Ultimate Support Saturday

On Saturday it's Bristol Rovers' turn to visit the Kassam and the match has been designated as 'Ultimate Support Saturday' to drum up support for the Yellows. Supporters are asked to invite friends along, turn up in numbers and back the team vocally. For those still unsure of what it's all about, we spoke to Joe Nicholls, the fan behind the initiative, to get the lowdown.

What is Ultimate Support Saturday?

Ultimate Support Saturday is a fans' initiative to try and boost attendance and atmosphere at Oxford United home matches. It came about last season when there was talk on our fans forums that the atmosphere could be better, and some said nothing could be done. I disagreed, and came up with an idea of doing something about it.

Why was the Bristol Rovers match chosen?

I chose the Bristol Rovers game for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the Bristol Rovers fans chose our fixture as a game to get as many of their fans along to as possible, their Gas Day Out. I thought it would be good to counter that by our fans doing something of our own to really make a difference with atmosphere and attendance in the home end. Secondly, this attracted a lot of attention from our fans, and no one was talking about what we could do on forums etc, so I thought this would be a good way of changing that, and putting the attention back on our fans and club.

What can fans do to help?

This is all about the fans. It's our chance as supporters of Oxford United to get behind the club and team in our next home game. If fans can invite friends, family or fellow supporters along, and make as much noise as possible on Saturday, that will be a huge help, and will make the day better for everyone. Young kids can get hooked on Oxford United on days like this, and with kids often choosing to support Premier League clubs, it's games like this which can persuade a youngster that Oxford United is the team to follow.

Do you have an attendance target in mind for Saturday?

The bigger the crowd the better, as it's extra revenue for the club, and the atmosphere should be electric. I've got no target in mind, just a big crowd would be great.

Is the club backing the initiative?

The club have been superb ever since I came up with the idea of doing something. This time around, they are supporting the idea fully. Matt and Adam at the club have been great, and for Kelvin Thomas to back the idea on the official site, just shows the club will back the fans and our ideas.

And finally, care to give us a score prediction for Saturday?

I will go for a 3-0 Oxford win, just got a feeling we will win well.

Click on the image for a full-size version of the poster.
You can find a downloadable version here.

Big thanks to Joe for taking  the time to talk to us. His effort and dedication in organising Ultimate Support Saturday is a fine example to us all. We all know Oxford fans are some of the most dedicated and passionate in the land so we're certain the day will be a success. Get promoting, bring all your friends along and help cheer the Yellows to victory!

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