Dr. Gonzo Reporting,
How should one cover a game that had such a down home feel?
That was my dilemma as I approached the entrance to the stadium at the Maryland Soccerplex. With my press pass dangling from my neck, I had access to some of the best seats in the house; right on the fifty-yard line, but I needed more.
I needed to feel what it felt like to be with the fans, so I took my spot on the hill.
The air was just right and as the sun started it’s decent, the temperature became perfect.
I heard the insults hurled at the Fire goalie and the uncertainty in voices as the United defense struggled. I was there when Salvatore came in to the crowd banging his drum and I felt the passion when Jaime Moreno was fouled and a pack of rowdies almost jumped over the red and white rope that separated us from the stars of the game.
To me this was Soccer at it’s most pure, on a night when the crowd at the Soccerplex got way more excitement than anything else you can get for $25 dollars.
It’s no secret to MLS followers that DC United has one of the most passionate fan bases in the league. Right at the front of that charge sat the Barra Brava. The Barra Brava is an organized fan group that has meetings and tailgates before the game, has there own jerseys and are remarkably organized in their cheers (or attacks). It was no surprise to see the Brava with an entire section of the stadium seats occupied. The Brava and rest of the sell out crowd were in for a treat as these two heated rivals kicked off, for a place in the Semi-finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
In the first 26 Minutes, DC United was playing some lackadaisical defense. The defenders and keeper Zach Wells seemed to be on different pages. Instead of making obvious clearances of the ball, DC got cute and tried to one touch pass there way to safety. This style ultimately lead to the games first goal, when Wells came too far off his line and Fire defender Daniel Woolard chipped it over his head.
To start the second half United made two offensive substitutions. First Francis Doe was sent on to spark the United attack, and then in the 62nd minute the crowd at the Maryland Soccerplex erupted with chants of Jaime Moreno, the all time leading MLS goal scorer who would come off the bench and ignite the squandering DC attack.
With Moreno, Doe, Fred and Luciano Emilio now leading the attack it seemed inevitable United would even the score, but it would take much longer then expected. United continued to attack through the middle of the field, making Chicago’s job easy, crowd the box and clear everything. Everything went the Fires way until the 77th minute, when Emilio refused to quit on a ball that should have been cleared by defender Wilman Conde, Emilio got his body in front of the ball and the ball deflected to Moreno. Moreno sent a cheeky cross over the face of the Fire goal and Doe buried in to the left side of the net.
At this point in the night a much subdued crowd came to life, DC started to push the pace as soon as the sun went down and the bright lights began to shine overhead.
With the score tied 1-1, the faithful in Boyds, Maryland would be treated to two more periods of overtime. At the start of the first overtime, the Fire subbed in their star Cuauhtemoc Blanco, this move only irritated the already hostile DC crowd. Blanco is not only hated for being on the Fire, but he also played for the Mexican National team.
DC would strike early in OT off a corner kick by Moreno, which was deflected in by Brian Namoff. With a 2-1 lead, United subbed out Moreno for defender Gonzalo Peralta in hopes of securing the lead. The rest of the overtime sessions would get a bit chippy, and right before the end of the first OT period, both teams would lose players to red cards. A scrum, which ensued at midfield, led to two straight-reds one for Marc Burch and the other for Blanco. Seeing Blanco get ejected brought the crowd to a deafening roar, followed by chants of “Burch, Burch.”
DC eventually held on for the 2-1 OT victory and will advance to play another conference rival the New England Revolution in the Semi Finals.
Tuesday night seemed like the perfect statement to the people who oppose the building of a new stadium for the United. Being able to experience a tournament style game from the hill gave me a fresh perspective on how much passion this area has for soccer. Right now DC plays in front of crowds that range from 16-20,000 people, similar to the crowd at the Soccerplex, but RFK, their home pitch, holds upwards of 40,000. The emptiness of RFK eliminates the hostile atmosphere created by having the entire crowd literally on-top of the action.
With a cozier confine for the United to play in, they will gain more revenue and create an atmosphere where no opponent would feel comfortable. The crowd, and atmosphere at Boyds, Maryland on Tuesday seemed like the perfect blue print for a new stadium
