One particular chant, though innocent, sounds like a two-word expletive.
"Believe me, I'm no prude, but I'm a little surprised," said Ken Rudnick, a fan who lives in Deptford. "I wonder if management has sat down with them."
It has.
Mike Naioti, vice president of the 5,200-member Sons of Ben, said the group has worked with the team to tone down some chants, although "the language we use is no different than in the majority of all the stadiums in the league."
"We've tried to compromise," Naioti said. "But we're not going to give up the uniqueness and the atmosphere we do provide."
The 2,000-seat Supporters Section, known as the River End, was built to be the place where the most rabid fans could howl. And, boy, do they - standing, banging drums, waving flags, clapping, and cheering for the entire 90-minute match. The Sons' enthusiasm drives the energy at the 18,500-seat stadium.
Some new SOB traditions are sweet, such as singing the group theme song, "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover," at the 20 minute, 10 second point of every match. That's 20:10 as in 2010, the year of this inaugural season.
It's other ditties that have people talking.
For most of the season, when an opposing player took a goal kick, the Sons called out, "You suck (expletive)!" They shout "Sucks!" after each visiting player is introduced, which strikes some as not just rude but also cliché.
The chant that draws the most attention, and that irks parents who attend games with children, is one where the Sons aren't saying what it sounds like they're saying.
Naioti said he couldn't understand the complaints - until he watched a game on TV and realized that, from a distance, the phrase indeed sounded like a two-word curse that rhymes with "Le Toux."
