The Cauldron fought for its team to stay in Kansas City. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

“We dreamed of a day where people would want to do this, not just getting so drunk that we couldn’t help but do it.”

- Sean Dane, de-facto Kansas City Cauldron leader

This is a story about an organization embracing its fans, just as much as it is about the fans themselves.

In the world of professional sports, there are a lot of “poor decision makers” (to say it in the nicest way possible) who call the shots.

***

Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Revolution sits 25.8 miles away from the city center of Boston and is not accessible by public transportation.

The New England Revolution has existed for 17 years.

On July 8, I attended the first-ever game at Gillette in which a bus was rented to transport fans from Boston to Foxborough.

The bus was organized by the Midnight Riders.

***

Beers are $13 dollars at Toronto FC games.

The fans buy their beers and sit in the team-operated supporters section where they don’t know who will show up each game due to the high amount of scalper’s who sell tickets in their sections.

***

“Welcome to the Blue Hell.” Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

Sporting Kansas City obtained two different liquor licenses when Livestrong Sporting Park opened last year so that it could sell beers at a regular stadium price as well as at a lower price in a bar that serves as the only way to enter the stands for their main supporters group: The Cauldron.

The beers cost $2.

The fans were asked for input when the stadium was being built.

***

The Cauldron helped save Sporting Kansas City, and Sporting Kansas City helped save The Cauldron.

In the mid-2000s, the then Kansas City Wizards were one of the most unstable franchises in MLS. Their owner, the late, great Lamar Hunt, wanted out. Hunt also owned the Columbus Crew and FC Dallas as well as the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.

Hunt sold the team to its current owners OnGoal, LLC (now Sporting Club) in August 2006. But the Wizards were struggling and drawing just four-figure crowds in the carnivorous Arrowhead Stadium, a 79,000-seat monstrosity designed for football.

The Cauldron’s weekly attendance wasn’t even in the triple digits. Moving the team or folding it seemed like a real possibility. But The Cauldron wouldn’t go down without a fight.

A few Cauldron members banded together with other members of the community to found the Heart of America Soccer Foundation, a grassroots organization whose mission statement was to keep the Wizards in Kansas City.

Something strange happened: people listened. The Wizards moved to Community America Ballpark in the Kansas side of the city. The crowds hovered around 10,000, but the intimacy of the stadium allowed The Cauldron and the rest of the support to grow.

The team secured a stadium deal, and in 2011 opened what is either the nicest or the second-nicest stadium in the league (depending on how you feel about Red Bull Arena).

The Wizards were rebranded into Sporting Kansas City, and the rest is history.

The Heart of America Soccer Foundation hasn’t updated its website since 2008; the battle has been won.

In addition to hosting 2,000 fans (or so the fire marshal says) each home game, The Cauldron has its own clothing line, complete with designer tags featuring The Cauldron’s logo.

The Cauldron members’ bar and restaurant after the 2-1 defeat. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

They bought their own merchandise bus and painted it the same baby blue as Sporting’s home kits.

They bought my four friends and me lunch when I visited. And beer. And an unknown mixed drink that tasted suspiciously like straight vodka. It was blue of course.

Thanks to The Cauldron and Sporting working together, the north end can be heard singing about Kansas City’s famous barbeque on summer weekends.

Thanks to the Cauldron and Sporting working together, The Cauldron can afford to spend money on community outreach programs or help pay for the minor-league K.C. Athletics to travel to Orlando for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup like they did earlier this year.

Thanks to The Cauldron and Sporting working together, both entities still exist in 2012.

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The Empire Supporters Club treats supporting the Red Bulls like a job. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

After 16 years of bad signings, atrocious marketing and general futility, the Empire Supporters Club will stop at nothing to give New York the best home field advantage possible.

Singing: saved for the actual game. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

Nothing is off limits for this group, just as long as it helps the Red Bulls. Within five minutes of being at their pre-game bar, El Pastor in New Jersey, I already heard not only jokes about Kurt Cobain, but also about where Seattle (their opponent) takes “it” (not somewhere very pleasant to say the least).

Some commentators like Glenn Davis have called this and New York’s support groups “classless” for their chants, the “US Reject!” directed at Brian Ching in particular.

It’s not that the ESC crosses the line; it’s that they collectively don’t have one. To paraphrase the great Joey Tribbiani, the line is a dot to them.

The ESC prefers not to sing before, after or during halftime of their games, instead conserving their energy for the game in order to give RBNY what they need: an advantage of any kind. Multiple members referred to the support of their club as their job.

Like typical New Yorkers, the group is very outspoken. Two members behind us repeatedly referred to Kenny Cooper, then the second-leading goalscorer in the league as, “that cocksucker number 33,” every time he messed up a chance. But this understates the ESC’s love for their club.

Heading in for a day at the ESC’s office. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

It was a hot day when we went, over 100 degrees. The ESC told us to not expect their best crowd for the game. If that wasn’t the most vulgar, vile and unforgiving crowd that they could produce, then I am scared to see what is.

But that isn’t to say that the people weren’t incredibly welcoming and nice individually. They welcomed me (a DC United fan) into their ranks and treated me as one of their own, even giving me a shirt and a bottle opener free of charge.

That, and the pre-game sangria, was just icing on the cake to a memorable afternoon, in terrible weather, where I was swayed to sympathize for Red Bulls fans, based on their passion, pride and the sheer veracity of their chants; singing for 90 minutes, and never quitting on their team – or, more specifically, their job.

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Toronto FC’s many supporters, including the Red Patch Boys on the left. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

And on the eighth day, God said, “Let there be red…”

I wasn’t planning to do a story for the Red Patch Boys due to the fact that I was sitting in the adjacent U-Sector for the only Toronto FC home game on the trip. But when I met the fans, I (prepare for the double negative) decided that I couldn’t not do a story on them.

We showed up at their pre-game bar, Shoeless Joes, and were immediately welcomed by RPB President Phil Tobin. Before I even got a chance to notice that the supposedly baseball-themed bar had been taken over with TFC and RPB gear, we were presented with scarves. After the game, we were presented with scarves again by a different member. Yep, I now own TWO Red Patch Boys scarves.

Phil and I talked about the usual TFC topics: how bad the team is, how bad the management is, etc… I noticed that there were Vancouver fans at the bar. Phil told me that he actually invited fans from the team’s second or third biggest rival (depending on how TFC fans feel about Columbus) out because the trip was so far and they didn’t have anywhere else to go. Not only were the Red Patch Boys welcoming to a neutral party like us, but they also welcomed their rivals!

Phil explained that for the 90 minutes the teams play each other, they’re his enemy and anything goes, but in the end, he just wants to see the sport grow and create a good vibe among visiting fans. I would assume this doesn’t include Montreal, but I could be wrong.

Despite their struggles as a team, according to Phil, the Red Patch Boys wouldn’t trade a second of it for anything else. There is a bond that he describes amongst the Red Patch Boys that is present amongst the fans, a true connection that they carry with them wherever they go.

***

All the supporters were in a state of joy after a rare TFC victory. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

Like U-Sector, when the game was over, RPB were ecstatic. Before the game, one U-Sector member asked me if the RPB scarf that I was wearing burnt my skin. After the game, members from the two groups got together in a circle outside the stadium and sang for nearly 20 minutes before walking away to their different postgame bars.

Toronto FC fans get a bad rap among the league for being rowdy, violent and chaotic. But if I could use any word to describe the members of the Red Patch Boys, it would be: gentlemanly. Welcoming visiting fans to your place and treating everyone takes a lot of class, and the Red Patch Boys certainly don’t lack that.

For more information on the history of the Red Patch Boys, check out their website (http://www.redpatchboys.ca/index.html); it certainly describes them better than I can with the limited time I had.

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The U-Sector doesn’t look particularly happy at a call on the field. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

“I fell in love with football as I was later to fall in love with women: suddenly, inexplicably, uncritically, giving no thought to the pain or disruption it would bring with it.”

-Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch

It’s Wednesday night and Toronto FC, the worst team in the league, is playing Vancouver Whitecaps FC, a likely playoff team. Up 2-1, the fourth official announces that there will be four minutes of stoppage time. He is met with a chorus boos from U-Sector.

A harmless long ball is floated into the box from a Vancouver player. Toronto goalkeeper Milos Kocic will easily grab the ball, waste a few seconds and send it back into play; Kocic is an experienced goalkeeper, and this is an easy play.

The ball gets closer and closer and closer. Kocic jumps up, but out of nowhere, Whitecaps forward Darren Mattocks literally leaps over his defender and in front of Kocic, heading the ball into the empty net in an awe-inspiring feat of athleticism. Typical Toronto.

Mattocks sprints over to the supporters section and raises up both his hands and put them together, making a heart shape. Thirteen-dollar beers rain down on Mattocks who stands there, stoic, knowing that once again, the entire city of Toronto has been deflated because of their soccer team.

Toronto was beautiful for MLS Road Trip’s stay in the city. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

***

Toronto has only had a team since 2007. Several of their fans define themselves as “fake” or “plastic” because of their lack of history. But this is their history. Toronto doesn’t win games that they’re supposed to win. The fans just show up in overpriced seats to watch a consistently terrible product.
This is mentioned to me by at halftime by Mike Doran, a member of U-Sector who has missed just four home games in the history of TFC.

“Think of how bad this team is, and look at how many people are here,” he says, pointing to the near capacity crowd (on a Wednesday night no less).

The team, not the support group, controls U-Sector tickets as per usual. Doran has tickets that are scalped every game on either side of him. Families can get tickets in the front row and sit down. Their complaints of standing, singing and cursing are heard by the front office, the same front office that markets the team based on fan support.

***

Fans begin to leave the stadium. This draw is as disappointing as the rest. There will be no singing on the way home tonight. The air has been taken out of the crowd when Toronto wins a corner kick in the 94th minute. They won’t score. In their history, TFC has scored just two goals in stoppage time of a game.
Two-time World Cup veteran Torsten Frings trots over to take the corner. He swings a perfect ball in to the box. Terry Dunfield, a Whitecaps castoff leaps for the header.

What happens next is a blur; the fans can’t believe it. Several fans double-check the scoreboard to make sure that the 3-2 scoreline is correct. They have just won their third game in the season.

Victory snatched from the jaws of draw has Toronto’s fans in a state of ecstasy. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

U-Sector marches out of the stadium ironically singing, “I just can’t get enough.” Their voices echo throughout the warm Toronto night. As they march under the train tracks to go home, not a single fan is quiet.

They have only gotten to do this a few times in their lives, and for a group that has dealt with so much crap from the front office, they deserve it.

Toronto will undoubtedly disappoint for the sixth year in a row, but U-Sector will always be there, riding the highs and lows that come with being in love.

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A pair of Midnight Riders enjoying the pregame festivities. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

Upon my entry to Massachusetts, I tweeted at the Midnight Riders, asking them for their tailgate information. Less than an hour later, I was given the tailgate information, asked if I needed to be shown around and invited to a morning pickup game.

After playing with them at Harvard and going to a bar in Cambridge to watch MLS with them on Saturday, I arrived at the tailgate two-and-a-half hours before game time on Sunday. There were already about 50 people there even though the bus that was bringing 45 additional fans from Boston had not arrived yet.

I was offered a large variety of food and beer that every single member of the Midnight Riders and the other support group, the Rebellion, seemed to have prepared. After being invited on a soccer podcast in front of a “live audience,” the bus full of fans finally showed up.

The bus was late because the air conditioning broke on the original bus. (The Midnight Riders use a company that supplies older busses because they’re the only company in the area that lets them drink on the bus).

A few fans including a Midnight Riders board member ran over to the bus specifically to flip the people inside off.

This is the first time any group from the club has arranged a bus to the stadium from the Boston area. Gillette Stadium is about an hour out of the city, and there is no access to it via public transportation.

Apparently, the Revolution don’t care about their working class fans. Joe Butler, one of the board members, who may or may not have been guilty in flipping his own fan group off, estimated that if the Revolution had a stadium in the actual city, they would average around 30,000 fans each game.

As soon as the bus showed up and the Riders disembarked, the atmosphere grew, yet became more relaxed; if there was belligerent binge drinking, I certainly didn’t witness it. Not that they don’t partake in drinking, as witnessed by my time out with them the previous night. But the Midnight Riders are about more than just having a good time.

“Outside of all the drinking and eating we do, we pride ourselves in all the charity work we do,” said Chris Camille, a Midnight Riders board member and my unofficial host for the weekend.

The Riders are scheduled to play the Rebellion in Gillette Stadium on July 21 to raise money for New England Revolution legend Taylor Twellman’s charity, thinktaylor.org.

***

The Midnight Riders are holding down THE FORT. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

The Fort (the area where both supporters groups sit) capo, dressed in shorts and Tevas, constantly cracked jokes with the fans. French jokes (directed at the absent Thierry Henry), f-bombs and New Jersey jokes were all part of the agenda.

Grade-school children dressed in navy blue with mohawks start chants from the tenth row. New England flags are constantly waved.

The atmosphere is more like a college house party in which everyone knows each other than an English soccer game. The laughs are just as abundant as the songs.

At the end of the game, instead of leaving, the fans pile on top of each other near the field. Every player comes over and thanks them. Some even toss their jersey into the stands.

The Midnight Riders gather on the concourse of the stadium, in a circle, singing and drumming their hearts away even though the game is over. They will continue this for forever. Or, at least until their bus takes them back to Boston in 30 minutes.

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Ultras Montreal being led by a capo during a losing effort. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

In Quebec, the license plates read, “je me souviens”, or, “I remember.” Impact de Montreal fans remember that their group, Ultras Montreal 2002, was formed because of Toronto fans.

In 2001, Toronto brought a bus full of about 60 fans to Montreal for an A-League game (both teams were in the minor leagues at the time). There was no organized support from Montreal to oppose just 60 fans.

Fast forward 11 years, the Ultras Montreal have over 400 season ticket holders, with aspirations to sell out the entire west end one day.

As with any new team though, there are issues. Not everyone “gets it.”

***

Flares make everything cooler. This time is no exception. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

It is the second half of one of the Canadian derbies: Toronto FC vs. Montreal. Montreal is losing 1-0, and there is a physical altercation in front of the west goal. The fans start to boo Toronto’s most high-profile player, Torsten Frings, a two-time World Cup veteran for Germany and the scorer of the first goal in this game.

Frings responds to the booing by flipping off the fans despite being within reach of the front row. He turns around and begins to jog back to his side of the field. With his back to the stands, a fan throws a plastic bottle at him. The Ultras are sanctioned, and the next game, there is a 20-foot-tall net in front of the west end.

Christian Bourque, a long-time member of the fan group and one of the group’s decision-makers, tells me that it will take about a year to figure things out. The group is non-violent, but there are a few bad apples in every group.

“We can’t break a bone by insulting them,” says Bourque, “but that would be awesome if we could.”

Bourque tells me that the fan who threw the projectile is known by the group and will not be welcomed back.

***

“Fuck you ref!”

“Fuck you ref!”

“Fuck you ref!”

The chant goes on for over 10 minutes. The game has just ended. Montreal has just lost to Sporting Kansas City 3-1 in a game that included two controversial penalties for Kansas City.

If you can understand what Ultras Montreal are chanting, they’re not happy. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

Just as the chant is about to die down, midfielder Collen Warner walks over to the section and gestures for them to keep going.

The Ultras only sing in English when they want the other team or ref to understand.

Despite the addition of the net to the west end, another water bottle is thrown at an opposing player during the game.

When asked about it, Bourque shrugs with a disappointed look on his face. Like he said, it will take a year to figure everything out.

Until then, they will probably maintain a less than stellar reputation around the league. But they won’t care; no other support group understands French anyway.

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Barra Brava is one of MLS’s oldest true supporters groups. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

As far as supporters groups go, Barra Brava is one of the oldest groups and has been credited as the first real supporters group to bring in chants and different tifo to Major League Soccer.

A Barra Brava member getting his water fight on a sweltering Virginia day. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

When we entered the Barra Brava tailgate, it looked more like a summer beach party than people getting ready for a soccer match. People were throwing water balloons, chasing each other around with squirt guns and a few people even turned the bed of a red Toyota Tacoma into a pool.

A group of supporters from Richmond, Va. brought a pig to roast and some crab for everyone while making sure the table was always full of food for people to eat.

What was apparent when we looked around the Barra Brava tailgate was that everyone there was a part of a big family. Despite the large number of people, everyone still knew each other and interacted as if they were all brothers and sisters.

One guy who has been a part of Barra Brava for over ten years has affectionately been given the name “pops” and brings a rather unique addition to the Brava tailgate. He brings his own blender to make margaritas and walks around handling them out to other Barra Brava members.

He says it is just something he started doing and now people bring him ice and different drinks to make, which is helpful since he goes through about 70 pounds of ice each game.

As game time approaches, everyone cleans up and gets ready for a long march from the parking lot into the stadium.

Barra Brava’s march to RFK Stadium. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

Once everyone reached the supporters section, the cheering and chants began. People began to jump up and down as the iconic bleachers at RFK stadium appeared to bounce underneath them.

As the game continued, the chants got louder and the flags continued to fly in hopes that D.C. United would score a goal, and finally their wish came true.

When D.C. scored, the stands erupted and beer went flying through the air as people cheered and waved the flags as high as they could to support their club. The chants continued well past the whistle of the game as D.C. United took the win over Montreal.

Barra Brava has been around for a while and they have continued their tradition of bringing support and a strong crowd to all of the D.C. United games. While other supporters groups may have outgrown them, the history and pride will always remain with Barra Brava.

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This corner of RFK Stadium features D.C. United’s premier tifo-making supporters group: the District Ultras. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

It is the 77th minute of a D.C. United vs. Impact de Montreal game. It is over 100 degrees despite being slightly overcast. D.C. United is winning 2-0 in a thoroughly dominating performance.

All of a sudden, it starts to rain. Fans on the other side of the stadium head for the exit. But not on this side. Not the District Ultras. The rain only makes them sing louder:

“If I had the wings of an eagle

If I had the ass of a crow

I’d fly over Montreal

And shit on the bastards below

Shit on, shit on!

Shit on the bastards below!”

Srdan Bastaic, the president of the District Ultras, picks up a 30-foot high black, white and red flag and waves it three or four times before putting it down, almost hitting the VIP section in the process.

“Sounds like we’re losing 3-0,” says Bastaic in a Croatian accent.

“Well they did threaten to arrest the entire section,” responds another member of the group referring to the illegal smoke bombs that were lit after each goal.

***

The District Ultras rocking many a flag for D.C. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

The District Ultras, a group that split off from La Barra Brava in 2010, are the main tifo builders of D.C. United fan groups.

Before the game, the Ultras were setting up this day’s tifo, a 40-foot eagle with its arms crossed and a mean look in its eyes.

“What’s your goal for this piece?” one fan asks another.

“30 seconds.”

“My goal is always 30 seconds,” responds the first fan, not talking about the tifo.

Jokes — like this rain — down the entire tailgate with topics ranging from circumcision, to Balkans and sometimes a combination of both. The vibe of this tailgate is a young man’s dream.

The Ultras test out their tifo. When lifted up, supported by its three poles, it is about the size of a three-story building.

“It looks like shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay we’re not doing it then.”

A third fan comes up, “I think it looks beautiful!”

“You’re drunk.”

“Well, yeah…”

It is 7:15. The game starts in 15 minutes, and the Ultras haven’t figured out their tifo yet. They ultimately decide not to use it because they would rather have nothing at all than something that looks bad.

“Is anyone even going to the game?” yells one stationary fan.

All of a sudden, a fan banging the Mini Cooper-sized drum that takes two other fans to hold, wearing a black beret, combat boots with black knee-high socks, cargo shorts, a flag as a cape, sunglasses, gloves and a Ben Olsen home jersey yells, “All right you motherfuckers! It’s time to fucking go!”

The Ultras aren’t always punctual.

They march through the stadium to their section. In the cavernous tunnels of RFK Stadium, their voices echo endlessly. Stadium employees and supposedly neutral security guards join in their chants.

They get into their section after the game has started and start jumping around and dancing. The makeshift RFK stands bounce and

The Ultras remained at RFK Stadium through the rain as D.C. won 3-0. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

bend. They feel like they could crumble beneath at any time. No one cares.

Bastaic stands on two seats, directly over the aisle in between the two sections that the Ultras and La Norte, another D.C. United supporters group, occupy. Aside from a short break to switch shirts (he sweat through one of them), he stands here leading chants for 90 minutes. Most other supporters groups switch off or have multiple capos. Not the Ultras.

D.C. United wins 3-0. Srdan slumps over, exhausted. He tells me that he is too old for this, but just like the rest of the Ultras, he will be back next week. And the week after that. And every week which D.C. plays. Because that is what an Ultra is. Someone who shows up week in and week out to support the team they love. No matter what.

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One of Section 8′s capos leading on the crowd. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

With flags waving and people chanting “fire,” all of the groups meshed into one supporters section behind the goal at Toyota Park to take on Chicago’s rival, the Columbus Crew.

Since Section 8 is a mixture of Fire fans that may identify with a different name, their chants did not involve the name of their supporters group like we have seen in other cities. The chants were purely regarding the Chicago Fire and rooting for them to come out on top.

The flare that was lit under the section made it look super badass. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

Along with the unique chants, Section 8 had a number of different capos with more personality than we have seen that truly demonstrated the passion these fans have for their team.

Section 8 continued to cheer with enthusiasm despite a red card and goal allowed late in the first half, which could have caused them to quit.

The most impressive display from Section 8 came late in second half around the 81^st minute. A group of Polish fans called Husaria lit flares under the bleachers that caused the section to appear like it was actually on fire.

With the smoke and flames rising, a banner was lifted with the message to hate racism, fascism and sexism.

According to a member of Husaria, this banner was made in response to incidents with a few Polish Fire fans that belong to a group that was trying to bring back the old Ultras 98 supporters group. A couple of fans displayed hateful behavior towards others on a bus ride to an away game a few weeks ago.

Husaria wanted to separate themselves from this behavior and be sure that everyone knows they are against this type of behavior.

The display was like nothing we had seen at a game before. The section glowed a vibrant red while the smoked continued to cover the fans as Husaria, and Section 8 overall, demonstrated their true character.

Fireworks after the Fire’s 2-1 victory. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

As the smoke faded away and the closing minutes of the game passed, Section 8 cheered as the Fire defeated their rival, 2-1.

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Chicago Fire supporters tailgating before their last match against the Columbus Crew. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

Section 8 cannot be defined as one group or one identity, but rather, they are a melting pot of smaller groups and cultures that share one common thread: They bleed for the Chicago Fire.

“Section 8 is the umbrella organization,” said the Director of Communications Dan Martin, “no one can say what to do.”

Some of the Crew faithful bussed in from Columbus, which is about six hours away. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

The groups are able to make their own banners and support in their own way. They follow certain guidelines, but overall, they are able to conduct themselves and their group how they want to and not by what someone above them orders.

The idea of Section 8 is to be able to bring together all of these smaller divisions of Fire fans into one place. Before the game, everyone gathers outside of Toyota Park for a tailgate.

As we entered the tailgate, we were surrounded by different groups participating in pre-game activities including playing different games, barbequing, and, of course, a little bit of drinking.

At one end of the tailgate, one of the Hispanic supporters groups were celebrating and getting ready for the game against the rivaled Columbus Crew. At the other end, a Polish group was doing the same.

It may look like these groups are split up everywhere. But in reality, they are all celebrating together in their own way with the common goal of supporting their Chicago Fire.

Martin took it upon himself to show us around and meet the different people within Section 8. He joked with us saying that, “There are only eight members of Section 8,” which were the eight elected officials that helped Section 8. Everyone else is the mixture of the different groups and individuals that support the Fire.

More Fire fans enjoying themselves during pre-game festivities. Dan Perlea/mlsroadtrip.com

The Chairman of Section 8, Joel Pitkel, referred to themselves as a “bottom-up organization.” The most important part is the smaller groups and individuals, not the elected officials.

As we continued to walk around, we were approached by a member of a Polish group called Husaria. He proceeded to inform us of his group while handing out a Polish drink in which the alcohol content was questionable to say the least.

As game time approached, a loud bang was let out inside the stadium. People began to disperse from the tailgate and get ready to cheer on the Fire. Fifteen minutes later, another bang was heard as everyone hurried to the stadium. All of the different groups now merged into one. We could not decipher between who was whom. All we see was a group of fans dedicated to one team: the Chicago Fire.

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