Meet the local football club band taking social media by storm

‘Tequila!’

Sutton Coldfield Town fans may not be the most numerous in the land but they can’t half make some noise.

A group of the non-league club’s most dedicated fans formed a band in the stands, whose talent, pluck and phenomenal mashup of La Cucaracha and The Champs’ 1958 classic Tequila has gone viral.

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“When we first brought out Tequila everyone on the bench including the manager started singing along,” Chris, the band’s trumpeter and founder, told the Press Association.

“That has become our football club’s adopted anthem and they even now play that song on the Tannoy as the teams are coming out.”

The newfound fame of the SCTFC Ultras group all began five years ago, when Chris and a group of friends travelled to Central Ground, Sutton Coldfield, to watch The Royals in action.

“We fell in love with it straight away and we kept coming back,” Chris said. “The only thing was it was very quiet and very few fans.

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“I asked the club after a few games if they wouldn’t mind us bringing a drum. We put ourselves behind the goal and gradually started attracting a number of fans to join us.

“One drum became two and then three and then I started playing the trumpet as well. At home games we also have tambourines and shakers depending on who turns up.”

Sutton Coldfield Town currently play in the Southern League Division One Central, the eighth tier of English football, having been relegated from the Northern Premier League Premier Division last season.

Home match attendances at the club usually number around a hundred or so fans.

“Having this group of supporters following us is a major bonus for the club,” said Sutton Coldfield Town’s general secretary Neil Murrall.

“We don’t enjoy big gates for our games so the fact that a small group makes lots of noise is great for us, for our team and for the atmosphere for everyone.

“There have been many occasions when they have had a round of applause off the opposition crowd after they do their medley so everyone enjoys what they do, even when an injured opposition player gets a rendition of the funeral march!”

The band’s core is made up of Chris, Dave – also affectionately known as Shrek – on the snare drum and Josh, Alex, Callum and another Chris, who all take turns on the drums.

“We don’t take ourselves seriously,” said Chris. “We don’t throw insults at opposition fans even when we frequently get it thrown at us … we are there purely to cheer on our team.

“Small non-league matches have been criticised for having no atmosphere like you get at league matches.

“A band like ours makes all the difference.”

Chris said other song favourites that they play include Ring Of Fire and The Great Escape.

“We’ve got some other good ones in the pipeline but you’ll have to wait and see,” Chris added.

SEATTLE (AP) — Alisha Valavanis walked around as the new performance center for the Seattle Storm was unveiled on Thursday filled mostly with joy and a little sadness.

The joy for the CEO of the Storm — who has been with the team for nearly a decade — came from helping bring to completion the second standalone practice facility dedicated to a WNBA team following the Las Vegas Aces last year.

The twinge of sadness for Valavanis was personal. Valavanis’ father, Spero, was an architect that created some of the initial design ideas for the facility. Eventually, a team of architects created the final building, but Valavanis said there were legal pads and napkins that had drawings and ideas from her dad which led to the finished product.

Her father never saw what the final building looked like with the two practice courts, an area for high performance training, therapy pools, a massive locker room and player lounge. He died earlier this year.

“My dad was in that very beginning dream part and then he saw the whole project through with us,” Valavanis said. “Unfortunately, he passed in January and wasn’t able to see this moment. But he is every part of it.”

The $64 million facility in Seattle’s Interbay neighborhood still has a few final touches to completed before the Storm begin training camp in a little over a week. But it’s a massive upgrade for the franchise after spending more than a decade using a secondary court at a NCAA Division II college in the same area of Seattle as its primary practice facility during the season. It also brings together the basketball and business sides of the team operations under one roof.

Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel said the goal was to create a home for the franchise that felt like more than just a place to practice.

“We built a home. We built a home for our players. We built a home for our staff. We built a home in this community for the Seattle Storm,” Brummel said. “I hope as you go through the building you will feel that.”

There are small examples throughout of what Brummel was saying. The primary gathering space in the building has tiered seating made from the court when Seattle won the WNBA title in 2018. There’s a sneaker wall featuring shoe designs Seattle players have worn through the years. The main entrance has all four of the championship trophies on display. A mural on one wall of the main practice floor features the Seattle skyline with the outline of the mountains in the background.

There’s even space in the player and staff parking areas to set up temporary courts for 3-on-3 hoops.

“We’re just in a good location and had good ownership that really wanted to push for it and build something that was truly us and meant something to the city of Seattle,” Seattle All-Star Jewell Loyd said.

One thing that stood out for Valavanis is the amount of natural light that was coming into the building, especially on a sunny spring day. Bringing is as much outside light as possible was something her dad talked about in his initial designs.

“I’d say from that original sketch to now, so much of it has come to life,” Valavanis said.

WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

The Seattle Storm new performance center's strength and conditioning room is seen in Seattle on Thursday, April 18, 2024. The 50,000 square-foot-practice facility and headquarters cost $64 million and will open later this month. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP)

Part of the Seattle Storm's new performance center is seen in Seattle on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP)

Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd, left, and general manager Talisa Rhea, right, tour the WNBA basketball team's new performance center in Seattle on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP)

The Seattle Storm's new performance center is seen in Seattle on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP)

Seattle Storm coach Noelle Quinn talks to reporters at the WNBA basketball team's new performance center in Seattle on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP)

The Seattle Storm's new performance center is seen in Seattle on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP)

The Seattle Storm's new performance center stands in Seattle on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times via AP)