RFK Refugees.com Guest Writer Angus Long talks about his experience with the DCU Supporters Groups at DC United’s 2-1 loss against Philadelphia Union
Away days are an experience unlike any other in sports. The pilgrimage to a foreign land with a group of hardcore supporters is something every sports fan should experience once in their lives. I was lucky enough to participate in this ritual this weekend when I traveled up to Chester for DC United’s latest clash with the Philadelphia Union.
Most of you reading this know about how the game went by now, so I’ll do my best to be brief when talking about the game and focus on my own experience and that of the away supporters. For me and about 20 other members of District Ultras and La Banda del Distrito, our match day began at 1:30pm catching a chartered bus from Virginia headed north. The bus ride up set the tone for the night to come, and apart from one small hiccup where we accidentally forgot to pick up the organizer of the trip (sorry Chris…) the sold out bus arrived at Subaru Park where we met up with those who chose to drive themselves.
After a short tailgate, the group headed toward the stadium, meeting up with the Screaming Eagles, who had been tailgating with the Union’s primary supporters’ group, the Sons of Ben, along the way. A quick (and frankly useless) pat down from security is what greeted us as we entered the stadium. Where LBDD got the group going with a pre-match drum circle on the concourse beneath the stands. As kickoff drew near, we ascended the stairs to our fenced in and security surrounded section.
My first impressions of Subaru Park once in the stands was how small it felt. While only 1500 seats less than Audi field, the lack of a second level and the much more mellow slope of the grandstands did not make the stadium feel as imposing as it could have. The choice of section for away supporters was a very clear choice from the Union, once the Sun set the stadiums lights did not touch the corner of the stadium where we were located, attempting to remove us from the action and environment within the stadium.
As the game kicked off it was clear that we were not welcomed guests. Gone were the pre match niceties, replaced by insults and rude gestures. This sentiment was made even clearer with Sergio Santos 11-minute goal that opened the scoring for the Union. As the jeers and many “shushing” gestures rained down on us, the group of away supporters only seemed to get louder. I heard from someone after the game that the Union fans attempted to start a “we can’t hear you” chant which in the irony of the situation, we couldn’t hear.
Following the first half (which saw Adrien Perez enter the locker room on crutches), the tension between home and away supporters only grew. As it was clear we were not backing down and a 51st minute Yamil Asad penalty brought the game level, it was clear that security was becoming more involved in both our section and the section of Union fans to our right.
This is where things started to get out of hand.
We had been seeing lightning strikes on the horizon since the sun set. However, with 4 minutes left in the game, play was halted due to the proximity of the storm we had been seeing off in the distance for more than 45 minutes. The result of the rain delay has been documented well, Claudia Pagan posted amazing videos of us away supporters making the best of the rain delay by making noise and having a blast.
However, what you can’t see in these videos, are the security guards attempting to hold back multiple groups of Philly supporters on both sides of our away contingent. These fans were very confrontational, attempting to start fights before we were even brought under the stands once the game was paused. While under the stands, I saw 2 Union fans being escorted out in handcuffs and another escorted out by security (I personally could not verify if they were being restrained either). I now want to make this very clear; NO UNITED FAN WAS THROWN OUT BY SECURITY AT ANY POINT DURING THE MATCH OR AFTER.
Eventually, the word was passed to us by the Union security staff that the game had been cancelled and that they wanted us to exit the building. However it was clear that we were not comfortable walking out as the Union fans who had migrated over from the supporters section were still bearing down on us and the “exit path” security had carved out for us was not the way a majority of the group wanted to leave.
This is where my major gripe with the Union staff comes from. Upon entry, it was clear there were two barricades set up so away fans could be monitored entering or exiting the section of concourse they had set out for us. However, when the rain started coming down, security did nothing to prevent a flood of home supporters from passing through that barrier to come attempt to harass us. According to security this was because people needed to seek cover underneath the stands and that’s what these people were doing. However, this is just not true. The area a majority of these fans were occupying was an open space in the stands that separates the home supporters’ section from the away section meaning they we’re definitely getting rained on and not “seeking cover” under the stands.
Eventually enough space opened up for the group to head back to the bus. Once on the bus the mood never really dampened, only dipping once when we realized that the game was in fact not called off, but instead began to restart about 20 after we had been told it was cancelled.
As the bus trekked back to the DMV, making brief stops to send people on their way home, I began to reflect on the event I had just been a part of, the friends I had made and the experience I would never forget. A 12-hour trek that didn’t see me get home until 2am that I wouldn’t have any other way. Even though we lost (which was news to some who travelled up), the result didn’t really matter. What mattered was the camaraderie among us, and the bond that only an away day can form.