Major League Soccer Comes to SLO

Soccer is the most beloved sport in the world, with the exception of the United States. In this country, the sport isn’t as popular. While it is growing in popularity, there is still a wide variance in how people feel about the sport- a significant diversity of fansmanship. There are those that love soccer, and those who hate it. To paraphrase the late Mitch Hedberg, there are also people, like me, who think it’s OK.

The Earthquakes played the Rapids at Spanos Stadium Friday night

On Friday night, the San Jose Earthquakes “hosted” the defending Major League Soccer champion Colorado Rapids at Cal Poly’s Spanos Stadium, where this country’s variety of soccer fansmanship was on full display.

While soccer isn’t in my top three favorite sports, I consider myself a casual fan. With a professional game in town, I decided to attend the game with Nuge, who is more than a casual fan, and some of his friends.

A San Jose native, Nuge had a strong rooting interest in the game. Of the group, he was the only one, which is probably why his friends rooted so hard for Colorado. I was mostly ambivalent about the outcome of the preseason game. What was more important to me was the soccer “scene.”

Soccer fans generally come in a few types. You could think of them on a spectrum – maybe similar to a political spectrum one might see in a social studies class in high school.

The most extreme type is the radically intense fan. These are fans who have a single team and will chant, scream, yell, beat drums for 90 minutes, blow horns, wave flags, and even fight other fans to defend their team’s honor. This fan type comes a dime a dozen in Europe, but is pretty difficult to find in the United States. The closest thing we have in this country is Raiderfan or Nascar likes-to-fight guy. While there are pockets like these, the United States is largely hooligan-free in the world of sports-fansmanship.

The second-most extreme type is where Nuge falls. This soccer fan is the most admirable and dedicated of the bunch. This fan ranges from those who will travel to see their team play to those who see a large portion of home games consistently. These fans also may be vocal and excited during games because the game matters to them. They may also wave flags and play instruments without the flair for fighting. I fall into this category for the Dodgers, Lakers, Cal Poly basketball, and UCLA basketball.

Following the “actual” fans above, there are casual fans, like me with soccer. I enjoy soccer, but there are seasons that go by where I don’t have a clue. I asked an Arsenal fan last night if Cesc Fabregas was still on the team and whether Almunia was still their regular keeper (yes and no). Fans like me like to join in the scene, whatever the scene is. If it’s appropriate to be a crazy fan, screaming and making noise all game, then I’ll join in. I won’t, however, be the first to start a chant at a soccer game. Most of the parents of the kids playing at half-time of the game also fall into the casual fan category.

After the “casual” soccer fans, there are the folks who are there for the scene. My guess is that, in a city like San Luis Obispo, about a third to half of the fans at the game on Friday fall into this category. They are there because it’s an event in SLO on a Friday night. It’s at Cal Poly and it’s an opportunity to be at a once-a-year event that makes SLO feel a little bigger. This group is integral to selling enough tickets to draw major teams to SLO for a game.

Let me be clear, some of these reasons also influenced me going to the game on Friday. I enjoy a good event as much as anyone — probably more. But the difference is this: I know a little about soccer.

There was lots of soccer fansmanship at Spanos Stadium Friday night

An example of the conversation from the people behind me: “Didnt’ that guy foul that other guy? Why is the referee just shrugging his shoulders and letting the game go on? How was that not a foul?”

Another conversation: “Why are those guys on the sideline wearing those weird differently-colored jerseys?”

Of course, the first question was referring to the advantage rule. To the credit of the fans behind me, one fan was able to mostly describe the rule to another fan. To the credit of United States soccer, refs in this country have begun to use advantage more and more, allowing for more open and free-flowing play.

Aside from three or four free kicks and corner kicks, the Spanos Stadium crowd of almost 3,000 stayed at a strong murmur for most of the evening. People reacted to good plays, but in a distinctly mellow and mostly laid-back San Luis Obispo way.The Earthquakes are three hours away, but there wasn’t even really a pro-Earthquakes feel aside from Nuge’s anti-Colorado trash-talk.

The Earthquakes struck for the first and only goal on a penalty kick. The thing that I didn’t even realize until I looked it up, was that there were at least three or four players who have appeared for the US National Team in the past. In other words, the teams were playing their starters. I expected teams to play their second and third-string players throughout this exhibition in SLO. But both teams decided to bring out some of their “big guns” or at least big names.

Colorado’s roster included Conor Casey (taller than I thought), Marvell Wynne (whose foul led to the PK and goal), and Pablo Mastroeni (still seems like a hothead and doesn’t strike me as an overly heady player). San Jose, still rebuilding after restarting as a franchise, had Bobby Convey come off the bench. Did the fans realize that they were seeing a lot of each squad’s “A team?” I spent most of the night trying to figure that out.

It was clear that people around me were having a great time (whether they knew who they were watching or not) and the atmosphere was a happy one. Kids swarmed around the stadium, looking for a grassy area to play, watching the game, and generally having a great time. The kid in me got his hands on a pair of churros and a soda halfway through the second half. The relaxed crowd atmosphere allowed for kids to have a great time at this MLS game, which was probably the point, especially from the perspective of the MLS.

If soccer is to grow in this country, places like San Luis Obispo will be the front lines of this growth. Our city and country won’t ever be rife with hooligan fans. For those who think that hooligan fansmanship is a necessary part of a healthy soccer culture, you’ll be sorely disappointed at a game in SLO. For people, like me, who see one fan explaining the advantage rule to another as a sign of the growth of the game in the United States, Friday night was a definite step in the right direction. Go Galaxy! (Sorry Nuge, couldn’t help it).

owen@fansmanship.com

One more picture from Friday night. Gotta want it.