Latin is for Smarties
by sidereal on Aug 13, 2010 11:52 AM PDT
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PrintAs we all know, tifo and other sports-related signage is just the modern incarnation of heraldry. When ancient warriors took the battlefield, their heralds would fly their colors and symbols in order to identify themselves and intimidate the enemy. And as we all also know, one of the best parts of heraldry is the motto, a short phrase or statement that epitomizes the spirit of the warrior (or the club), usually in Latin.
It's already a well-established practice for football clubs to have mottos, including Liverpool's well known 'You Will Never Walk Alone' and Everton's Nil Satis Nisi Optimum (Latin for "Only the best is good enough")
While it's up to the club and its representatives to consider an official motto for the team, I think it'd be fun to come up with a motto for the fans, representing our ability to roar the team on 36,000 strong, unlike any other group of fans in the league.
Feel free to leave your contributions in the comments. While Latin isn't required, it gives extra smarty points. Here's my contribution, with hopefully correct Latin grammar:
Nos audietis in somniis
Nos audietis in inferno
(You will hear us in your dreams. You will hear us in hell).
I like it for the ability to chop it down, depending on space available, to just one or the other, or to just Nos audietis (You will hear us). Thoughts? Better ideas? Fire up the Latin!
Edit: Commenter Tohoya points out that the long motto would be more chant-appropriate if it contained the same number of syllables in both lines. That's a good point and I admit I hadn't really thought of chanting it. He/she recommends 'in cruce' (meaning on the cross, or in pain, or potentially 'in hell' with some poetic license). Another possibility is 'in altum', which I've always liked because it can mean either 'in the depths' or 'in the heights'. Basically, anything with a lot of elevation. There's a famous Latin saying 'Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur', meaning 'anything said in Latin sounds deep'. So the full motto would be:
Nos audietis in somniis
Nos audietis in altum
(You will hear us in your dreams. You will hear us in the deep)
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I love just the first half
You will hear us in your dreams
although, can we do nightmares?
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
I think it's awesome
I want that on a shirt.
Because if it's not Love | Then it's the bomb ... | That will bring us together
The more I read it, the more I like it.
That said, the more I read it, the more I specifically like the shortest version – Nos audietis, depending on the translation. If it’s a command – Hear us! I think it’s kind of weak. If it’s a statement like you suggested – “You will hear us”, it seems more confident and more menacing, and I really, really like it. Hell, I’d get that tattooed (I think the SSFC piece I have in mind could stand some text)! I can also totally see the FO get behind this – we’re the rowdy, packed, loud, dedicated fans, so something about making NOISE fits right in with the marketing.
by Nick_in_Seattle on Aug 13, 2010 3:24 PM PDT reply actions
It's the prediction
The imperative mood plural is ‘audite’, so that would be the command.
But always consult with a Latin professor before getting a tattoo ;)
by sidereal on Aug 13, 2010 3:39 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
We need a graphic to accompany this
The graphic can not have horns
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
Crashing waves, Mountains, skyline?
and I need to email you if that’s cool
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
A shale grey mt rainier would be great there
or some thing that says Puget Sound
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
I like 'Nos audietis' a lot
and I think it’s evocative as well as short and sweet like a good motto should be, but I’m way too much of a language geek to pass this up without giving my (very) rusty Latin a go:
Victoria in fragore implacabili
“Victory by means of unstoppable noise”
Doesn’t really roll off the tongue, but I like ‘fragore’ because it means noise or din, but also is used for applause.
Or, for the next time the Sounders play in the Colliseum:
Ubique itis ibi erimus
“Wherever you go we will be”
The more I think about Ubique itis ibi erimus
the more I like it. Sounders fans show up, no matter where the game is.
Now with more lemon bars!
Ubique itis ibi erimus sounds almost... affectionate
I will follow you / Follow you wherever you may go
If that’s the message to the team, it’s great, but if the intent is to be menacing, then it doesn’t hit the mark for me.
Yeah, certainly not menacing
I think the "We will follow you wheverver you go’ motto had been used at a lot of away games that I’m aware of – in Spanish in San Salvador and I’ve seen it at a couple of away matches on TV, which is where I got the idea from. More of a statement toward the team, I guess, though probably not many of them read Latin, I guess. Like I said, perhaps appropriate if we happen to have a game in Rome in the future. :) I just took it as something that encapsulates the spirit of Sounders fans vs something menacing toward opponents. After all, You’ll Never Walk Alone isn’t really menacing either.
I think it works
You’re right, menacing is not a prereq. I’d love to see a scarf that has both phrases with one on each side.
Because if it's not Love | Then it's the bomb ... | That will bring us together
by Jeremiah Oshan on Aug 14, 2010 11:49 AM PDT up reply actions
Use both
I like both the Nos audietis and Ubique itis ibi erimus as mottos. Why not use Nos audietis at Quest where the noise is deafening and the other motto for away games. I think it certainly fits those hardcore fans who made it all the way down to San Salvador with their sparklers (you guys rock!) :-)
Vos not Nos!
Respectfully, vos is the second person plural (you) not nos. Nos is the first person plural. I am not a Latin professor, but I do have a degree in Latin, or I will if I finish this paper instead of reading about the Sounders :)
You could be right because my Latin is very very rusty, but
the you (pl) is part of the verb, right?, and the nos should be the accusative form of the pronoun. If vos were used, it would mean “You will hear you”, right?
Yeah, you're right sorry.
So sorry, you’re absolutely right. I have been reading too much Cicero this quarter, who always refers to himself in the third person plural nominative (nos). Nos/vos are both the nominative and accusative forms, so I was temporarily confused. Sidereal is right the subject (vos) is implied in the verb. Vos audietis nos would be more clear, but a little cumbersome, and absolutely unnecessary for those, like me who still get confused by English word order.
Ok, there are three readers on this blog with collegiate Latin?
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
I never took it in college
But it was my favorite subject in high school. I took four years, and got a five on the Latin Poetry AP. It’s definitely gotten rusty, in large part because my best friend has a Master’s in Classics, and I’ve gotten in the habit of just asking him instead of figuring it out myself.
But yeah, Latin is awesome.
I took a quarter in College and passed...
barely though haha :D
Nevtelen's right, Nos is the accusative/object
Subject (second person plural) is implied by the verb conjugation. Not that my Latin is perfect :)
_Sic Transit Gloria_?
Nah, I guess that fits DC United better…
It’s just been my favorite latin phrase since “Rushmore”.
by Sobchak on Aug 14, 2010 6:22 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Oh, I guess you can’t italicize the header…
I do like Vos/Nos Audietis very much also. (Pronounced “ah-deh-tis” or “ah-dee-eh-tis”? )
It should be
“ow-dee-eh-teese”
Another thought – why not turn it around and make it passive – We Will be Heard? I might have to break out the old Latin book to remember how to do that, but I like the idea. It should be very similar.
Yep, checked at the half
It’s audiemur. I like the meaning a little more, but it doesn’t really have the snap to it that ‘Nos Audietis’ does.
Fiat sonitus
Or Sonitus sit, in the model of UW. Same idea, and probably the worse Latin yet. However, I like the ring of it for a supporter’s motto. (Let there be noise)
Yawn.
TAKE ’EM ALL.
Points. Games. Enemies’ souls. Whatever.
Take. Them. All.
Watch. Them. Fall.
(Yeah, I know, Dave doesn’t like this lyric. If it’s got to be Latin and not “Take ’Em All”, then “You will hear us” isn’t bad.)
by Blue Eyed Buddhist on Aug 15, 2010 2:18 AM PDT reply actions
getting there
I’m using an online translator, for full disclosure, feel free to correct me
“No Equal”
“Haud Par” or “illic est haud par” = “there is no equal”
something similar to “we will follow you wherever you may go” was mentioned earlier
nos mos insisto vos qua vos may vado
“Take Them All” would be good, although the translator can’t figure it out
...that's MISTER Keller to you!!!
by malcontentjake on Aug 16, 2010 9:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Take them all
Doesn’t bother me one bit
Its the “Put ’em up against the wall and shoot ’em” that does.
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
by Dave Clark on Aug 16, 2010 10:07 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'm loving the nos audietis
But I think “in inferno” sounds a litlle odd with the double “in,” and the fact that it’s a syllable longer than “in somnis” makes it a difficult chant. What about “in cruce?” Cruce literally means “cross” but I’ve seen it used to refer to “hell” in some poetry. I think it can also be just a generic kind of pain; excruciating, among other words, derive from it.
Pronounced croo-chay
If you want the church latin pronunciation. My latin teacher, who preferred classical latin, would have had me say croo-kay, but I think croo-chay sounds cooler here.
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