Points that have been proven: - Some jackass skinheads started something with Metros fans at this game and others - Metros fans have started shit with DC fans before when we travel to the Swamp From this point forth any posts not pertaining to this incident will be deleted. I am not letting this thread turn into a sess pool of complaints about prior treatment. There is a serious issue on the table that needs to be addressed and that is what this thread is about - no more, no less.
Well, La Norte is not sufficiently large to be confused about it's membership. I think we have long since settled as fact that these guys are not La Norte. That drum has been banged long enough, now. I agree completely. You guys would be much more persuasive if you could set aside your desire to pin this on a supporters group as a means to gain some moral superiority over DC fans. It seems that a group of sociopaths is simply using DC United as a cover for criminal assault. In that view, the group 'victims' is large. The foremost victims and those most deserving of our sympathy are the people who were beaten. But La Norte and DC United can also be termed victims because their good names are sullied in the aftermath of the criminal activity, and a lot of you are falling for this diversion. This group seems to take advantage of the disarray to shift blame from themselves to DCU and La Norte. They should be arrested and prosecuted and the victims of the violence, DCU and La Norte should be as helpful as they can be to the police.
There's plenty of pics and video. Security and the police were talking to the guys who had it yesterday before we left. I was on the bus with Frieslander. He had a nice sized gash but seemed to be ok. I didn't see a guy being taken away in an ambulance though. I'm sure charges will be pressed and I'm sure the pics will all be up in the next day or two.
Exactly - Dc United needs to get with DSEC/DC Police/whoever and identify these guys and ban them from the property - not just inside the stadium, but the lots as well. Banned as in: they show up and are arrested for trespassing.
I know exactly the folks that you are talking, but don't know the names of these folks...they do sit in La Norte, but don't know if they are members (I hightly doubt they are). They show up to games to throw the tp and streamers but never contribute and even heckedled us for yelling at people for taking the stuff out of our area (we try to contain it to our area, since most folks take liberty to throw the stuff whenever they feel like it, and than we get in trouble). I personally don't like any of them I think they should just go away. BTW, walking to our seats prior to kick off - why did you the red bull fans have to rip our dc united flag(s) off the poles, no need for it. That was totally not cool and not needed. I even would like to know why would one of the fans from your section come directly to our section? Not a smart move on his behalf. And more, why would the front office of dc united allow these fans almost direclty behind us? Wrong move and I will write the front office. I don't like it, and if this continues I will not go to any more dc united/red bull games for fear of my safety and my childs I will watch the game from the safety of my liviing room. Upon exiting the stadium, I went down to another exit just to leave safely because of the lack of control of the red bull fans. I come to these games to have fun and enjoy everything, not to have my flags ripped apart and fearing for my families safety.
Does anyone know if there were any proper arrests or if a complaint issued (MPD give you a business card with a complaint number on it)?
No arrests. Don't know about complaints but Corey was given a business card with an officer's # on it. That I know for sure.
If these jackasses are going to be banned from RFK, then the RBNY folks need to take steps to get them banned from GS and Harrison too. I was at GS in October for the DCU/Metro game, and I saw the baby arm guy and at least two of his skinhead cronies with him. I didn't witness any violence, but it's pretty clear that that's the name of their game, and so they need to be banned from all MLS stadia, and especially RFK and GS.
I'm sorry that such things happened in our house. I will be careful, but I still will do what I can to end this kind of ridiculous violence which gives a bad name to all the fans. I have no problem at all with informing NJSEA of my intentions, and if necessary I'll take photos of the security thugs too. I appreciate the reaction of the vast majority of the DC fans here, and thank you for allowing me to post on your boards.
maybe this will help bring this to a close. i just got a call from dcu. the mpd/rfk have video and still photography of the incident. the imagery is being analyzed now. mpd will arrest anyone seen punching, kicking, etc. anyone who has punched or kicked is now banned from rfk. this should be the end of the story.
EDIT, big time, based on the photo and R&B's post. I'll keep this: * The goal of everyone reading should be to out these guys and make sure they're not welcome at RFK. This kind of shit will KILL THE LEAGUE. Too much of the fan base (existing, but mainly potential or newbies) will be completely turned off by this kind of stuff. All it takes is one game where a parent sees this kind of stuff and guess what, not only do their kids never come back, but that then becomes the topic at Johnny or Suzy's next MSI game, and then you have an entire team, Hell, an entire neighborhood, that doesn't go to games. And if you think I'm being hyperbolic, you need to spend some more time out in the 'burbs.
I'm pretty sure all of the Salvadoran fights (1996-1998) forced a ton of suburbanites to stay home, many for good. More battles like this will hurt attendance in the long run. That said, I was about to throw down when I saw the old Foggy Bottom stand has been converted into a Miller Lite stand.
So these skins buy tickets from the gate or something and just sit behind LaNorte? Or do they purchase tix from LaNorte?
This has got to be some kind of record. I sent an E-mail to customerservice@dcunited.com and within minutes I had a reply from Stephen Zack. I've sent him my brief overview of the incident and he says they're on it. It will do for everyone who saw something to report it and if you see these guys at games in future to let security and United know. I think keeping security and RBNY aware of these mooks is a great idea.
They usually come late to games, after we've closed our booth. A couple have, on occasion, bought tickets from us, but those guys also are not the type to get involved with any trouble. As I said before, I don't speak to any specific facts about this game, as I wasn't there. Sachin
They buy tickets in the section. A lot of them have been there since before La Norte existed. La Norte does not have tickets for every seat in the section.
Re: Can La Norte explain something to me? I didnt find it funny I had mutants attacking me, and on any other day I would've broken a nose but was busy shielding my kid. Oh well, hope they arrest his ugly mug.
Sorry to hear that this kind of crap has happened - again. Hope that charges get pressed, perpetrators get banned, and those attacked are ok. I can empathize somewhat with the NY guys that got attacked, having gotten punched in the face by a Metros 'fan' on one of the early Screaming Eagles road trips up to Giants Stadium. A couple of us got jumped by a group of wannabe hooligans on the way out of the stadium, who were quite possibly ESC'ers. Of course they may not have been and I have no way of knowing whether they were, just like no-one knows for sure if Sunday's perps were La Norte or not. My feelings then and now are that ESC are not responsible for every dickhead in Giants Stadium who starts stuff with visiting fans. In the same way I think it is not terribly helpful to accuse groups like Barra and La Norte of encouraging or not doing enough to discourage violent behavior, in these situations. The guys who organize these groups, just like the ones who organize ESC, have enough to do without having to vet their membership and control their members behavior. What does 'member' mean anyways in these groups ? AFAIK for La Norte 'membership' just means buying a ticket in their section. How are they supposed to stop some brainless skins from buying tickets there and taunting Metro's fans ? Ditto with BB. The reality is that with 700 or so Metro's fans at RFK it is almost inevitable that there would be some potential for trouble. To me the main issue is that the stadium security and, to be fair, the clubs, need to focus more on keeping fans separate at all times, ie not just when the games are on. That means : police escorts to and from the bus, more security around the away fans areas to nip any taunting/violence during the game in the bud, maybe more thought given to where the visiting fans stand so they are further away from our supporters groups areas. I don't think it is either fair or realistic to put the burden of controlling what is essentially hundreds of pumped up fans , many of whom are likely under the influence of something, on the shoulders of the supporters group leaders. Having said that, since the supporters group leaders do understand the issue probably better than anyone else, maybe they can take the lead to work with the clubs and suggest ways to try to solve this problem. Also, its understandable in the circumstances, but Metros fans should cut back on the holier than thou attitude. Stuff happens at Giants Stadium when we go up there, stuff happens at RFK. Its kind of tough to generalize about which group gets it worse, especially if you are just looking at it from the perspective of one incident. Lets just say both sides are equally bad and try to figure out how to solve the problem.
Enough is enough WRT these hoolie wannabes. It's not like this is new. They've been trying to attack away fans for years. It's time for lifetime bans and arrests.
Re: Can La Norte explain something to me? Location, location, location. RFK just isn't as big as the Swamp and thus you all get put up in one of the sections near our fans. With the baseball configuration we have to open the upper decks to get 24,000 in the stadium. The Swamp, on the other hand, is cavernous. MLS really isn't prepared for away supporters because of the distance involved in travel from one MLS city to another. In Europe, everyone has a special section set aside for the away supporters. At PSG it's a plexiglass cage....two sides and the top of the area are covered by plexiglass. If I were the DC ticket folks, I would have put you all in the upper deck away from the railing, over the gap that used to the North end of the stands.