European Football Weekends: MLS

Showing posts with label MLS. Show all posts

Wednesday 3 November 2010

The Cascadia Rivalry

Football is nothing without fans

EFW covered the incredible rise of Seattle Sounders last season with interviews and their attendance figures are indeed impressive. When we did so, we were also inundated by Portland Timbers fans who left us in no doubt as to the intensity of the football rivalry, showing us that the Americans at least get that bit.

Then, the clubs were in different leagues, but Portland and another side from the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver Whitecaps, are set to join MLS in 2011, giving the fans the chance to resurrect the rivalries and better still travel to away fans and experience that awayday feeling that is the core of football culture.

You would think that this is something eagerly anticipated by all. Sadly not. Sounders FC's majority owner, Hollywood director Joe Roth, has threatened to restrict away fans to just 150, the minimum under MLS requirements despite Seattle's Qwest Field having 28,000 empty seats for every home game.

We asked Steve Clare, the editor of Prost Amerika the only site that covers all three clubs, what the hell was going on:

Can you sum up what the battle is about? Next year three sides from the Pacific Northwest, an area we refer to as Cascadia after the mountain range, will play in Major League Soccer. They are about a 3 hour drive apart and all three cities have a long (for America) history of football and of rivalry. All three were members of the old NASL in the 1970s. With Vancouver and Portland about to join, these rivalries will be resumed.

Sounds great, what's the problem? Your readers will know that the publication of the fixture calendar is a moment awaited with high anticipation to see when the derby days are, especially those away from home. That anticipation stands threatened by a policy of restricting away fans to just 150.

Where does the 150 limit come from? It's an MLS mandated number but fails to take into account the long history of football rivalry and indeed away day traveling in Cascadia.

Who's making the threat? No-one had said it outright until yesterday but conventional wisdom suggested that the Seattle Sounders are the moving force behind this. Their majority owner Joe Roth advocated such a policy in a meeting with fans, and Vancouver's top guy Paul Barber has indicated to Whitecaps fans that he is more sympathetic to their wish to watch their side in Seattle and Portland. Portland owner Merritt Paulson was articulately coy when I asked him about it in an interview. Yesterday, a unified statement released by Portland’s Timbers Army, Seattle’s Emerald City Supporters, and Vancouver’s Southsiders specifically pointed the blame at Sounders FC.

Joe Roth set to incur the wrath? (Photo: Jane Gershovich/Prost Amerika)

Credit where Merritt's due? Portland owner Merritt Paulson (Photo: Allison Andrews/soccercityusa.com)

How have fan groups managed to stay united given the hostility I observed on EFW when I first interviewed you? Their love of the sport is stronger than their hatred of each other! Seriously though, despite their reservations, all three groups have really risen to the challenge of putting the common good first. I hope that's what your readers take away from this as a better indication of the strength of, and love for, the sport here. Most of them were here for football before MLS arrived and will be here for the sport until they kick the bucket.

Are the three clubs united or is it Seattle v the rest? The evidence seems to suggest so but neither of the other two clubs has said so publicly. So far the three ownership groups are not criticising each other publicly, but internal discussions between the owners of Vancouver and their Southsiders group, and the Timbers and the Timbers Army, certainly suggest that neither of them is aggressively promoting a travel ban. Joe Roth and Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer have supported the policy more publicly. The unified statement form the three groups fingering Sounders FC though probably opens a new chapter. Portland and Vancouver fans will be asking for a clear statement form their own clubs, almost certainly based around the 5% rule.

What if Portland sell more than 95% of their capacity to Season ticket holders? The figure needn't be 5%. My gut feeling is that a lower number might be acceptable to some, but they could also sell a 15 (MLS will have 17 home games next year)game package that excludes the derby games for a cut price. With vision and creativity, there are ways to make this happen without the clubs leaving a single seat unsold.

The Timbers Army at Qwest Field (Photo: Rick Morrison/Prost Amerika)

Portland and Vancouver fans mingling at Swangard Stadium. (Photo: Michael McColl/Vancouver Southsiders)

Isn't there an English connection at Vancouver? Vancouver brought Paul Barber as an executive over from Spurs and I've been told by Caps fans that he knows how vital away support is to the vibrancy of the game. They seem very confident he is batting for them.

What are Sounders FC's objections? Fairness, security and the integrity of the home crowd.

Fairness? Sounders FC has a bigger capacity than the others. Qwest Field holds more than 65,000 seats for NFL, of which they only make 36,000 available to the Sounders. Sounders FC claim it would be unfair to their own fans to offer more places to the Timbers and Whitecaps than they could have when Sounders travel. The other two clubs have far smaller number of seats at their disposal.

I have to say though that this argument is a bit of a fantasy in Sounders FC's minds. I have spoken to most of the fan leaders in Seattle, none of whom have advanced this argument. They recognise the other clubs can offer less but nonetheless do not wish to turn away opposing fans because of it. The Emerald City Supporters policy is to allow them the FIFA mandated 5% of capacity allocation to away fans. All sides seem to agree a percentage allocation is fair, so I'm not sure on whose behalf Sounders Front Office is advancing this.

Security? Joe Roth actually used the word 'riot' to describe a possibility of the consequences of allocating them more than the minimum number of tickets. Maybe that was Hollywood hyperbole but it upset many people that someone charged with advancing the sport here would use such detrimental and pejorative language to portray potential fans. It seemed like a gift to the many enemies football has in the mainstream media here. It also made him seem slightly detached from the reality of watching a game in Cascadia.

But going beyond that unwise choice of words, of course there is an issue with bringing 2000 fans in from another city although the NFL Seahawks seem to manage it without riots.

Seattle's main railway station is right under the stadium and this is something the authorities manage in Europe week in and week out. I refuse to believe that 2000 people from two generally law abiding cities cannot come in and out without bother, or that our excellent Seattle Police Department can't handle it.

The integrity of the home crowd, what does that mean? Beats me. Four decades watching football and I never heard it before now.

Won't fans travel anyway and buy their tickets on the internet and from touts, and then be in all parts of the ground, thus creating a much bigger security risk? Of course they will. You know it, I know it and the fans know it. It's what Basil Fawlty would call 'the bleedin obvious'. But none of us run the clubs. People who just don't get supporter culture do, whether that be Joe Roth or the NFL people from Vulcan who occupy many of the places of power and influence at Sounders FC. All three fan groups are adamant that not allocating sufficient tickets to visiting supporters is a recipe for trouble. They are very worried about the consequences for the sport if this 150 ticket policy leads to a lack of segregation.

Is there any history of violence in the Pacific Northwest? Sounders FC had zero arrests from about half a million attendees in Year 1. It would be interesting to see that compared with the numbers lifted at the NFL Seahawks games. This is relevant because Vulcan Sports and Entertainment own the NFL team outright and part of the Sounders.

Many football fans, including many in Portland and especially Vancouver travel to see the Seahawks, and are livid about the insinuation that they are welcome customers when watching NFL but a security risk when coming down for football. There is real anger about this in Vancouver especially. I was told there are over 3000 Seahawks season ticket holders in Canada who spend a fortune coming down, not just on tickets, but on merchandise, food, drink and hotels. Now they feel they have been accused of being potential hooligans by Roth and want to hear someone at Vulcan SE stick up for them. I'd never seen Canadians so angry. They're just not known for it.

Vulcan has just appointed a new CEO, Peter McLoughlin, and those Whitecaps/Seahawks fans are expecting to hear from him. If not, they tell me, he'll be hearing from them. But yes, fans accept games have a risk attached to them. Several creative solutions have already been proposed to Sounders FC. Supporters are willing to closely work with all to make this go smoothly.

How are the parties addressing the issue that Seattle can simply offer more seats? By quoting FIFA's 5% rule. Sounders fans seem to accept they will get less tickets than they are given, just as Arsenal get less tickets at Stamford Bridge because it has a smaller capacity.

What can EFW readers to do to help? That's not for me to say. But there is a Facebook Group where others have expressed opposition to the 150 ticket suggestion.

Is there a danger that Sounders will become the global poster child for anti-football? This is my biggest concern personally. I have watched the club since the USL days and although I cover all three local clubs, I do live here and attend every home game. I'm paying out of my own pocket to watch them in Los Angeles at the weekend. Although Prost Amerika's match reports stay doggedly unbiased, I would hate to see the club become the personification of American corporate crassness in the football world. The thought of Sounders becoming football's Halliburton appalls me.

US football has made so much progress in recent years despite the shame of only drawing with England. Sounders have been part of that progress in a big way and got many many things spectacularly right. The Pacific Northwest is the hub or the epicentre of football culture in North America and Joe's threat allows for the real potential of the region being portrayed in a diametrically opposite way. This proposal threatens to take a fantastic opportunity and turn it into a PR disaster that will follow the club around for decades.

What happens next? There are three possibilities. Sounders reaffirm the policy and the issue completely overshadows the close-season and indeed all MLS publicity about the renewal of the rivalries in the Northwest. All three sides can then anticipate protests. A more generous bi-partisan agreement between Portland and Vancouver cannot be discounted, though I doubt either of them would say that publicly yet. Alternatively, the three clubs could announce a numerical or percentage formula of some sort and start working on the game day administration challenges and PR opportunities that presents.

One think won't happen. The issue won't be going away. Unlike the Cascadia fans.

Definitely worth mentioning the excellent work of the Football Supporters Federation at this juncture. Check out their website.

Follow European Football Weekends and the FSF on Twitter

Journalists wanting to cover the story can email Steve at this address.

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Tuesday 10 August 2010

Toronto FC

Oh Canada!

Toronto FC 2 Chivas USA 1 (07:08:10)

1860 Munich fan Michael Stoffl travels the globe watching football and generally living the dream. His latest pit-stop was in Toronto, Canada where he saw Toronto FC - the only Canadian team playing in the MLS:

I recently stopped over in Toronto when the TFC played at home. So rather than going to the mall or take a look down from CN Tower - for a mere $22, I decided to spend my Saturday afternoon watching football and drinking beer.

After some basic research before the game, I got in touch with a number of supporters from a group called the "U-Sector". I received a very friendly welcome, they got me a ticket for my preferred section (cheapest available plus best atmosphere), and invited me to their pre-match bar before the game to boot. So, what's not to like?

Pitchers at Maro were only $12 (a bargain in Canada, and unlike south of the border they know how to do beer), only a 10-minute walk to the the ground, and the atmosphere was buzzing when we arrived - not really what I expected before going to my first soccer match in Canada. Incidentally, I noticed that many people I met in Toronto actually refer to the sport as football, not soccer.

I must have been one of the few not wearing red that day. Confetti and ticker tape all over the place, everyone standing on the seats behind the goal, and all accentuated by some decent chants and singing.

Gary Russell of the U-Sector was kind enough to answer a few questions I had:

What is the U-Sector? And where does that name come bearing in mind you congregate in section 113? U-Sector is a supporters' group founded in 2000, and pre-dates the existence of Toronto FC and BMO Field. Members supported a lower league team and the Canadian National team at the old Varsity stadium and met in Section U (the sections were alphabetical instead of numeric). That was before my time, but some of those founders remain active in U-Sector.

How many fans turn up for matches BMO Field? And how does this compare with other sports in town such as hockey or baseball? BMO Field's capacity was 20,500 when it opened in 2007, and was expanded last year to 21,800. Attendance is usually announced

somewhere between 20 and 21 thousand. This is about the same capacity as the hockey arena. The baseball stadium holds just shy of 50,000, but they have struggled for attendance in recent years, and they are also averaging about 20,000.

How much is a match ticket at TFC, and how many are taken up by sponsors, hospitality, etc.? Tickets range from $26 in the supporters' sections to $120 in the "club" seats. Most of the tickets are in the hands of fans, which makes for a better atmosphere. The club does have premium box suites it sells to corporations.

What is the greatest moment in the history of TFC? Speaking of history, how long has the club been around? This is the fourth season of TFC's existence. We're a very new team, the first top-level professional football team in Toronto since 1984 when the NASL folded. As a result, this club is making history every season. Our iconic moment was when Danny Dichio (former QPR, Sampdoria player) scored the first TFC goal at BMO Field on May 12, 2007. Since then, the club has won two Canadian championships and this summer qualified for the group stages of the CONCACAF Champions League for the first time. Our first Canadian championship, the Miracle in Montreal, when the team needed 5 goals on aggregate to win the trophy and won 6-1, is probably the highlight so far.

I noticed at least three separate 'singing sections' at the stadium. What is your relation to those other supporter groups? Each of the groups has their own way of doing things, but we have often cooperated on displays in the past. Our capos consult on songs and chants with our near neighbours, the Red Patch Boys in section 112, and of course, we all look out for each other on away trips.

Who are the TFC's biggest rivals? And do you share any friendships with other teams/supporters? Geography is a big issue. Our real biggest rivals aren't even in the

same league with us yet. Montreal Impact are in the league below us, they are our nearest Canadian rivals, but will be joining MLS in 2012. We have contact with supporters' groups from some of the American clubs, but because of the distances, there isn't much of an away travelling culture in MLS. Except for our fans, of course, and we're still new.

I assume you're following football in the motherland and across Europe. Do TFC fans have a favourite other club or league? I'm a Hearts supporter. You met a Hertha fan, a Feyenoord fan, an Allianza Lima fan -- people here also support clubs from all over, the

places that they or their families are from. We have many fans of the big European leagues. As there are a lot of Liverpool supporters attached to TFC, and because the club wears Red, I think it is fair to say a lot of our chants are modelled on Liverpool chants. But we're always open to new songs and new ideas from anywhere.

Go on Stoffers lad!

With Columbus/Ohio being the shortest away trip at 500 miles, how many people actually follow the team away? We took 2000+ fans to Columbus one year, so the potential is there. We've had very good trips to New England, New York, Chicago, in spite

of the distances. There's only so much you can do when other teams in your league, like Los Angeles, are 3500 km away. All of our away games will have a small core of away support, whatever the obstacles.

I hear you're doing well in the CONCACAF's Champions League this season. After overcoming mighty Motagua of Honduras, you're now facing Cruz Azul from Mexico. What does this competition mean to you? It's hugely important, not only because we want to compete against the best teams on our continent, but because we need to raise the profile of our club. We have a very strong ownership group (TFC's owners also run the NHL Maple Leafs and the NBA Raptors), we have a good little stadium with an excellent atmosphere. Now we need to have success as a club and spread the name, so that we can attract players to take the team further. We think Toronto is a great city to live in, and we want

top players to want to come and play here.

What's the press coverage like in the local newspapers? I didn't find anything on soccer in this Saturday's 'The Globe and The Mail'. I might have overlooked it though in case there were a couple of lines. It is usually very good. There is a crust of old journos here who resent football and wanted it to fail, because they are invested in the established sports, but the media outlets aren't able to ignore the success of the football club among Torontonians. We get good coverage from all the major outlets, including the CBC, the national television network. Of course, the club is well-positioned on the web.

I learned a new acronym today: DP, which is short for 'designated player'. But what does it mean? Major League Soccer is a salary cap league. Each club is allowed a

maximum of 2.55 million dollars per season for the whole team's salary. In bigger leagues, that can easily be one player's salary. The idea is to control costs and to keep the league competitive, no one team can spend their way to success by bringing in a roster of expensive players. However, there is an escape clause -- the designated player. This is where David Beckham and Thierry Henry come in. Each club can have two players (and can buy the right to a third) for whom only $415,000 counts against the team's salary for cap purposes. The rest is paid by the team to the player directly. Toronto's DPs are the Canadian international (and local boy) Julian de Guzman, and the former Spanish international Mista, both of whom are former players from Deportivo La Coruna in Spain.

We do like a beer with our football here in Europe. And I was surprised to see 24 oz. cups of Carlsberg being sold at the stadium (that's 1.5 pints or 0.71 litres) that you are allowed to drink in the stand. But what is the beer of choice for the locals? There is a lot of variety. Toronto is a great place for microbrew or craft beer. Most fans buy their beer for the price! The stadium has an arrangement with Carlsberg, and it is great that we get to drink beer in the stands.

Now, tell me why the U-Sector meet up at a fancy nightclub - that opens its doors in the afternoon - rather than in a more appropriate old-fashioned pub or bar?

We had a suitable nearby pub where we used to meet and we were very happy there, but unfortunately, the owner became ill and died, and it closed. So we were stuck for a place to meet that was near the stadium and had the capacity to deal with a large loud group of thirsty supporters. Luckily for us, two of our members are friends with the owner of this club and they agreed to give us access on game days. It has been a very good situation for us, and I hope it has been good for them too.

Stoffers in that fancy nightclub wishing he'd selected a little red number from his wardrobe.

I hope so, too. And I definitely enjoyed myself. Thanks for your time and the great hospitality!

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Wednesday 24 February 2010

D.C. United

United We Stand

- Click on photos to enlarge image -

So far our American road trip has seen us call in at Seattle, Portland and Chicago. It was rather inevitable that the giant EFW Winnebago would eventually pull in at Washington to seek out the black-and-red of D.C. United. That's because DCU are often credited with being the first club in the MLS to establish a proper fan base. Also, as Director Kyle Sheldon proudly pointed out to EFW this week "We're the most successful team in U.S. Soccer history having won 12 trophies in 14 seasons, including our domestic championship and the MLS cup on four occasions".

DCU can also boast three major supporters groups in La Barra Brava, La Norte and the Screaming Eagles. Each of these groups occupies a different area of the stadium making for quite a sight and plenty of noise on matchdays. The Washington Post captured the magic of the Barra Brava in an excellent article published a couple of years ago. We asked Kim Kolb of the Screaming Eagles to tell us more about their group:

The Screaming Eagles are an original Supporter's Group of DC United. In fact, it predates United by a year, as our founder started the group as soon as MLS teams were announced. We're a non-profit entity that has over 1200 members. The background that started it was more European than the other DC groups, but truth is that the style have both morphed into something between at Euro and South American style. Singing, chanting, group sarcasm, streamers, banners. In the stadium, the Screaming Eagles now takes up three sections of RFK, and sometimes expands into others. The organization and execution of all Screaming Eagles activities is purely voluntary and lots of folks pour in hours of effort each week. Away from the field, the Screaming Eagles are active in a lot of charity work both with DC United and on its own in trying to spread the word and joy of soccer around the area and to help out other worthy causes.

Are the club themselves supportive of the group? In a word: Yes. The team has given the groups a lot of leeway on a lot of things, especially concerning things like stadium rules. They understand that the atmosphere is a benefit to them, and if/when issues arise, they're very willing to work with all three of the major groups (or any other groups of fans) to come to a solution that will work for everyone.

Flag day for the Screaming Eagles

For more info on Kim and the Screaming Eagles you can check out his rather splendid SE Nest Liner Blog. Of particular interest, was the interview he gave to our friends at Pitch Invasion in which SE founder Mat Mathai gives a great insight in the first steps of the Eagles.

So what more is there to DCU!? Well, who better we thought than fan Max Rosenthal to tell us more:

So aside from Barra Brava and the Screaming Eagles, there is a third "group" of supporters? Yes, La Norte is another group that stands "behind" the north goal at RFK. "Behind" because RFK actually no longer has stands directly behind the goal, so they are off to the side. They're another group in the South American tradition that stands, beats drums, waves flags, and sings for 90 minutes. They're significantly smaller than the Barra or the Eagles, but they're a great group with a lot of passion.

Is the RFK stadium ideal for soccer matches? RFK really isn't ideal for anything, since it's a) ancient and crumbling, b) designed as a multisport stadium, and c) costs the club a fortune to rent and use. But, financial issues aside, it's a good home for United. What's left of the lower bowl is a great size for a typical MLS crowd, and the decks above tend to trap in sound and make a great atmosphere. Also, the "Loud Side" sections where the Barra and Eagles stands are mounted on huge rollers that used to move back and forth for football and baseball configurations. That makes them bouncy if jumped on, and the Barra puts that to good use, which is great to take part in or just watch. There's very much a "it's a dump, but it's OUR dump" mentality. But we'd all like a new stadium on the whole.

Is it one of those out of town stadiums? Absolutely not. It's right in DC proper and accessible by the Metro. It's not downtown, but it's most definitely an urban stadium.

The accessible RFK Stadium

What sort of crowds do you attract in terms of numbers? Usually about 17 or 18K, though crowds were down last year. 20K or better isn't uncommon.

Any advance on that report in the Baltimore Sun last year which mentioned a new purpose-built 20,000+ capacity stadium for DC United? Not too familiar with that particular report but the stadium situation is kind of a mess, and no one but the ownership seems to know what's going on. The past two years have seen plans fall apart in both the District and Prince George's County in Maryland, with no Plan C at present that the fans are aware of. For now, United is stuck in RFK, which is obviously making fans nervous. There's significant worry about the possibility of the club being moved to another city, though Will Chang, the owner, says that he doesn't want to relocate.

How does soccer rank in Washington when compared to other sports? Definitely towards the bottom. You have to remember that DC is a four-sport town, so you have the Redskins, Wizards (NBA), Caps (NHL), and Nats (baseball) ahead of us, plus college sports. That having been said, though, United definitely isn't neglected.

How much coverage do you get in the local media? A good amount, actually, United is treated as a truly major league team in DC. The Washington Post has a soccer beat writer in Steven Goff, and there has been regular coverage in the Washington Times (though I think this may have ended now due to budget cuts) and the Washington Examiner, two other smaller local papers. The team also seems to do a lot of stuff on DC 101, one of the local radio stations. Sports talk radio is definitely not very United-friendly, but that's par for the course in the States. On the whole I'd say we're much more on the media radar than most other MLS clubs.

DC United are the most successful club in MLS history right? Yep, United has won four league titles, four Supporter's Shields (the trophy that goes to the club with the best regular-season point total), two US Open Cups, and one each of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and the Interamerican Cup. United was also the first MLS team to win an international competition. It's a proud record, but the fans are definitely hungry for another title.

We like a beer with our football...sorry soccer here in England. What is the beer of choice in Washington? Ha, there's no standard, though Guinness is a perennial favorite. Tailgates are very much BYOB, so you'll get everything from Bud to Latin American beers to microbrews. And whiskey. Lots of whiskey.

If we came over from England for a match, where would be the best place to meet up with the home fans for a beer and a chat? Lot 8 at RFK is the only place to be for a home game. For away games there are a few bars that United fans tend to congregate, like Molly Malone's in southeast DC and Summer's in Arlington, VA.

Is there a tailgating culture at home games? Yes, a huge one, all of the groups camp out in Lot 8 for hours before every game. It's just hours of amazing food, drinking, kickarounds, tifo and song prep, sports on the TV, etc. The standard advice to people who want to start coming to games with the supporters groups is to come out to the tailgate with a bottle of booze. It works. Even our owner is a regular sight at Lot 8.

Do you have an alliance with fans of any other teams? Not really. There are some clubs with whom fan relations are pretty good, Houston and Toronto come to mind.

Who are your rivals? We hate the Metroscum (New York Red Bulls) above all, which works out for us since they're shit in nearly every possible sense. There's nothing more fun than ruining them again and again and again. There's also tough rivalry with Chicago, who we have an unfortunate habit of losing to in the playoffs. We always want to beat them both in the field and in the stands. LA Galaxy, Columbus, and New England are definitely teams DC fans love to hate, and there is a brewing thing with Seattle based on their arrogance and whining about the location of the US Open Cup final last year.

I don't suppose - given the size of the USA - you have what we would call a local derby or local rivals, so what do you consider to be your biggest match of the coming season? Metroscum away, there's no doubt. There's nothing better than watching their pathetic fan base suffer yet another home defeat, and we usually get to enjoy that every year (we used to refer to Giants Stadium as RFK North). Now they've got their new stadium, Red Bull Arena, which is admittedly gorgeous, and we want to spoil their party with another ass-kicking.

Do you take fans to away matches? Definitely, though the size of the away support depends heavily on the game and also the day, with weekday and Sunday games being less conducive to a road trip. We might see 500 going up to New Jersey, 200 to Columbus or Chicago, and 25-50 to somewhere like LA or Seattle. There are, of course, other DC fans in the stadium, but those are generally the sizes you'd expect for the "away fans" section.

Who is the club mascot? Talon, a big white eagle in a DC jersey.

Are there any off-the-field cheesy shenanigans before, during or after matches such as music after goals, confetti, firing t-shirts into the crowd that sort of thing?
Not really, United really lets the supporters dominate things atmosphere-wise. No cheerleaders, no promotional wackiness, etc. If there's confetti and streamers around, it's coming from the Barra.

Confetti, streamers and a barrage of noise from the Barra Brava

Talon the club mascot

Do DC United fans follow other codes of sport in Washington? Absolutely, nearly every other sport you can think of. During the fall, you'll usually find a good number of TVs at the tailgate turned to college football. Lots of United fans are big-time Redskins fans, there's a pretty decent collection of people that follow the the Capitals, Georgetown and Maryland basketball fans, etc. etc. And of course, nearly everyone has a favorite club in another league, especially England, Spain, or the Latin American leagues that a lot of people followed before they moved to the States.

What are your hopes for the coming MLS season? Personally, I don't have too many. I haven't been terribly impressed by our choice of a new coach, Curt Onalfo, or our off-season acquisitions. And the team has yet to score a goal in the preseason. If we make the playoffs, it'll be a good year.

Which players should we look out for? Definitely a few. Our keeper, Troy Perkins, is back in MLS after two years in Norway and it will be interesting to see how much he's developed. He was one of the best in the league before he left and I really think he's going to be stellar now. Christian Castillo is our new left winger and I'm really curious to see how he does, he's the one off-season signing I'm excited about. Playing actual wing players in the midfield is not par for the course for DC, we've developed a habit of playing converted A-mids or strikers, so this is a great change of pace. Chris Pontius had a great rookie season playing in a ton of positions last year, hopefully this year he'll be settled as a striker and rack up the goals. He's currently in the USA training camp, potentially a star in the making for club and country. And as always, you have to pay attention to how Jaime Moreno will fare. He's the heart of the club and it seems that no matter how old he gets, no one can quite replace his creative role, so we'll have to see how he slots in this year.

Chris Pontius heading to the World Cup in South Africa?

And finally, can you sum up DCU in a Tweet of less than 140 characters? Nothing less than the flagship of American soccer, now and forever.

Thanks to DCUNITED.COM, the Screaming Eagles and SarahandSean on Flickr for the photos.

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Wednesday 9 December 2009

Chicago Fire - Section 8 Chicago

Ring of Fire

Talk to the majority of English Premier League fans about the MLS and they will more than likely turn their noses up in disgust. Knowledge is the bomb though, so don't knock it until you've tried or at least heard a little about it. Nobody can deny that a fair amount of EPL games are played out against a backdrop of near silence in the stands nowadays. Compare that with the growing trend of ultra groups, raucousness and passion that's increasingly emanating from the stands in America.

Earlier in the year, I caused a bit of a furore on these pages with a couple of articles about both the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers. The fans of those two teams tore each other to shreds on the comments section and it took me quite by surprise. I drew positives from that experience though, after all, where would football be without rivalry!?

Fast forwards to December 2009 and I found myself researching another MLS club with fans worth investigating - Chicago Fire. To find out more, I dialled up Tom Dunmore. Tom is the editor of the award winning and rather fantastic Pitch Invasion blog as well as being the Vice-Chair of Section 8 Chicago (more of them in a minute). So, pull up a chair as Tom and I discuss footy, fans and beer 'American style'. You never know, you may soon find yourself on a flight to the "Windy City":

America's best kept secret (at least this side of the pond anyway) is the ever growing passion that is being shown on the terraces at MLS matches. Tell us about Section 8 at Chicago. Section 8 is the name given to the standing, singing sections at the Harlem End of the Chicago Fire's current home, Toyota Park. There are usually about a thousand supporters in Section 8, though that can be more for big games (we had almost 2,000 packed in for the recent Eastern Conference final across three sections). We do all that ultras jazz in the tradition of our continental European and South American counterparts: waving flags, producing big banners, and letting off pyrotechnics now and then (not that I approve of that), along with keeping up chants for 90+ minutes straight, led by a Capo on a stand gesticulating at us plebeians to sing louder. Outside of games, we socialise a lot: we like to drink beer now and then, and my own little supporters group is rather keen on ensuring there's whiskey ever-present on our regular away days to support the Fire.

The name "Section 8" references the original home for supporters when the Fire played at Soldier Field, in Section number 8 of the stadium. The name also has many other appropriate references in the United States that have made it stick to us, and Wikipedia's disambiguation page for the term "Section 8" never fails to amuse me.

But to bore you for a second, it's also important to note that Section 8 is not actually a group you can join, but just a general term used for all the individual supporters and supporters' groups that make-up Fire supporters as a collective. For example, I am in the groupWB05, which has maybe a dozen members. As Wikipedia notes, we do have a non-profit Independent Supporters' Association called Section 8 Chicago that has an annually elected board and acts as the liaison between supporters and club management. Somehow, I was elected as the vice-chair for 2009, and a year of my life has since gone missing.

And how do the club themselves view the actions of your group? Inconsistently. At times, they love what Section 8 does to support the team across the country (and we're pretty useful marketing-wise, given our kind of passion isn't much seen elsewhere in Chicago's professional sports stadiums), and certainly the players appreciate the support at every game. At other times, club management give us serious headaches (and to be fair, sometimes we give them headaches): we've had a few protests over the years that have silenced the stadium, such as those against the firing by the Fire's ownership of club president Peter Wilt and against racist security guards in the stadium. We have our traditions as supporters and those in the front office foolish enough to fuck with them soon regret it, to be honest. Right now, after a lot of hard work on both sides of the fence, we have a good working relationship with the club (the front office has had a lot of turnover, and most of them are now very friendly and supportive of Section 8) and we recently sat down with Fire owner Andrew Hauptman for an open and productive meeting. We still have some issues to resolve as the treatment by security of fans around the stadium is still very poor and the pyrotechnics certainly cause problems for everyone, but we're starting to take more substantial steps by working on a fan charter and getting more support in growing the supporters sections further. Right now, I believe relations with the club are better than they have been since Peter Wilt was fired. But of course, we never know what's around the corner.

The players must love it though? Everyone of them I've ever spoken to has said they do, and I'm sure it beats having to play in front of the crappy crowds in a few otherMLS cities I could name.

We are loving this......all rise for the Chicago Fire

Didn't Chicago Fire win the league and cup double in their first complete season as a competitive club!? Only in America eh....Yep, though to be fair, it was only the third season of Major League Soccer as a competition itself (the league began in 1996). In 1998 we joined as an expansion team, and the focus of the league on "parity" via the salary cap means it's relatively easy for an expansion team to have a shot to win it all. And we did, thanks to these guys and many others. Sadly, I was still living in England at the time and had barely heard of the Chicago Fire. We still remain the only team to achieve this feat in our expansion first season (sorry, Seattle).

What is Toyota Park like and is it comparable to any grounds here in England? It was one of the first "soccer-specific-stadiums" in MLS, a name that belies its actual multi-purpose use: like Wembley, it's also used for concerts and other sporting events. Unlike Wembley, it sports a permanent stage area at one end, though fortunately seating in front means it is a four-sided ground. Roofing only (just about) covers two sides, though we play in the summer, so the rainy games are rare (but hell for those of us in the uncovered Harlem End when they do happen). In terms of capacity, facilities, luxury suites and the like it's probably similar to a decent Championship side's modern stadium.

Is it one of those out of town stadiums? Yes. It's just outside Chicago's city limits, in the gritty Village of Bridgeview. It's not easy to get to via public transit, though beer buses that we run from city bars sure make the 30 minute drive pass by easily enough. It would be great to have a stadium in the city centre, but it wasn't viable at the time, and we really needed a stadium to call home anywhere near Chicago after playing in three different stadiums in the club's first half-dozen or so years of existence.

How much would a match ticket set us back? In Section 8, $10-15. So what it would have cost you to watch an English league match about twenty years ago. My season ticket is just $200.

100GBP a season AND a free flag. What's not to like!?

What sort of crowds do you attract and how does that compare with the multitude of other sports in Chicago? The average this year was about 15,000. Not the best in the club's history, though we did sell out both playoff games. It's not a patch on theNFL's Chicago Bears, who easily sell-out Soldier Field's 60,000+ capacity for every game, or the millions who pour through the gates of Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs, baseball), US Cellular Field (Chicago WhiteSox, baseball) and the United Center (Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks ). Chicago shares with New York the unique distinction of being home to major league teams in football, basketball, ice hockey and two teams in baseball: it's sports-mad. That has made it hard for the Fire to carve out as distinctive niche, but it's slowly coming along.

Do you struggle for press coverage in the Chicago Tribune? Yes, for the reasons mentioned above: every day of the year, there is a bigger team in the city to headline the sports section. Right now, the Tribune do not even have a dedicated reporter to the Fire, though they have a couple of decent bloggers covering the team.

Unsurprisingly, the 'beer bus' caught my eye on your website. Free beer on the bus to matches!? Surely not!? You'd be hard-pressed to find a Section 8 activity that doesn't involve cheap, and fairly often free beer....

Free (free!) beer and flag displays. Welcome to Chicago folks!

What is the beer of choice in Chicago and is it weak, fizzy and tasteless? There's plenty of weak, fizzy and tasteless beer consumed, from Budweiser to the Fire's sponsor beer, the execrable Miller Lite. However, America also has an outstanding craft brewery industry that has grown up over the past decade or two, and Chicago is no exception: several local breweries produce outstanding beer, including -- gasp -- Real Ale, and we often have a keg of the excellent Half Acre at our tailgates in the parking lot before games. Great blokes, great beer.

Talking of beer (again), can we get a decent beer and a famous Chicago 'deep-dish pizza' inside the stadium on matchdays? Yes, they serve a few decent beers inside and they have Connies pizza, which isn't bad, if far from the best Chicago pizza. But it's overpriced inside, so I'd recommend eating at our barbecue outside before the game and drinking the aforementioned Half Acre or bringing your own beer to our tailgate. Tailgating is a Chicago sports tradition, and it's hard to beat it: good beer, grilled food and hours of socialising with friends before the big game. Did I mention beer? (yes you did, we're renewing our passports as we speak - Ed).

"Good beer, grilled food and hours of socialising" Where do we sign!?

Are there any fans of the Fire now that used to follow the Sting or the Power? Absolutely, though I wouldn't say it's a large number.

Who are your rivals? Everyone. No, seriously. We seem to have managed to piss off pretty much everyone everywhere we have gone in MLS. Dallas was a long-time rival (see the Brimstone Cup), but we no longer play them as often as we're not in the same conference, so in recent years New England and Columbus have been the most noticeable rivals. Toronto can be considered a rival if they ever make it to the playoffs to play us there, Seattle don't seem too keen on us, and I guess Kansas City dislike us, though we don't pay a lot of attention to them. I'm not making friends here, am I?

Is it true that you have an informal alliance with the fans of the Portland Timbers? Yep. The Timbers Army have long had much of the same spirit and energy for supporting the team Section 8 has had, and kudos to them for doing it just as well in the lower divisions. Their DIY culture is something to be admired, and many Section 8ers have made friends with members of the Timbers Army on more than one trip out there. Most recently and famously to Seattle's chagrin, many members of the Timbers Army travelled up to Seattle to support the Fire in our first league match against the Sounders along with many Fire fans who took a bus up from Portland after flying out there first. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the alliance when Portland joins the league in 2011, but I think we're both mature enough groups of supporters that we can be rivals for 90 minutes then make fun of each other over a beer afterwards.

Chicago (actual) Fire

Surely with the distances involved there aren't too many away fans at matches in the MLS? It's certainly a lot tougher than in England: our closest league opponent is over 500 miles east in Columbus, Ohio. But Americans aren't afraid of travelling vast distances, so we take several hundred fans to Columbus each year (and their stadium has hence been named Firehouse East by us) on buses we run. We also run buses out to Toronto and Kansas City, making up our 3-city "Away Season Ticket" package: three bus trips and game tickets for $175 this year. There are Fire fans at all other away games, whether it's just a handful or dozens more for reasonable flight distances like New York. We give the name to these adventures "Section 8 On Tour" and the goings-on have become pretty legendary over the years. As in England, the away trips are the best way to bond with fellow fans, meet new people and come up with more songs to pass the 12 hour bus trip to Toronto.

Do you have a club mascot? Yes, Sparky. Be careful around him. Seriously.

Sparky -Approach with caution.

And a club anthem? Umm, not really.

We've gathered your vocal and visual support is pretty impressive but this is America, do you have any cheese inside the stadium such as music after goals, novelty off the pitch shenanigans, firing t-shirts into the crowd that sort of thing? Yes, though thankfully this has been cut down over the years as MLS has realised it needs to focus on the game itself. There is little to distract the crowd during the action (the t-shirt firing and mini-games on the field happen at half-time). It's nowhere near as spoonfed as in professional baseball or basketball, where at times it seems as if the intent is to make the crowd forget there's an actual sporting contest going on. There's nothing much that bothers me during the 90 minutes, not that I'd notice from the mayhem in Section 8 anyway.

Do sports fans in Chicago cross codes? i.e. do many follow more than one sport? Absolutely. Very, very few Fire fans would not have a passing interest in at least one other sport. Most of them will have grown up supporting local professional sports teams, from the Bears to the Bulls (remember, that Jordan fellow was pretty popular in the 1990s).

Being English, I am of course contractually obliged to ask you about David Beckham. Do you have a view on him and his impact on the MLS? My favourite Beckham-related moment was John Thorrington's goal for the Fire against his LA Galaxy in the final regular season game of 2007, which ensured we made the playoffs....and the Galaxy didn't. I enjoyed that more than anything else Beckham has brought to the league.

And finally, just how windy is Chicago? Not as windy as Brighton, England, the only place I've ever experienced (something like) a hurricane!

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