SI Article on DC United's Barra Brava

Article is one....long.....slow...velvet-mouthed BJ......

 

There will be no rematch. The Rapids can't do much when it matters. Oh they'll take points off of you here and there (0-1-1...woo-freakin-hoo), but when it's prime time they suck. IF (and that's a HUGE IF) they get past Landy Cakes and Co, I just don't see them getting past the Dynamo. Sorry guys, it's just how this HUMBLE United fan sees it.

And by the way I made a reference to the Rhinos cause that's one of the two times you've come close to glory and sadly enough it looks like things are shaping to stay that way for a while...for a while. Oh and we all know what happened the other time...

We are in a mid season funk (rather have it now than a next month, IMHO), we'll sort it out, we'll get Donnet, we'll get that spark again (me feels the red stools have helped us out in that regard...man you gotta love a reliable slump-buster)...then let's see you bring that that 4-3-3 nonesense our way again. Don't get any ideas in your head, waterboys, you are not rival material.

Like I said, nothin but DAP for the middle tier.

 

You've been in a mid-season funk since May 6th? Wow, that's more than a funk and the Eastern Conference must be worse than I thought.

Lots of pretty talk there, but it doesn't change the fact that you still haven't beaten us this year.

 

I thought the "real club" was in Utah.

 

Your envy is sublime.

 

Now the question is, why can't the league, with its entire advertising budget, promote itself as well as Grant Wahl indirectly promotes the league in one article? If you're some random Joe somewhere in the U.S., what's going to be more effective at pulling you into paying attention to MLS? That article? Or ten doses of those fscking "Embrace The Colors" commercials?

 

Serious question and one I'd like to hear some banter on-

Would DC United support be the same if:

They hadn't won so much in the early days of the league, particularly in 96 and 97.......

If they weren't placed front and center in the stadium......

The Freddy factor (the least important in this list).

I wonder if you place DC's team in NJ or Columbus or Dallas if there wouldn't have been a similar level of success off the field, in the stands......

Just thinking out loud here, and this takes nothing away from the fact that DC brings it, home or away, winning or losing, every game.

SB

 

MLS must learn to celebrate its fans. That little commercial for USL now playing on FSC is more exciting than just about any MLS commercial. The scene of the USL fans singing and jumping up and down? That's free. It's what soccer fans do. And it's exciting.

 

I don't think the Freddy factor matters at all to the folks in the supporters' groups at DC. The other two, well, there's no question they have helped/help; but I don't think they're the biggest factor (indeed, there's a group of people in the Barra who, if-and-when we ever do get a stadium, want to move from midfield to behind a goal). But I think the "front and center" point does relate to a more significant factor overall, which is the relationship the supporters' groups have had with the team front office. At times (and through no fault of your own, as far as I know), you folks up there have seemed to have an almost adversarial relationship with the Metro F.O. and the NJSEA; that prevents you from doing things that woulud add to the atmosphere, recruit members, increase the enjoyment of casual fans watching, etc. I remember reading some Crew supporter posts from last year in which it seemed like their F.O. was more or less indifferent to them -- not actively hostile, but not really caring about them either. The D.C. front office, like Chicago in the Peter Wilt era (I have no knowledge of how things are for them now), has always treated the supporters' groups really well, in countless ways on countless occasions, both creating good situations and helping to eliminte/defuse bad ones (cf. the Barra's issues with CSC that came to a head last year). This helps the supporters' groups thrive.

 

The 113th Brigade refers to the section the Screaming Eagles were in during '96 and '97. Section 113. They didn't move to midfield until '98.

 

I saw nit, you say pick. Nit....

 

Just pointing out the fact that

"They hadn't won so much in the early days of the league, particularly in 96 and 97......."

and

"If they weren't placed front and center in the stadium....."

do not intersect.

 

Fine, lets extend DC's reign of dominance to 1999, their third title.

 

What I meant was that you shouldn't be bragging too much about winning (or tying for that matter) against European teams when those games are nothing but publicity stunts for the MLS. It is good that MLS hosts these games but nothing to go beating your chest about.
And I know that the it wasn't the Argentinian players that founded the Barra but I am sure that DCU had Erpen and Gomez at least talk to Donnet about all the positives vibes shown in the article so that after his transfer to Banfield fell through, going to DCU was not such a bad idea as the media in Argentina made it out to be.

 

Let's extend the reign of dominance to < fatboy slim > Right Here, Right Now < /fatboy slim >

 

Well, you see, I was replying in a joking manner to another person's post (with a at the end). He said that the DC fans would be insufferable after that SI article was published. Insufferable...meaning that the DC fans would beat their chests and brag about their success. I, in turn, made a joke by saying that DC is so great because we beat/tied big European clubs in friendly matches (an "insufferable" act). You either totally misunderstood the joke...or don't get the jist of the at the end of the post.

 

I do, and hope that this is a shot across the bow of FO's around the league. Supporters of soccer teams are not what they are of most other professional franchises in my opinion.

They are more than just ticket holders and numbers on a balance sheet.

 

Both actually...Completly over my head. My bad.

 

I moved to DC in 2000, from North Jersey.

Never supported NY/NY MetroStars, although I went to more than a few games.

Sat in the Barra my first game at RFK, never looked back.

So I think the answer to your question is yes.

Thx,

Jay!

 

1. The arrival of Adu has had no impact on the supporter's groups. Definitely led to more national TV/cable coverage and initially more casual fans and probably more media deals (with him wearing a DCU uniform). But again, this is an example of how BB is so different from many supporter's groups. Other than some deification of Etcheverry and Moreno (for obvious reasons--founders, great players, staying power, championship results, helping to start BB), BB (and also SEs) is about the club and not the players. I know for none-DCU fans it's common to believe that Adu is somehow responsible for success away from the field for DCU but that ignores what Kevin Payne is, the role Arena played. Before Adu got here, Peter Wilt talked repeatedly about how he closely followed and talked with the DCU operations and marketing and administrative folks, viewing them as the standard for the rest of the league (and how DCU was eager and willing to share with others).

2. As someone else pointed out, the Screaming Eagles were originally not in the middle of the field. And La Norte (prior to arrival of the Nationals) weren't even on the sidelines--they were behind the North Goal (where they could thrown confetti and hurl insults at opposing GKs). The biggest reason (I think) that the supporters groups moved to the middle of the stadium was b/c of RFK's unique metal stands so standing supporters could jump and the entire set of stands would move as much as 2-3 feet (creating an impressive experience both on that side of the field as well as the opposing side).

3. The stadium (and fan group placement) has very little to do with the success of BB. I think there are a number of stadia in MLS that are better at holding in noise and rewarding fan enthusiasm than RFK.

4. Did early success have some impact? Difficult to tell. I remember what blew me away was how DC United led the league in attendance in the year we finished either last or second to last (Rongen's second year as coach). I think if it was just about "win some titles and fans come" than you'd still the Dynamo wouldn't be in Houston but still in SJ and KC wouldn't be rumored to be moving to Philly. Look at the late-SJ specifically: 2 titles in 3 years with a marque American player (Donovan)--that's clear proof that getting fans is more than just having a big-name player and some success for a few years. B/c ultimately the kind of energy and passion that BB provides is more than just about a fair-weather fan (ie: win some games and they get excited) or a big name player (b/c there aren't many of those in MLS and they aren't here very long).

 

I dont' think the placement of the fans or Adu has had a lot of influence over the success of DCU.
I do think that the early winning did make all the difference in the world. DCU would not be DCU if it wasn't for the early championships, it creates the swagger that players and fans have and the strong dislike (not to say hate) of other teams' fans. It also creates a tradition, the players of today will be forever compared to those early players (see Arena's comments) and pride is a strong motivational force. Ofcourse management and talent have a lot to do with it as well.

 

I don't know about that. Sometimes I think it may come down to the people who originally started the groups. In Columbus I think part of the problem has to do with people not being comfortable with the "Drunk Frat boy" vibe of the V-Army. I just think they don't come off as very inviting to new prospective members.

It seems that from the start that the Barra Brava were very open and friendly to new people.

Success my well play a part in the size of DC's supporters groups but it doesn't even come close to telling the whole story.