Bloody Confused, Chapter Two
Gooner mentioned the experience of going to a match on both sides of the Atlantic and I reckon that's a key to the problems MLS has had attracting a serious fan base. When I first started going to Revolution games at Foxboro in 1986, I noticed a several weird phenomena. Even when there was a full crowd, there was a noticeable lack of tension; it was the atmosphere of a company picnic or Renaissance faire, not a football match.Culpepper expresses dismay in Chapter Two about being asked about whether he's supporting the home or away team and the reality that, even ten years after Hillsborough, supporters are segregated. What he fails to recognize is that these are all symptoms of an experience in which the outcome matters. When you take away that tension, you take away the drama. I actually thought that it was a positive sign when I'd heard that Crew fans had got into a ruck with the West Ham firm this summer in Columbus. Do I have a point here or am I barking mad?
posted by The Blue Devil @ 9:29 AM
4 Comments:
Chalk me down in the category of separating supporters of different teams. I'll tell you from experience that my least favorite MLS games are those in international competition that draw more away supporters who spend the 120 minutes sitting in my section making a nuisance of themselves.
I've written complaints to DCU for years about how I don't think it's fair to season ticket holders, and I've yet to have one answered.
Fan separation makes complete sense and I'm for it.
By the way, that bit of argy-bargy in Ohio is nothing compared to what went on behind the home goal at RFK in the early years. It was civil war then between equal factions of Bolivian and Salvadoran and Anglo fans, with the stadium security guys getting it from all sides. Thank goodness that's in the past the worst you have to deal with now is the triumphalist Chivas(Mexico) fans on their quarterly visits to beat us. Their drunk fans in the goat costumes who've been sold tickets in my section by clueless DCU suits nevertheless get on my wick.
I'll be hoping that the Cuban fans who make it up to RFK today won't get too out of hand, then. Wish I could be there!
Man, it was perfect. There were a few Cuban-Americans that came and they politely waved their flag. But their influence was mostly the smell from portable grills of great smelling meat and black beans and the sounds of Cuban Jazz emanating from the car-park.
It was largely pro-US and my impression is that the defection of those two players was key to the Cubans lack of defense. The weather for the Havana leg was very wet, and the field was sponge like, but I remember a defensive resilience then from the Cubans that was no-where in sight last night.
Wish you could have been there too.
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