"If you're not invested in what's happening on the field-and that would make you an outlier-it's easy to become hypnotized by the choreographed spectacles unfolding behind each goal: the visual arrangements unveiled just before kickoff, known as tifos; the banners that run the gamut from critiques of the team's owners to takedowns of the far-right National Rally party; the call-and-response chants; the Palestinian and Algerian flags fluttering in the maritime breeze."
"A season-ticket holder since 1992, he pays just €180 for a year of OM matches, the standard rate for the roughly 26,000 seats behind each goal reserved for members of the various supporters' groups. "You'll find everyone in the stands," Robert told me over a beer outside the stadium after the first home match of the year. "There are families, there are young people, there are unemployed people, blue-collar workers, all religions, all colors-that's what Marseille is. It's a cosmopolitan"
The Velodrome matchday atmosphere combines visual spectacle and intense fan participation. Supporters unveil tifos, hang banners ranging from owner critiques to political statements, sing call-and-response chants, and wave Palestinian and Algerian flags. Luxury boxes host business attendees, but most seats behind the goals remain affordable and occupied by long-standing, working-class fans. Many supporters' groups hold roughly 26,000 seats behind each goal at a standard rate of €180 per season. Longtime season-ticket holders, retirees, families, unemployed people, and blue-collar workers populate the stands, creating a cosmopolitan, communal environment distinct from commercialized sports venues.
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