Columnist Nick Green has written 100 Percent Soccer
since 2005. A
native of England, he began writing about soccer in
the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat
in the stands for one in
the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home
Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas
USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer.
Married to a long-suffering soccer widow, he has a cat
named Pele.Why One Local Galaxy Fan Won't Attend Tonight's Game
Bumped into fellow Galaxy fan Mike Adams at my local watering hole Friday where conversation inevitably turned to soccer and today's game.
Mike made some good points I've been dismayed to hear more often of late and I asked him to put his thoughts down on paper (as it were). Hopefully, Home Depot Center management is taking note:
Today is the big intercity rivalry between the Galaxy and Chivas USA.
Though I'm excited about the match and the Home Depot Center is only 10 minutes away from my house, I will also be sure to watch it from my couch or at my local pub.
The crowd that attends the Galaxy-Chivas USA game too often crosses the line with their conduct.
I'm a sports fan raised in Torrance, and have long enjoyed taking in local live events
I've had Lakers season tickets for 10 years, and attend Dodgers games regularly.
I was raised on football and baseball, but my wife, Michelle, and I have discovered that nothing beats sitting back at Home Depot Center with a cold beer and enjoying a good soccer match.
The atmosphere in the stadium is great, and there are people of all ages rooting on their team with intensity.
We've had Galaxy seats for the past couple of years, and have seen some great games. The excitement and fan banter was second to none when the Galaxy played Chelsea and Scotland's Rangers last year, and also during many of the hard fought matches during SuperLiga.
Unfortunately, there have been a few matches that have erased our good feelings about the experience, namely Galaxy-Chivas USA games, as well as the Galaxy-Pachuca match.
We have found that there is group of fans that attend these matches that want to take their fanship to another level and take it as a personal affront if you root against their team.
Last year we took two friends to their first live soccer match vs Pachuca after telling them how family friendly the Galaxy games were, and encouraged them to take their kids to future matches.
But then the pro-Pachuca fans in the crowd were in their faces screaming insults within 10 minutes of taking our seats.
We were challenged to fights multiple times, and when we didn't get involved, they would fight amongst themselves.
I believe we witnessed more than five ejections from our seating area.
The Chivas USA matches were the same.
Drunken fans, with their insulting comments, exhibited generally aggressive behavior.
There were too many fights with too many people throwing things.
Wearing a Galaxy jersey to the games makes you a mark for a challenge to fight or as a target of beer and other flying items.
I am all for being a diehard fan for your team and mixing it up respectfully with those around you, but I don't attend the matches to get in fights or have things thrown at me.
So here's to enjoying this great rivalry with a cold beer in hand - from my couch.
Comments
Two thoughts:
1) They need to separate away fans. Easy. It also makes people more vociferous when they are with like-minded fans. Better atmosphere.
2) This is a very LA point of view. I grew up in Chicago and you EXPECT to have things thrown at you if you are wearing a team shirt no matter what sport. It doesn't stop families from coming they just know where to sit and what areas to avoid in the parking lots, etc. I've seen more fights at Wrigley Field than the MGM Grand Casino has ever thrown and yet that place is packed every game like no other stadium in baseball. Management just needs to know how to separate people and make some area more desirous to the loudmouths and others more attractive to families. Simple. The Chicago Fire do it by making the fanaticos sit in the Section 8 (118) end and the away fans are made to sit on the stage end. There are also two different doors for the fanaticos to walk in and the 'regular' fans. The parking is bisected also.
Posted by: papa bear | April 26, 2008 6:57 PM
Mike replies to the previous comment:
Good points.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the back and forth with fans of the opposing team, and am definitely a vocal fan.
Maybe I'm mischaracterizing what I mean by taking it too far. And I guess I'm as naive as the Home Depot Center people in my thinking that perhaps people can control themselves and understand where crossing the line is, instead of having to segregate them.
I can't let you off with the L.A. point of view comment.
Way too cliche.
All of my family still live in St Louis and Chicago. I go the the Cards/Cubs series every year at Wrigley, have seen Dodgers games there (wearing a jersey) and have worn a Raiders jersey at Soldier Field for Bears Vs. Raiders.
Fans give it to me mercilessly throughout the game, but shake my hand or buy me a beer by the end of it.
And I wouldn't have it any other way. Galaxy Vs. Chivas is not the same.
But it was a great match for the first hour or so.
Posted by: Mike | April 27, 2008 12:13 PM