the war behind the war

I understand that a lot of my current work vis a vis dcs relates to the White Sox and the crowd @ various soccer games…………so, uh, since I did some Burelhe yesterday, here’s a soccer crowd one……. Went to a lot of real good games in the last month, and as much as the Chicago Fire and the U.S. national team should be center and front in my reporting, but every game it’s super hard for me to take my eyes and ears off of the people in the stands-- and not just the Kiera Knightly types.

My fascination with soccer crowds did not develop from my Manchurian cousins riffing on 1970’s English hooligans. It didn’t develop from my time as a child in the Chicago Sting years. Where it developed was going to Chicago Fire games and being attracted to that part of a Fire crowd that bills itself as Section 8 (link wiki). Section 8 (link official)is a group of fans who stand in one end zone and sing, clap, fly flags, chant, and do other interactive things throughout the game. The same thing goes on in European soccer games, but thousands sing and chant. With Section 8 (link Fire), it’s a very young crowd of about 1000 fans and they regularly show up for each game. This has been going on since the first game in 1998. I stood in Section 8 from that first game, and although I am a bit too old to stand standing for 90m these days, I still try leave my 50yd line seats to feel the old excitement. Saturday’s game -v- F.C. Toronto had me going to Section 8(link ewe) after halftime-there was a war going on!! But first…

I have written on Section 8 before highlighting the leaders from the old days. Those days were the “putting it all to-gether” days, where leaders would come and go, and the then-super leaders are still talked about today (and missed). The leaders were the ones who sttod in front of the rowd, with their back to the game, and incited the section to sing and sing LOUDER!! Section 8 back then had a deeply overwhelming Polish component to it. The first season featured two groups standing and cheering on each side of the south end zone- on the east side was the Americans, and on the west was the Poles. And what a site the Poles were back then : Fire games looked like a hard core punk show because of all the skinhead type Polish teens and 20year olds who dressed like they were the biggest fans of Minor Threat. And they didn’t just look militant- their cheers were shouted out and punctuated by choreographed fists and arms and clapping and salutes. They were also the first to employ smoke bombs and flares, a common theme that eventually got me arrested one nite. Very impressive.

The Fire’s second season the two sides got to-gether. This was the first I noticed who closely the Fire work with these people- they bring excitement to the crowd, and my guess is that team management got the two sides to-gether. Although Section 8 in those early seasons was dominated by the Poles, the youngsters have generally taken over. However, the same spirit of silliness remains. Nobody takes themselves terribly serious, so the 1000 or so in Section 8 are and have been given licence to be as goofy as they can. It’s the silliness that has 1000 kids turning out every game to sit in cheap seats to sing and going on field trips to near cities like K.C., Columbus, and Toronto. Section 8 has its web site, things to sell, board meetings, watching parties, etc… A feeling of comradary(sic) has developed over the years between the people. I mentioned earlier that I don’t usually stand in Section 8 anymore. Even in the first years, I would generally sit on the 50yd line and then join Section 8 @ half. However, I have two distinguishing marks. Game 1 I stood in Section 8. I’m a made man forever for that. And then there is my arrest record. Section 8 has a giant chip in that they have the “Myth of persecution”. Any attempts to lite fireworks and flares, like overseas, has always been met with a heavy security presence and arrests. The last game ever @ Soldiers Field, in 2005, the kids decided to snub their nose @ the stadium security. And lit up a tonne of flares. Instant pandemonium!! Smoke all over, security all over, and bits of bodies and flames everywhere. I saw a flag about to burn up and tried to put it out before it burned up- although security fabricated some outlandish wrong fake story about how I tried banner, presumably because I think they I thought it would be cool. Who security wanted was the ringleaders--the guys who planned the flare attack--but they arrested me as well. So, the boyos and I who spent the nite in prison always seek each other out, shake hands, and shoot the breeze. And its like that for all the Section 8 regulars.


Chicago Fire -v- Chivas USA (9 June)
Section 8 keeps up a steady din the whole game. Sometimes, if the acoustics are rite, they dominate all sound @ the stadium. Other times, they don’t. One of the games they didn’t dominate until well into the game was against the Los Angeles based Chivas USA. Chivas USA is an offshoot from that most popular of Mexican clubs, Chivas of Guadalajara. Chivas USA, reflecting the glory of its parent club, has attracted Mexican fans of Chivas to their games (smart marketing by someone). The Fire took on Chivas in front of a crowd of 20k+ that had a large and vocal - though scattered and unled- fan base. I always love these crowd battles, and this was a tough one in the beginning for the home side. Section 8 would have their chants and songs going, but anytime the chivas fans wanted to overcome them, they did- in a 10-15 second burst. They they would subside, and Section 8 would carry on unfazed. Constant singing, followed by temporary lulls as Chivas USA fans asserted themselves, then back to Section 8. As the game wore on, the 10 years of discipline and work shone through as Section 8 was able to start to dominate the crowd, and then the fire fans as a whole started to assert themselves. This game to Section 8.

Gold Cup Semifinals (21 June)
And then the international series started. The semifinals and finals of the regional soccer championship--called the Gold Cup, and featuring teams like USA, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, etc… When the mens national team plays, a group called “Sam’s Army” is the supporters group. They wear red, have their songs, and are somewhat fun. But there is a giant gulf betwixt Section 8 and Sam’s Army- where one group goes to, say 20-22 Fire games a year, my guess is that few of Sam’s Army go to more than a few a year. Not only does the USA not play that much, they also play all over the States; not in the same park like the Fire. Section 8 members know each other through the years; My guess is that Sam’s Army is not quite as tite. On Thursday it was semi finals time: USA -v- Canada, and Mexico playing minnow--no, make that algae- Guadalupe. This was the first time I have ever gotten to watch the US mens national team play in a game that counted, so I was very excited. The 50k+ crowd, however, was there to see Mexico. Sam’s Army was ok, but the discipline of section 8 was missing. They had cheers and songs, but usually they lacked. The USA had a decent following (more than just Sam‘s army), and the USA dominated the game, going up by two until in the 79th minute Canada scored. This set off a huge reaction in the Mexican crowd, and instantly insulted Sams Army. The Mexicans were probably just rooting for the underdog, but from here on out, Sam’s Army were the Mexican sides worst enemies, and boy were they vitriolic. The second game was Mexico -v- Guadalupe, one of the greatest mismatches in any major soccer tournament semi final I’ve ever seen. But the tiny Caribbean island kept the giant off of the scoreboard for most of the game. The Caribbean team had two sets of fans. One was Sam’s Army, newly minted enemies of Mexico. And they had their own fans there- a colorful, smiling, happy, dancing, drumming, congo line of Caribbean’s snaked their way into the 50yd seats rite before the 2d game. I really love that Caribbean music/dance, and was happy to soak it in for 90m. And so was Sam’s Army. They cheered for the little guys the entire game, which included clapping and dancing along with the drumming and having their own drummers try to math the beat. I couldn’t believe how ridiculous and funny it was, but in essence they were all kids, having fun. Mexico looked bad, but still won 1-0.

Chicago Fire -v- MKS Cracovia Krakow (22 June)
Each MLS team has 2-3 exhibitions a year. As many of Chicago’s Irish hail from Mayo (not the infinitely cooler Galway), Mexicans from Guadalajara, and Chinese from the south, many/most of Chicago’s Poles come from the area around Krakow. A lot do. So, it was an inspired choice to bring the local team for a game against the Fire. Again, in a repeat of the Chivas USA game, Fire fans were dominated by Polish fans at times, but it was Section 8’s discipline that carried the day. The Polish roar was loud indeed, but like the Mexican roar before it, Section 8 always marched though it and did not break note through to the other side.

Mite I add here, has there ever been a more beautiful race than the Polish people, unless of course it is the Mexican people? All these games were played in heat, which means that the women were wearing next to nothing through all of these games. I really developed………………an interest…………….in beautiful foreign women wearing soccer jerseys bizarrely too small for them……..no, not bizarrely………..just…nice.

Gold Cup Final (24 June)
The final, between the USA and Mexico, was great. 63k+ in Soldiers on a hot day. One would expect the crowd to be mainly Mexican, but against all odds, it was about 30% pro-USA. We expected a victory (Mexico HAS NOT SCORED ON THE USA IN THE USA FOR THE LAST EIGHT GAMES THEY PLAYED EACH OTHER- that‘s 8 games times 90 minutes, which equals 720 minutes-and the USA IS 10-1-1 IN THE LAST 12 GAMES THEY HAVE PLAYED EACH OTHER), and got what we wanted in the end. Sam’s Army was not able to keep up a racket --the Mexicans shouted them down generally when they wanted, especially after scoring the first goal. Many times the great “Meh- hee-ko/Meh- hee-ko/Meh- hee-ko” chant rang out. But the difference was that there was a very large minority rooting for the USA, and as the US evened and then went ahead 2-1, the crowd got more boisterous and loud and pro USA. Although Sam’s army didn’t have the same oomph!! that Section 8 brings to a game, it was great to hear loud and sustained cheers for the USA despite the ‘hostile’ arena. And yes, I did write ‘hostile’. This was maybe the 20th game I’ve been to where Mexico or Mexican sides played- and their behaviour always stuns me. This is not to say “All Mexicans are drunken brawlers” or anything like that, but Mexican fans put the brawlers @ Old Comisky to shame. Their specialty is the ‘thrown full cup of beer’. Again and again. From above onto the decks below. To a section of fans rows ahead. Or just in some guys face if a fight is breaking out. I saw a game in ’98 that featured Mexico -v- Argentina, and @ no moment was beer not flying through the air. I really felt sorry for anyone in an Argentina shirt. But maybe because a good of the percentage of the crowd were US fans, or it was played during the day, there were few fights. I saw many, but it wasn’t as I’d seen before- one long 90m fights. And after the game, there were no confrontations. People on different sides were even posing and taking pictures of each other. It was like a big party.

Chicago Fire -v- F.C. Toronto (7 July)
And then back to Section 8. F.C.T. is a brand new expansion teams that has been selling out (20k+) its newly built stadium. As for w-l’s, they started off their franchise in terrible fashion. They did not score in their first four or five games, until the Fire (resembling the White Sox, I always thought, though it may be better to compare them to the Bears- the Bears were the Vikings first win when they entered the NFL) played their first game against the expansion team- and lost 0-4. Section 8 had a large contingent for this game in Toronto. Saturday’s return match featured, for the fist time ever, dueling cheering sections. And Toronto’s was pretty good. They had a real nice section, maybe 400 strong, and since they had the discipline, they were able to run through songs and cheers and not be put off by Section 8. There was the crazy scene as one end zone rang out in one song, and the other end zone sang to a different beat. This must be how it is in Europe for most games (true to the games I have been to in England and France), but I’d never seen it here. As I stated above , I was gifted a sideline seat to this game and I enjoyed the views/sounds from the 50yd line, but I wasn’t going to miss being a part of Section 8 for this duel and went over @ halftime. Section 8 was up to the task, realizing they had to shout down the Canadians in their home field. They had one great new song-well, a hum-that went on for minutes and I’d never heard before. And they also had my favourite moment this year. The Fire went up 1-0 on a penalty in the 70m, and that set off the wobbling, jumping, screaming Section 8. These days, instead on one leader doing the whole game, the various Section 8 groups (there is a Section 8 ‘umbrella’ that has various factions in it-think, in a great comparison, to the “People’s Front of Judea” -v- the “Judeans People’s Front” ) have their own leaders who lead the entire Section of 8 in turns. It maybe be time for a change every 15-20m, and another groups leaders take over. When the Fire went up 1-0, it temporarily threw the Toronto cheering section for a loop. One of the leaders (who was arrested with me) barged to the leaders pulpit, begged to have the 'pulpit' out of turn, was given it, and turned one arm to Section 8 and the other @ the Toronto fans and started the classic kiss off soccer song : “Your not singing/Your not singing/Your not seeeeeeeeeeeeeenging anymore/Your not singing/When we’re winning/Your not singing anymore”. I realized that the establishment of Section 8 in the late 90’s had finally born full fruit: We were finally able to taunt another full cheering section in our own stadium. ‘Course, they scored in the 78m and were able to walk out of the place singing, but that’s ok. That was the last T.F.C game in Chicago this year, but I did start to think……..man, it’d be nice to catch the Fire in Canada later this month………….