I’ve been thoroughly enjoying this football season. Pub Harald have expanded their beer-selling operations from Ilves to TPV matches, ensuring that pretty much every game taking place at Tammela can now be enjoyed with alcoholic enhancement. And Finnish football, much as I love it, does often need alcoholic enhancement.
An integral part of the Tammela experience is the interactive nature of the entertainment, with grizzled old men shouting comments, often very odd comments, in the general direction of the pitch. Here is a short guide, that will be updated as and when we find inspiration:
Kivia Taskuun!
This means ‘put rocks in your pocket!’. Generally used towards players considered to be simulating injury in an effort to win a free kick, this is, like most of the comments made at Tammela, an attempt to influence the referee’s decisions rather than the players’ activities. These Tampere football people are machiavellian, mischievous types.
Maaleja!….TPV!*
‘Goals!…..TPV!’ A masterpiece combining love for the club, encouragement, hope and leadership, this chant is owned by Jukka Gustafsson MP. Or at least, if it isn’t owned by him he should think about copyright issues, because it is usually bellowed by him from his seat in the main stand, and has recently been used by others without the same gravitas. The pause after Maaleja is important, demonstrating the consideration and deliberation the Finnish people expect from their elected representatives. Maaleja!…TPV! is always, without fail, followed by…
Yeeeaaaggghh Yigh!
Not as articulate as Gustafsson, but aiming to show support for the sentiments expressed by the SDP politician, Yeeeaaaggghh Yigh Man always responds to affirm the first, vociferous shout. The combo often precedes an attacking set-piece for TPV, in which case it is followed by raucous foot stamping and rhythmic clapping, but it can also be used as general encouragement for the team if it looks like they need it.
Yeeeaaaggghh Yigh Man has become something of a celebrity in Tampere. Imitators have attempted to mock him via the wry pisstaking Finns are so good at, usually by shouting ‘Yeeeaaaggghh Yigh’ in an effort to steal his thunder, but he has studiously ignored their mockery and fought off all-comers to retain his position as the number one Yeeeaaaggghh Yigh Man in Tampere. Imitators now need their own ‘Maaleja!….TPV!’ chanter to properly execute the ‘Yeeeaaaggghh Yigh’ manoeuvre, and some wags have indeed paired up and started to imitate both parts of the chant. It’s a tribute chant, rather than a pisstake, such is the established popularity of the original, without which no TPV game would be complete.
Aina sama mies!
‘Always the same guy!’ When the home team wins a free kick, it is necessary to point out to the referee that this is not a first offence, and imply that the guilty party is likely to decapitate several honest Tampere lads if his barbarous violence is not held in check by a red or yellow card. This implication does not have to be supported by the facts, and the chant’s indiscriminate use by the older TPV fans grouped around Gustafsson has caused the same wry pisstaking as previously mentioned.
Every foul on the home team is now greeted with this chant, from several drunken people, thus lessening the impact it had when a Member of the Finnish parliament was alone in loudly demanding justice and fair play from the officials. I personally believe that this imitation, and consequent weakening of the moral rhetoric directed at the referee, is partly responsible for TPV’s poor form this season.
Rantaruotsalainen! Ruotsalainen Kalastaja!
‘Coastal Swede! Swedish fisherman!’. When teams from the coast come to Tampere, their Swedishness is not going to go unremarked upon. At some point during the game the away team is likely to win a free kick, and this is when the Wildean wit of the Tampere football cognoscienti is set free. Rantaruotsalainen is a pejorative term for Swedish speakers, and if a team comes from an area with a Swedish speaking population, then it can be used as an insult for every member of that team regardless of any one player’s ethnic or linguistic background.
They are representing their region, and one of its defining characteristics is that some people who live there speak Swedish.Another characteristic common among Swedish-speaking Finns is a passion for and competence at football uncommon among their Finnish-speaking brethren, which makes them slightly scary. The fallback strereotype is that anything Swedish is effeminate and girly, which ties in nicely with the anti-diving shouts that are the bread and butter of any afternoon or evening spent at Tammela. Combining the two in new and interesting linguistic formulations is one of the true joys of Finnish football culture.
If you have any Finnish football phrases to add to this short list, either email me or add them in the comments.
*Check the first comment for clarification of the correct word order.
23. May 2010 at 2:31 pm
In Jukkas chant the words are actually in opposite order: “TPV!…Maaleja!”
Great post though
Twitter: EganRichardson
Says:
23. May 2010 at 3:53 pm
You’re right! The pause makes much more sense like that, too. I think MaalejaTPV! is almost pauseless when it is bellowed across the ground, occasionally by Gustafsson but often by others too, and it is more often followed by the foot-stamping and clapping.
23. May 2010 at 9:55 pm
If my memory server me right, the “Aina sama” (originally not followed by “mies”) shout was used already in the late 90′s and always by the same supporter. It soon developed into sort of an inside joke with the loudest shout made after the first foul of the match.
Twitter: EganRichardson
Says:
24. May 2010 at 9:19 pm
There is a whole history to this stuff, I see. Definitely something you miss at Ratina, where these shouts get lost in the endless kilometres between stand and pitch.
Twitter: puntteri
Says:
25. May 2010 at 1:07 pm
Where is the optimal seat if I want to enjoy a football match at Tammela “kaikilla mausteilla” as described? Would not want to miss a single chant, especially if it comes from the mouth of the Country´s finest people, the MP!
Twitter: EganRichardson
Says:
25. May 2010 at 8:07 pm
Well, all stands have their qualities. The kalevanpuistotie end gets a fair amount of sun, and shirtless spectators can often be seen with their puistokaljaa (park beer), red as lobsters, bellowing incoherent abuse. It’s also nice to sit in the sun.
The long, low stand is sparsely populated by oddballs and eccentrics, who can jump up at odd moments. The tracksuit count is particularly high in this stand, again, it offers protection for the clandestine drinkers. It’s usually in the shade, suiting those after quiet contemplation rather than tumultuous excitement.
The Salhojankadun end is in the shade and usually holds the organiser of the ball boys and few others. When TamU play at Tammela their fans congregate here, which makes it worth visiting for the atmosphere. The lush grass at this end is pleasant, particularly at evening matches in August.
Moving on to the main stand side, the beer stand is my own personal favourite for obvious reasons. The beer is sold at four euros a can from one of the lawnmower sheds at pitchside, and you stand on the touchline supping your pint. There is also a small stand from which you can gain an elevated view, but no beer can be taken up there and for that reason it usually remains quite empty. The best of the pisstake chants emanate from this area.
In the main stand you can experience the TPV effect. The Gustafsson clique sits above the gangway on the right as you look to the pitch, and they shout a fair bit. Sitting near the back of the main stand will give you the best view in the stadium, and puts you close to the greatest concentration of spectators and the bar, so on balance I recommend it.