Of other atmospheres: football spectatorship beyond the terrace chant

This article examines how we might understand what constitutes atmosphere at football games beyond singing, chanting and other explicit choreographies of display. It argues that the focus on singing and chanting that pervades much of the literature on spectator activity at football games stems from a conceptual concern with identity and emotion, and an empirical focus on professional and international football, with its large, segregated crowds and modern facilities. This article moves beyond these by turning empirically to non-league football and conceptually to ‘affective atmospheres’. This provides resources for rethinking atmosphere in the absence of overt emotional display. The article draws on autoethnographic vignettes taken from attendance at non-league football games during the 2012/2013 season to articulate these other atmospheres. It concludes by considering the wider implications of this and the opportunities opened up by a broader understanding of what constitutes atmosphere for those working on football spectator experiences.