This is all a bit pathetic. MLS and it's fans need to grow up and realise that football is associated with tribalist passions that will not go away. That's part of why it is loved all over the world and dullard games like baseball are not. The sort of docile hotdog-munching bovines you see at usual american sports games are not the clientel. Soon it will have to be like every other country in the world: Separate supporters sections which are fenced off. Until then we should police our own people only when totally necessary.
You must not attend many American sporting events. If you did, you would find excited, knowledgeable fans everywhere, who don't have to start fights (though some do). Don't be snobbish about soccer.
I was there and he was off...waaaay off. I have to agree with the post that said the league wants Adu in the cup. I'm not a Metro fan or a conspiracy theorist, but I've noticed more than one dubious call against various teams that benefited DC and that was the only explanation I came up with (above and beyond the generally poor reffing in this league that is). Oh, and BTW...no matter how you spell it, Dema, Dima or Dipshit; Kovalenko is still a classless piece of crap that should have been thrown out of the league long ago. I swear one of the reasons Adu was sent to DC was so he wouldn't have to play against him. Whatever about the family thing and playing where his family lives, for the kind of money he's making, he could relocate his whole family and it would be well worth it to avoid a leg-breaking incident while going up against that lunatic.
I've been to many DC-Metro games at Giants Stadium over the years, and I've never had any problems. I've done the Screaming Eagles bus trip thing, as well as the NJ Transit bus from Port Authority (by myself, no less) thing, and seen wins and losses (maybe a tie, too, but I don't think so), and never been hassled, despite being decked out in United regalia. Then again, I've never done anything foolish, like wander through section 101 before, during, or after the game. As for the somewhat deserved reputation of DC fans as being a bit thuggish, at least part of that is the flip side of having a large, passionate group of supporters - the bigger the group, the more likely it is that you'll have a few idiots, and the more passionate the group about its team, the more likely it is that someone will lose their composure from time to time. Also, we drink a lot, which probably doesn't help. Oh well. The silver lining, I suppose, is that from what I can tell, the various parking lot incidents at RFK (like the infamous New England bottle-throwing incident) have not involved any members of the various organized supporters groups, who generally do a pretty good (though not perfect) job of policing themselves.
Thoughtful response, Ed. If you go looking for trouble, you'll probably find it, especially if alcohol clouds your judgement. There is no need for confrontation in the stands at soccer games (or elsewhere).