Attrition

Nice nite to catch a soccer game last Saturday when I went to see the Fire play Chivas U.S.A. in Toyota Park. There was a buzz throughout the crowd of 20,400 till the end of the game. The sell out crowd was a soccer knowledgeable crowd that knew enough to cheer an important corner late in the game. Unfortunately, both teams looked dead and play was uninspired. A mistake by a Fire played left Chivas score in the 79thm. However, it got me to thinking several things.

MLS is trying hard to attract the Latino market after ignoring it for many years. This year MLS is back on Spanish language tv after an absence of many years. Latin players, most noticeably the Fire’s Mexican star C. Blanco, are coming to the league. And then there’s the case of the Fire’s opponent, Chivas USA. Based in L.A., it is owned by the Mexican club Chivas of Guadalajara. It seems to be good marketing. Chivas is wildly popular in Mexico and the USA . Some of this good will has spilled over to Chivas USA. --they had a lot of road support Saturday. There were a lot of Mexican jerseys and flags in the crowd, and many cheers were for Chivas. They have gotten great crowds in L.A., and bring out supporters of Chivas of Guadalajara on the road. Good for MLS.

A second thing. This roving Chivas-Chivas USA crowd dueled with the Fires’ Section 8 , and despite the 0-1 loss, Section 8 stood up to the test. Section 8 is a section of fire fans who stand and chant and sing throughout the game, European soccer crowd style. They stand behind the north goal, in what they’ve dubbed the Harlem Stands (‘euro’ inflection again) and keep up a continual racket during the game. It’s always amusing to this American and further unique to Chicago’s sports scene. Part of the fun of a Fire game is to see what mood Section 8 is in.

Chivas USA fans would be able to drown out Section 8 songs when they wanted to in the beginning of the game. They have a repeated “Chivas clap clap clap Chivas clap clap clap Chivas clap clap clap” chant. After raising to huge volume, it eventuallu died down, and you would hear Section 8 emerge on the other side of the sound surge. Eventually, Scetion 8 was able to move ahead in this battle of attrition. By the 65m, they were singing confidently. By the 70m, they were able to shout down Chivas USA fans with their own repeated chant. Finally, sensing their power, in the 72m Section 8 led the whole stadium in fire chants. This war od attrition won would have continued until the end whistle, but for the Chivas USA winning goal in the 79m. That let out a giant roar that was unparalleled for strength the whole nite. But the home crowd--sad as it is to write this-- was able to hold their own.

A third thing. Ante Razov, all time Fire scoring leader returned to play against the Fire. He hasn’t played for the Fire in a while, but he scored a lot of goals for the team. Although it doesn’t have the history of the National League, but this is the MLS’s 12th year. It’s been around a long time now. Many players who first started playing in the league are now reaching retiring age. MLS has hung around a long time. MLS has had a great deal in lifting the U.S.’s prominence in the soccer world, and it’s good to see nice things happening for the league this year.