A buddy of mine and myself are displaced DC United fans living in Fargo, and we are wanting to take in a MN United game before the end of the season. Sadly, we are both taken up for the Cosmos game, but there are several other weekends that might work. I know that there are probably other places where we can get a feel for the ultra culture in TC, but this place is probably the easiest. Is there a club? Tailgating? A favorite bar? Other activities on the weekend (say EPL or similar at a watering hole)?
Well if y Ultra you mean fights, then no I can not help you. If you mean just fans. https://twitter.com/britspubmpls They usually have soccer games/events at British Pub. You can ask the Dark clouds about other events. https://twitter.com/MNDarkClouds http://www.dark-clouds.com/
If you want to get full supporters group experience, I'd suggest joining the Dark Clouds at the Nomad Pub. They start by watching the EPL games in the afternoon, sometimes with trivia, prizes, and specials, and then they take a bus (The Dethloon Express, which you have to book a space on beforehand) up to NSC Stadium. Then they tailgate for a while (BYO meat or pay a nominal fee to mooch off others) and march into the stadium together. I'd suggest heading down for the SA Scorpions game on Sept 28th if you're open. It's by far the biggest rivalry we have in the league. If you want an "ultras" experience, that's your best bet. You won't get any sort of hooliganism from the supporters group, and if you step out of line, they will put you in your place. But I can guarantee that if you go to the Scorpions game, you will get to do a lot of screaming, a lot of cursing, and you will be in ample company. There's a fair bit of history with the Railhawks too, but I'm betting that what you're after is the San Antonio game.
Thanks, folks. I appreciate the advice. No interest in silliness, it's just more fun to watch games with passionate fans. I've experienced both Barra Brava and Timbers Army, both very positive experiences. I also have seen ultras for Paris Saint Germain, an extremely negative experience. Hope to see you guys.
Any chance you're planning on going to the game this coming week? The team are doing some major promotion for it around the area, and apparently there's a contingent coming down from Duluth as well. Might be a good time to get in touch with the Dark Clouds (via Facebook or otherwise). I'm sure they'd roll out the red carpet for ya.
The game on tomorrow will probably have low attendance. The Dethloon Express isn't running for this game. The new owners tried experimenting with some early kickoff times and they have been a failure in my view.
In the upcoming year we're going to be working with the team to try to support the business side of things as much as we support the soccer side. How are we doing that? By giving your prizes. You know that you can buy your 2014 season ticket and DC membership together in the Dark Cloud season ticket, and we've worked with the team to make a perk UNIQUE to the DC season ticket a referral program that earns you cool stuff if you get friends of yours to buy tickets. Whenever someone picks up either a new season ticket or a 10-ticket group buy and says that you sent them, you'll get a point. As you accumulate points, you'll accumulate prizes. 1 point - 1 concession voucher (enough for a beer) 2 points – DC T-shirt (it's not designed yet) 5 points - MNUFC T-shirt (logo tee) 10 points- Customizable Jersey (real names are for losers) OR dinner with a coach or player(working on a joint venue) 15 points- 1 comp’ed gazebo or 6 Midfield Seats based on availability (sell tickets, get tickets) 20 points- Team Autographed Ball (hopefully not that Joma medicine ball) Then we start getting serious. 50 points - 4 tickets to a game in Indianapolis and $100 gas card (ROAD TRIP) 100 points - Travel with the team to an away game We'll be working all winter to add to these membership benefits, and to make sure you have a card that gets them for you. Let me know if you've got questions, and call the team at 763-4SOCCER to grab your DC season ticket so you can start piling up referrals. We'll also be keeping score across everybody that gets referrals, and the top referrer will get a prize we're still doing the math on. Let me know if you have anything that would really get your motor running.