Looks like it’s teenagers bringing flares to the games and the live sites.

do people enjoy it or do you think it’s dangerous/bad look?

they photo well and make atmosphere but personally i could live without them but for fans who enjoy them why not 

I don't mind em.

I was at the tumbalong site. We all knew it was gunna happen and it added to the atmosphere.

The only thing I disliked was the pricks who thew the flares, it was fucken dangerous, light em, hold em or drop em, a smoke flare hit a middle age woman in the head 3 feet from me, if it was a pyro it could have done some damage. 

Ill Add the older fellas seem to understand, make the opening with a cracker, light the flare and drop it in the opening.

It was mostly kids throwing them, that had a knock on effect because randoms wanted the flares away from them, either because they didn't want security to be drawn or for safety reasons.

I’m fine with flares, but very much against the kids throwing them in the air and hurting people as the heavy object comes raining back down to crack someone’s head open and burn their face.

Just rip it and either hold it or drop it on the ground.

The 15-year olds launching them all over the place at Tumbalong Park ruined the atmosphere by creating a seriously unsafe environment. These kids need to pull their heads in. 

Pyro is great. Little twats throwing it is BS. 

I was at tumbalong. Love the flares and the atmosphere it creates. Even channel 7 and 9 went on the flare bangwagon over the last week for a change.

But fuck me it was really bad this morning to the point it left a sour taste. A person a couple of metres away got hit in the head, another next to me copped one on the back and it melted through his jumper. Throwing them is so stupidly dangerous, and it wasn't just 'the kids' doing it. I saw many people 'return fire' aged from 20-40+. And throwing them at a low angle too.

I really don't like the Melbourne vs Sydney debate, but the more mature city won out here big time.

no

Like I said, yes alot of adults did return fire, I just found alot of the ones lighting up and throwing, around me, were young.

Was at the Newcastle live site, a few flares after our goal. No biggie if people aren't throwing them like babies

If you can’t stop people throwing them then it sounds like a fair reason to just ban them 

You can't stop people from getting wasted, why don't we just ban beer.

Could very well be the reason they are being thrown - They don't want to be caught with them

That's exactly it.

But getting wasted doesn’t harm other people. Throwing flares does 

Drink driving from events, drunk and disorderly, assault, domestic abuse all have alcohol as a contributing factor, and all may effect secondary parties.

I would go as far as to say flares are less of an issue then alcohol when discussing football.

Not a fan, but it brings up another question: if there was a more encouraging posture from the a league towards active support would that help or is it too late?

Isn't that already happening? The big games in the early part of the season had great active support, at levels not since since the mid-2010s. There have been plenty of flares and even some minor scuffling, but the APL and FA have treated it sensibly, and media beat-ups haven't really managed any cut through. 

I'd even hazard to say the the WC live sites might end up representing a turning point for the social acceptance of flares. Hundreds of the things have been ripped over the last few days, and far from denouncing it, the media has been lapping up the visual effect they have created. We'll probably see more of the same at A-League grounds.

I was at the Canberra site and there were flares. It actually made it a really fun atmosphere. The crowd were loving it. The police weren’t. It was an exciting atmosphere and flares came out when we scored. I can see why people would be keen to get rid of them though, because every time a flare went off, a bunch of police are puke come through and manhandle the person holding it and arrest them. There people weren’t throwing them, just holding them in the air. 

Yeah, I had a friend there that told me afterwards that the police that day were stupid, and kept patrolling around, leaving the so-called 'trouble-area' and then needing to come back and barge through.

I was at AAMI and a bloke behind us ripped a lovely bright smokey orange flare...... I cried..... that smell reminded my of wonderful wonderful times...... 

Yeah I noticed that too. Turned on the mainstream news when I got back home, expecting the usual "Soccer hooligans" vibe but it seemed like the bimbo reporters loved the party atmosphere....

yep I love the vibes flares bring, just got to get those idiots who throw them but no way ban them bring it I say.

Was talking to a few of the young player supporters I know yesterday having gone to Darling Harbour - SM they are all in the know, they said Bunnings had sold out and other stores lol.........
Go you good thing I say :)

Well I’d probably go to the live sites with my buddies but I wouldn’t take the lass of little kids 

Damn can you get them at Bunnings now? We had to go to marine supply shops back in the day - with somones uncles, cousins, next door neighbours boat registration to buy flares :)

There where 18 of us (mostly kids) at AAMI (tried to get into Fed Square but got turned away at 5am) and the kids loved it.....  Now that it seems FA is "turning a blind eye" and no chance of Hellas getting point deductions I might smuggle a few into NPL games next season and let the littlies learn how to rip them properly :)

Flares are banned at Scottish football grounds for unarguable reasons. Getting caught with one results in a lifetime ban.

Try telling those hospitalised at the recent Socceroo celebrations that they are ok.

exactly

watching the flares being thrown around at fed square was hard to watch.

imagine blinding someone after one gets thrown in their face. yeah pyro is awesome but
one in the eye, blinding someone 

This is a typical "false dichotomy" argument that is used to deceive simple-minded folk.

When A and B are big problems, it is a false dichotomy to say that B is ok, because A is worse than B.

e.g. Nuclear bombs kill more people than chemical weapons, so chemical weapons are less of an issue.

Because these type of false arguments are used by people in casual conversation -- and we see it in the media so often -- people use this type of false reasoning particularly when making life-or-death choices.

It might seem trivial to point out a false-dichotomy argument in a football forum, but the same people use this false-dichotomy reasoning when it comes to massive issues that affect society and the destiny of Australia and the world.