forget it. whatever happens, happens. I'll be there and i'll be enjoying the game. P.S. - Don't assume anyone "poses" on the boards. Unless you know the person, then you can't really pass any judgement on them.
Hey! I started this thread. If you go back to the beginning you'll see that it was originally about USA fans being afraid to attend games in our OWN NATION'S CAPITAL because, in the past, the El Salvador fans have been--according to what I've read on USA Men: News and Analysis--a threat! Allegedly, they throw bottles, ketchup, and bags of urine. As a result, many USA fans are afraid to go. Instead, they plan on watching on TV. You will have to agree this is a problem. SABuffalo786 and tame1999 are right: Again, while not condoning hooliganism, they are saying USA fans should feel able to attend USA matches in the USA capital. This means standing up for oneself. What does that mean to you? Why does that upset you so much?
Those NOT going to RFK are the suburban well to do, who don't want anything to do with working class "riff raf"... Now give them a corporate suite, and they'll be there... I've been to RFK 25-30 time for soccer matches, and have NEVER felt afraid of anything.. even when the Hondurans took our manhood away last year.. and when Jamaica came in 97... or Guatemala too...
Thank you for explaining it. I'm really not out to offend anyone or get people riled up, I'm just simply saying how I feel. . I think it's funny that everyone's surprised that a few people on these boards have a "stand up for yourself" mentality. Sorry if we can't all be drones and have the same personality. As the USMNT's hardcore fans grow larger in numbers, you're gonna get people who have different opinions on certain topics, including this one. If there's trouble, then leave...you don't have to be a part of it, but don't go around saying that an incident at a match is going to bring an apocolypse to the game in this country because it won't. You get physical confrontation at every sporting event in the country and you don't hear every newspaper in north america chastizing them. You can say whatever you feel but you're not going to go about changing people's minds, especially mine.
Andy, when was the last time you attended one of the DCU-LA games when 50% or more of the folks in attendance were there to cheer against DCU, booing everytime Etcheverry or Moreno touched the ball and cheering everytime Cienfeugos did? Having witnessed fights in the stands at these games, including seeing a man positively drenched in blood after the last of these affairs, I know where these folks are coming from. Reports of wives, girlfriends and daughters getting fondled while walking to and from the stadium are common. There's bad blood, for sure and, possibly just enough of simmering resentment from DCU folks that something could happen at this game. I don't say it should, but I think you're treading on territory you're not very familiar with.
Not really. A bunch of legal American residents and citizens go to soccer games at RFK. Not all root for the US of A. That is not a problem. This is a free country. What do you mean? "stand up for oneself." That is meaningless. It is a nothing phrase. It prescribes no course of action or lack thereof. It upsets me because it's the exact type of "nothing" language used by hate group leaders to incite their followers into action, while allowing them to deny that they ever "condoned hooliganism", or "meant for anyone to get beat up." That's why. Read contemporary American history for plenty of examples. Read the history of the 20th century for a bunch more. That's why I get upset.
It takes two to tango. I am very familiar with this territory, and I don't see the need for these numbskulls to encourage the setting "defending our turf" that helps to create the scenarios you describe. People don't get into fights by accident.
Oh my god please give me a break. Sorry, but you've officially blown this out of proportion. To even compare a group of devoted soccer fans to hate group leaders is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know where youre gettin these proposterous ideas from, because we aren't exactly the white-hooded KKK members you make us out to be. Better yet, there is no specific "us". You're taking not only mine, but other peoples' comments way out of line, and making it seem like there is some developing cult that will take over all of sam's army and spread violence throughout our stadia. Come on, with everything that has been happening over the past year I would think you would be a little bit understanding as to why there is some kind of "extreme-patriotism" going through the blood of some of the fans, but obviously you aren't. This was an interesting discussion but now you went across the line by calling some hardcore fans facist, revolutionary hate group leaders. Give me a break and relax.
HAHA! Can't go boyz, BC-Syracuse that weekend at Chestnut Hill. Payback for the Donovan McNabb years... But I see AM's point. I think some peeps here are not asking you to go stand down to DefCon 5 or something, just maybe take your foot off the pedal bit?
Understandably so, it's just a matter of gettin riled up I guess. However, AM's last post made absolutely no sense and didn't pertain to the subject in question at all. AM takes good pics so it's no big deal.
OK, I'll jump in. I am a United season ticket holder. Also go to Nat games on the east coast when possible. I will be watching from my couch. I go with my wife and kids. They will not be in the stadium. I have seen enough beer bottles/cups/... be thrown into my section from above me. I have seen enough men piss in the sinks and on the floor of RFK restrooms. I have seen enough people with tickets for other places in the stadium crowd into my section and not be moved by stadium security. My kids have had enough things stolen out of their hands while they have been walking through the stadium. People can call me whatever they want but these things have happened when players from El Salvador have been on the team opposing DC United. They have not happened (at least been witnessed by me) at other games. The Guat and Honduras qualifiers were intense but I always felt safe. If you consider that fun or part of the experience, have a great time at the game. It is not that important to me to put up with that crap.
Ditto. Although, I still might go personally. These problems do arise almost exclusively with El Salvadoran fans. Of course, it's only a minority of these fans that cause the problems, which is why it's unfortunate that they all get labeled this way. But there it is....
andy please. have you ever been in a fight before? i am not sure how old you are/where you grew up but come on. if you have ever been at a college bar, regular bar in any major city- fights happen- whether you want it to or not sometimes. all that i think is being said is that the game is going to present an atmosphere where a fight has the potential to break out more so compared to a game between the USMNT and another team in a different stadium. and yes, fights do happen by accident, especially when alcohol is involved.
If I do go, I'm not sure I feel comfortable taking my girlfriend (she's 5'1, 100 lbs soaking wet, and has been harassed by jerk-offs at past games at RFK). Alex
Hey AndyMead: Quote me all you like but, fer chrissakes, DON'T quote me out of context! When I said, "You will have to agree this is a problem," it was in reference to USA fans being AFRAID to attend matches at RFK stadium! (See the title of this thread.) I was NOT in anyway suggesting that fans should be prevented from supporting their team--USA or otherwise. By, "standing up for oneself," I mean: BE BRAVE! USA supporters: don't let them intimidate you! Come to RFK! Support your team! Finally, you totally lost me with the "nothing language" hate group stuff.
First, I will make beleive Im giving up then as the perp comes forward I jump up MATRIX STYLE and kick the knife away! Then the dude will RUN AWAY LIKE A LITTLE GURL.
A bunch of us early to mid 90s alums got tix from calling the BCAA Office and used a credit card. I'm sure you can get a ticket. Run up the score, TOB, run it up.
Liberal PUKE need I say who?? let's just hug everyone and let's all just get along. well "F" that!!! You really believe that ES believes that? Yes, we live in a free country and we are free to express ourselves. But, when "A"holes talk crap about our country and our football it pisses me off. Maybe some of you have not been behind the goal to hear all the crap said to La Norte. We get so much *************** from "some" latinos because we support the USA because we love our country and football. I put up a dare to all you tree huggers and ACLU card members to come to La Norte section 120 and support the USA when ES comes to town.
How come no El Salvador posters here to defend themselves? Dont they have computers? The U.S. people that are coming in from out of town or have never been to a El Salvador game are in for a surprise. Their fans definitely hold the number one ranking for rowdiness and unruliness. Everything GoDc is true. Agree with Motterman in that a only a handful are rowdy A** holes. I'm telling you their fans get quiet and less rambuctious when they're losing. The first goal is important. We get the first goal and continue the blitzkreig of goals and they're real mellow. There are ways to get around the rowdy fans. I will be there rain or shine, open or closed. My ninth straight US game at RFK. No way I break my streak. I'm a real fan.
Re: Liberal PUKE Dude, First of all I find the ACLU a little too rightwing for my taste. Second of all, I was walked around Estadio Azteca alone after last year's qualifier in my Sam's Army shirt, hat, and scarf. I don't have to "prove my loyalty" to anyone. I remember someone near me getting hit with a bottle thrown from the upper deck at Jack Murphy Stadium in 1999 after we scored. You want to know who saved the day? The latinos in the section next to us saw what was happening and immediately, and unasked, came and intermixed our section so that the group above didn't have a clean group of "anglos" to throw stuff at. There are jerks and saints on both sides. It's strange how I've spent the last six or seven years in a cauldron of soccer and alcohol - usually as an away fan, yet I've never gotten into a fight. And yet still, I'm garishly attired in my team's colors and stand and yell for 90 minutes. You're more likely to find a fight if you go looking for one. I won't deny the crap with the ES crowds in DC. I've been there enough. They suffer the same problems as some in this crowd do. Too much testosterone, too much alcohol, too much group bravado.
Re: Re: Liberal PUKE I'm all for shoite talkin too. But you have a point and I see it clearly. I ain't gonna throw down tho. To quote Cedric THE Entertainer: I'm an old man, and I'm tired
Re: Re: Re: Liberal PUKE This coming from a guy who nearly knocked out a Pancho Villa lookalike in Jeonju