

I really do urge anyone with concerns about the Brigantes to come and meet some of us, we will prove you wrong. I was a doubter to start with, I came around. Onedego himself had huge doubts, he came along and met the guys and now he loves it!

I dont know why everyones getting so touchy about it tbh. Other than BK who wants silence when watching the rugby ..... I think every one else has given constructive criticism and it's certainly not meant as personally as some people seem to be taking it, You all clearly work very hard to create what you have done, and it shows. Like i said in my earlier post, which I'm pretty much going to repeat now.... all the stuff with the flags and the atmosphere at matches is brilliant, I've certainly enjoyed it in the last few away games I managed to get to, and all the flags and stuff over the south stand look brilliant on match day. And the charity do was a great night and certainly somat I'd want to do again. It's merely the whole ultra thing, and the sticker thing which you should expect critiscm for. I know your not about violence, and I think everyone else who has posted the same criticism's will know you are not about violence, but to the general public who dont come on this forum and read about you guys on here they will automatically see stickers dotted about saying ultras, brigantes, s2 or whatever, see people with the scarves and just assume that you are the stereotypical group of fans that are usually associated with the name ultra.


Again, this Isn't my opinion of the brigantes, but starting any sort of "group" or fan club, is always going to make certain people see it as some sort of clique who think they are better than everyone else, even if thats not the case. Thats how its going to look to outsiders who don't know you and don't know what you do or what you are about, and theres not really anything you can do to change that. Just keep up what you are doing, and the more you stress that you dont put up with the idiots... then hopefully those idiots will stop tagging themselves as part of your "group"

Which is simply what is meant by odem saying 'police things'.

We aren't a supporters club/group like the Riversiders (who do an excellent job btw) for example as we don't have memberships. It's simply a group of fans trying to improve the atmosphere. If you want to stand with us and sing as Alex says he prefers for example, then do so. If you'd rather watch the game in a more quiet spot then do that. Nobody will criticise you for it as it's your call. If you have a song you think we (by that I mean Wigan fans in general) should sing at games then belt it out. Post it on here. Post it on the Brigantes board. The better the atmosphere, the better. If you have an idea about a flag design or a way of adding colour then do the same. Come to a meeting and put it forward. We'll listen, discuss and then have a good night out talking about rugby. Anybody who wants to be a part of creating a better atmosphere and making Wigan RL the best fans on the planet can do so. The group is simply a way of getting the ideas together and implementing them.

Now to the problem with not having members so to speak. If some chavvy kid sees a flag and decides to spray it on a wall, we can't be held responsible just because he chose to stand near us and sing. Would you hold Rockstar games responsible if a kid played GTA and decided to steal a car and run people over? I'd say it was more his upbringing than the influence of a computer game.

At the last playoff game there was a small fight at full time. We can't be blamed because the guy was stood two rows infront of us. Had he been stood on the other side of the stand would those around him have been blamed? (the club acknowledged he was nothing to do with us, as they know the main people involved) All we can say is "it wasn't one of the main organisers or one of the people we know are actively involved" We can't be blamed for people attaching themselves, all we can do is try to stop those people attaching themselves and tarnishing the name by making people aware of them. If a guy in a Wigan shirt is seen battering a guy in a Saints shirt for example. All Wigan fans are called sc*m. It's difficult to get away from unfortunately.

Finally the name. It isn't to distance ourselves from other fans. If it was then we'd have memberships and secret handshakes and private meetings. We don't. Everything we do is in the open and people can give their opinions and criticisms. The name is simply to enable us to market ourselves so that we can raise funds to help pay for the things we do. How do you think we managed to get 30 flags with an average cost of £200 each in less than a year? We now give some of this money to charities in a bid to appeal to as many people as possible. Joe Bloggs might not want to donate to a flag by buying a scarf, but he may want to donate to Wigan & Leigh Hospice by buying one, so he does. So far we have donated £300 to MacMillan and have around £500ish (still not the final count) to be donated to Wigan & Leigh Hospice.


The atmosphere at games isn't really anything to do with me it's more 21-12, Jimmybirts, Dave26 and Odem but you can't deny that they've done a superb job. Wire away in the league last year was superb. Years gone by and that stand would have been empty after 20 minutes. Wigan's support is no longer the 'Wigan walk, WIGAN WIGAN WIGAN joke that it used to be. They should be congratulated not commended because some idiot has decided to attach himself.

Anyway, I'm off to spray Justin Beiber symbols everywhere so that he gets arrested and not me

Can I just ask the Brigantes though...

What is your opinion on putting stickers all over the place and the Cherry and White balaclava?

As I said on a previous post, you have done a great job, just wondering what your view on this was?

I can't speak for the group but my personal opinion is:

The stickers are a bit of fun that don't do any real harm as they tend to just fall off, but it depends where they're stuck.
I disagree 100% with the balaclava.

I'll agree with you on both there. The stickers as you say aren't really a big issue but could become one if they were stuck in inappropriate places.

With the balaclava I just think it gives people a reason to try and connect the Brigantes to an Ultra type group even though we know that it is far from it. It is unnecessary IMO and can be quite intimidating.

Apart from that though what the Brigantes are doing is superb and I can't wait till the start of the season to see the effect it has on the atmosphere at home games!

If you have been leaving "Wigan Ultras" stickers plastered around the ground at Hull KR don't be suprised to see a welcoming committee waiting for the "Ultras" when you got back later this year.

You may consider them a bit of fun but it could easily be seen as a "challenge" on somebody's "territory" by others with that mindset.

I wouldn't advise sticking them anywhere when you visit Warrington this season.


Beyond that this thread is comedy gold. I'm guessing it was Banksy with spray-paint in hand in the cherry and white balaclava.

Stickers and Spraypaint



I have some pasta shells and glitter that you can play with if you want, men.

"Comedy gold" which requires an aggressive reply from a Warrington fan.... Says it all really.......

Agressive reply?

I guess people see what they want to see.

That describes everything perfectly Conroy. I don't think there is much more we can see. Just re-post this. If people still want to have a go, let them. We will carry on and people can join in whenever they like. Meetings are always posted on here, there is always chance for people to get involved. It is not a clique which doesn't let people in.

As have you...

So Warrington fans are going to get upset if someone sticks a sticker in the town?

Conroy, put me down for 100 stickers please!

enough said really.

What's your point? I wasn't disagreeing with you.

The word ultra has been used because the football groups use it. I don't see why people are getting their knickers in a twist because they can't accept that using the term is provocative and seem to be dying to contextualize it until it is just a meaningless word. If it was meaningless it wouldn't have been used.

Why use a label which (as has been mentioned by those including 'members') has been tainted by football groups when literally any could have been used? It just doesn't make any sense to me and seems to be deliberately chosen with either bad taste or bad intentions in mind; the balaclava's would provoke the same response in many.

Some of the posts from Brigantes members on here take me back to Primary school and the days of having gangs. It seems that some are more than a touch sensitive to any form of criticism but at the same time are more than willing to accept any compliments that go their way. This along with talk of policing the Brigantes, the Brigantes brand etc and people wanting this thread locked just because there is criticism make it sound more like a communist dictatorship whose word is final than a group of supporters. The last time I looked this forum wasnt a vehicle for the Brigantes and was for Wigan Rugby League. I would have thought this thread was a cracking way of taking peoples concerns on board and trying to improve things. Instead though I think the hostility shown towards any criticism, no matter how minor, has simply served to alienate some Wigan fans even more.

On the term Ultras every person I know when asked about this thinks of this as being a hooligan term. Whether people in the Brigantes like it or not a large percentage of people think this way and importantly people from other clubs think this way. There is simply no need to use this word and there are plenty of alternatives that could be used. As posters from other clubs have said plastering oppostion grounds with Wigan Ultra stickers is just asking for trouble further down the line because as we know all clubs have idiots and things like this are just all the excuse they need. If fans from Warrington plastered Warrington stickers all over the JJB there would be outrage on this board. Again this is all needless so why not just drop the Ultra tag and use one of the many more firiendly alternatives. People are trying to defend it by saying Ultras in a Rugby League context means something else. Well for a start there is no Ultras in a Rugby League context because no one has used it before, for obvious reasons, and it is simply a term copied from other sports. It should be no shock to anyone if that meaning is also brought across too. Some people are also saying that Ultra isnt a hooligan term and means above the norm and supporting their club in extraordinary ways. If this doesnt mean they think they are better than the average fan then I dont know what does. I, and I know others, think some Brigantes members think they are somehow better than the average fan and if the Ultra term means this to Brigantes members then it just reinforces this even more.

Other non-Brigantes Wigan fans raise valid concerns about drumming etc and they are called a sad old men. Surely instead of replying with such hostility Brigantes should be trying to appeal to all Wigan fans and take peoples concerns on board. The Brigantes, who at the end of the day are a very small minority of Wigan fans, are certainly making it seem like it is a case of if you are not with them, and if you dont agree with everything they say and do, then you are against them. Surely this should not be the case and it definately isnt the best way of getting people on board.

This is why people shouldn't post about the 'ultra' thing when they don't have a clue about that particular scene.

Ultras are in many sports all across europe, these include... Basketball, Handball, Waterpolo, Rugby Union, Swimming, Ice-hockey, Speedway, Aussie Rules, Motor sports, Volleyball, Gaelic Football....

It is a way of supporting your team beyond the norm. That is all. It is not just a football thing, it was just birthed there. We wouldn't say Rugby League is just a Huddersfield thing.

Jeeeeeeesus christ you are bumming this "will you break the drum?" when you know he isnt going to do so. Stop milking it flower

So because the word Negro can be deemed as being offensive, the Spanish and Portuguese should change the word, or not use it at all?

A balaclava is a garment used to keep your head and face warm. A scarf is used to keep your neck, and often your chin and lower face warm, should they be banned from general sale because some chose to hide their faces with balaclavas and scarfs while breaking the law?

A hooker is a prostitute, or perhaps it's a position in Rugby...

Ultra is a football hooligan, or perhaps it's a group of die hard supporters in Rugby.


It this man a hooligan?
No, it was November 2010 in Germany, and temperatures were below freezing.


Is this man a hooligan?
No, he's wearing a fire proof balaclava to protect his face from being burned.


Are these people hooligans? Look at them. Disgraceful. Climbing on the advertising hoardings, invading the pitch holding flares too.

Oh wait, they're not flares, the stadium is on fire, they're not climbing on the advertising hoardings, they're trying to evacuate the stand. Of course, that is the Bradford Stadium fire.


What i've proven here is that what you perceive as X Y and Z, is often the complete opposite. If you saw the guy in the 1st picture stood in the stands of the DW Stadium, would you brand him a hooligan?

Looks can be deceiving, as can words, and their often unsubstansiated interpretations.

My goodness. 'Knickers in a twist' probably didn't quite cover it.