I am curious how many DC fans there are like myself, who live far away from the team, yet still root for them. I live in Alabama, have my whole life, but became a follower of all things DC United about two years ago.
Obviously the dude has class, Matt, why else? I have friends in Huntsville, where in Alabama are you?
I'm pleased he chose DCU, but I'm curious as to why. Was it the tradition, the trophies won, some particular player, etc....
I trace my support to Nick Rimando...but shortly after actually caring about the team, United>Rimando
It was much more mundane for me. The moment the team was announced, they were my home team. That's it. I'm lucky we've always had a competent and engaged FO, and that we've won a lot of trophies, but I'd be a fan of the team even if they'd been run like the Metrostars, just because they're my local team. Boring, no?
Not in your case. How many fans get to be there from the very beginning of their team? Weren't you sort of involved even before they had a name and a logo and stuff?
i was born and raised in georgia and i started following united in 2002. i can actually pinpoint the exact moment-- sep. 19th. at the time, i was a casual fan who paid attention to the usmnt and had watched most of the televised mls games on espn2 since around 2000, regardless of who was playing. but this game changed all of that. it was actually the last game of the season and we were playing the burn. it was raining heavily, half the crowd had already left the stadium, and moreno was playing in what seemed like tremendous pain (come to find out it was the back problem that nearly ended his career and was responsible for his exile in new jersey the following season). and although the team was horrible, sitting in last place, and playing a meaningless game against a team that had already qualified for the playoffs, they fought like mad to get a win that never came. we lost a heartbreaker in overtime 3-4. somehow though, none of this seemed to faze the little section of hardcore fans at the fifty yard line who would not stop bouncing and cheering despite being surrounded by thousands of empty orange seats. so, i was hooked. simple as that.
Born and raised in Gaithersburg, MD. Mom was Asst. Press Secretary for Mrs. Nixon and left before he got in trouble and became Deputy Press Secretary at DOE. So I could give you a guided tour of any museum in DC except for the new Native American museum. Left for college two years after the inagural year. Now I am stuck in Cowtown Columbus, OH. Can you tell I miss the DC Metro area?
Back in '96 the week before the first MLS season, some of my fraternity brothers and myself picked up a copy of USA Today that detailed the league, the teams etc. We all decided to support DC United because the rest of the team names and colors just sucked. I know thats a lame reason to support a team 500 miles away, but thats what we did. '96 turned out pretty well for us I might add. After that season I was hooked. I think there are still some United supporters back in Clemson.
I was born and raised in the DC area, been a fan since 96, went to the first game at RFK, but didn't really get "hardcore" about the team till I got out of the Marines and moved back east.
Jeez i remember that crappy game, seemed that year we ALWAYS lost in OT... Good for you for being inspired by it - embarrassingly I think i just went home and kicked the dog. (JK)
Born and raised in California and when the league started a bunch of friends and I would always go to SJ Clash/Quakes games (I have always hated the Gals) but halfway through the 96 season I secretly started a love affair with United. Then when I moved here in 2004 my dear friend United_Caps_Fan took me to RFK for the 2nd home game of the season (there was a Caps game during the home opener that year) and I was completely hooked. When I eventually move back to CA I'll be in the stands with Knave cheering on United!
I've been following the USMNT for more than 20 years now. When the league started back in 1996, several of my favorite US players joined DCU and I was hooked. I just got lucky that DCU has a tradition of winning. Everytime they come to SoCal, I catch the team in action. I keep hoping to actually making it out to RKF, and am aiming to make it to the home opener next season! Scott San Diego, CA
I live in DE now, moved last year from VA, about a 100 miles from DC. I started following DC during the down years, because i could watch them on comcast. bacame a huge fan of olsen after his comeback from the ankle surgery, got to meet him in 2003. Been a huge fan since, saturday night has been a huge night with me and my three boys watching United and enjoying the beautiful game. win lose or draw.
Native Richmonder (VA), had seen a few USMNT games and knew the names, geographical location (115 miles south), and somewhat of an accident attending my first game at '97 home opener were the beginning of it for me. I was instantly hooked and have only missed a string of games in early '99 when I was hiking for a few months on the Appalachian Trail. Thank God we've got a good crew of fans in this town to carpool with.
I live in michigan. I use to live in philly and my aunt lived around dc so i went there a lot. DC is a great place and i wanna live there so thats y.
It's a sorta odd way I became a DC fan. I'm 27 now, but when I was a young teen the league just started up and I was kinda interested but this was longe before I had any access to internet and be able to talk to anyone who cared about soccer. At that time I decided to be a Mutiny fan but was never really able to follow the sport and I gradually faded away from watching it and only followed USMNT. Just about two years ago to the day, I read an article on ESPN's page 2. It was another one of those I'm not a soccer fan but I'm gonna try it articles. They were going to follow the Premier League for a year and he had listed every Premier league team and compared them to an American Sports franchise so we the readers could figure out what kinda team they were. Is was pretty interesting. He chose to follow Tottenham Hotspur and followed them throughout the year and so did I. Well, felling patriotic, I starting thinking why keep such interest in a foreign team and not a local one. I knew the Mutiny were gone, so I chose a team from scratch. Now I should note that I am a graphic designer, so I love looking over uniforms, logos, etc. and this was how I decided my team. DC has the most bad ass logo and uniform. It is by far the most aggressive and mean and I love it. I started following them last year and by the start of this year I am really getting familiar with the league, players, etc. The only thing that sucks is that in Birmingham, AL, there is NO ONE I know who give a crap about MLS. So it takes a while to get really educated on the league, but I am finally getting there. I still haven't seen our team play, just RSL vs Houston in Salt Lake City during a business trip. So I have a weak spot for RSL. What's funny is that Houston was staying in my hotel and they gave me a hard time for wearing a DC jersey when I rode in the elevator with them....
Of all the teams to follow, I've kind of bounced around in thought before making my mind and actually giving a crap about a team. At first I thougt Columbus because I was born in Cleveland and there's a mild association there, then I thought Chicago (when Josh Wolff was there) because I played against him in high school (HA! I know I know, we've all got stories like that), but then I watched the DC games and fell in love with them because of the Screaming Eagles and the Barra Brava. I thought to myself, "What a crazy bunch of people. I want to go and spend an afternoon with those crazy bunch of people." Plus it didn't hurt that DC was winning a whole bunch and having lived in Atlanta for most my life, they are the most regionally close team, more or less. I still haven't made it to a game, but I will one day. Oh yes. I will.