Swearing in fact is old fashioned.

For example, it was far worse in the mid to late 19th Century.

But gradually, it was seen as being a sign of poor education or poor upbringing so it became only a male action in places like the old tap rooms in pubs.

That's where the phrase 'swear like a trooper' comes from, the past.

In the 20th century, people generally tried to better themselves socially.

You are going to watch a rugby game, you must know and expect that people will swear but its not intentional. I take my kids to rugby and have done for years, you can stop it and I always say to them as long as you dont repeat it yourselves. Stop moaning and look forward to the semi.

It is when it's in a song.

maybe the OP and others of his opinion should direct his feelings towards the players on the pitch, you can clearly hear them swear on TV in most games now, especially ones with smaller crowds. they are the ones your children should be looking up to, not the fans.

i agree, i do sometimes cringe at the "w%%%% warrington" chant amongst others however its part of the sport and its not just rugby league.

i'm afraid we just have to grin and bear it. it isn't harmful as long as it doesn't cross the lines into racism etc which i have never experienced so we should just accept it for what it is - a bit of banter.

The thing to do, as you will already know the words to the chants, is when it gets to a swear word... shout BEEEP as loud as you can. That'll work.

From what I saw at the game I think we were very close to seeing quite ugly scenes. We had a few Wigan fans provoking Saints fans and a couple of Saints fans being escorted off after the match. I saw lots of aggressive behaviour between the sets of fans and I am concerned we are close to a situation with Saints were each game could get quite ugly between the fans.

That to me would be a real shame as I think over the years the derby games have been conducted in an intense but friendly way.

Only on the Wigan board would this be a topic

Yes it is. Although the stewards might not be employed by WW, their services have been engaged by WW to ensure that regulations are adhered to. All the stewards can do as an initial step is request any indivudal they see swearing calm down their behaviour. If its a large group the club can only request "en-mass" that it stops. If a spectator is seen to persistently be abusive or swear (especially after being asked to calm down) then this is how the club will decide on who to take the action against. As for whether people will start to be ejected for swearing......it already happens.

Anybody remember the fine that was dished out over the abuse that Gareth Thomas got (was it Cas or Wakey?). The fine was dished out, not for the abuse happening but because the club did nothing to try and stop it happening.

Nothing precious about it and the thread going to 9/10 pages shows how much it is disliked. Swearing in the wrong context is ignorant, bad mannered, threatening and disrespectful. As someone has already mentioned, you can understand a sudden emotional outpouring of effing following a foul or something but a contrived song, sung by a few hundred is out of order. Anyone with a mental age above 15 should understand this, hence no swearing on this or many other forums.

For people to say how can the club stop it, well they quite rightly found a way to stop racist and homophobic chanting.

So, playing Devil's advocaat, how would everyone feel about a chant with the 'C' word in it? Happy to join, in or is that all part and parcel of the game?

I don't think there are any chants that mention Cas. Horrible word though.

what makes a swear word actually a swear word ? who decided that a swear word should be a swear word. and at what point in history did what we know class as a swear word today become a swear word..i have always wondered what makes a swear word a swear word every time a use a swear word or hear a swear word...swear word.

Its not big and its not clever. It is not tolerated on these boards, and everybody is fine with that. So why should it be ok in the ground ?

The answer would probably be different for each word. It's strange that a lot of swear words refer to things that are completely natural with regards to humans and their nature. F**k, c**t, s**t, d*ck, tw*t, w**ker. Seems to have a lot to do with a bizarre prudishness with regards to sex and bodily functions.

Why those words are deemed more offensive than a word like torture which describes something awful and despicable I'll never know. To me it doesn't make much sense.

I'm not sure whether the words censored with asterisks will be allowed. If they are then it's a bit weird because people know what the word is and they still read it as if the word was there. A newspaper could get away with swearing using asterisks and it's commonly used to censor words. It still conveys the same meaning though. What if someone wrote the words f-c-u-k? C-n-u-t? Would it still be offensive because it's conveying the same meaning, or is it the spelling that's offensive? What if someone replacing the swear word with a similar sounding word? Is fluck off offensive?

Why is f*** offensive but 'coitus' not when they have the same meaning? Why is excrement fine but s*** is terrible when used to describe the same thing?

I surely can't be the only person who thinks the whole idea of 'swear words' is completely ridiculous and nonsensical.

Last year I used a free ticket to watch Wigan Athletic v Fulham and was sat in the East stand, close to the opposition fans of the North Stand. The continuous bad language and gesticulations of some Wigan fans aimed at the Fulham fans was deplorable. I came home and told my family that I'm glad rugby league isn't like that. It really was sickening. I won't be ging again, free or not.
I couldn't make the Saints game because I was in London so I don't know what the chanting was like but where I sit in the West stand I don't hear bad language. There is no need for it. It's commonplace, as is littering and using mobile phones whilst driving but it's wrong.