So right now the New England Revolution are having some issues with their supporters groups that collectively sit in the section known as "The Fort." At issue, according to the club anyway, is the chant of three words that they use to taunt opposing 'keepers. This came to a head against the Fire. Several fans sitting outside The Fort complained to security about the most vulgar word of the three, and this lead to confrontations between the supporters and Revs Security/Local Police. One supporter was arrested and one put in protective custody.
Wednesday night, the team held a meeting with the supporters group for two hours to address the issue, and it seems like it might have done more harm than good. The team wants the chant either stopped or altered to remove the vulgarity. The supporters object to the way they've been treated by the Revs front office, what they perceive as an overreaction by security and police, and the club's misunderstanding of supporter culture.
I'm going to comment on this some because my friend Rick and I witnessed a similar incident at Real Salt Lake's US Open Cup match on Tuesday. When RSL started to attack the North goal in the second half, where our season tickets are, one of our Supporters Groups, Salt City United, switched sides to harass the Wilimington 'keeper. This was just fine with us. I'm generally of the opinion that most fans in our section are too prudish anyway. Well, they had a chant that featured the word "feck." That sounded a bit too much like the F word for some people in adjacent sections, and they complained to Rio Tinto security. The situation was handled very professionally. Security spoke to one of the heads of Salt City, the supporters talked it over, apologized to the folks around them and returned to their previous section where they could continue their chants without offending anyone. Rick and I, along with several more vocal supporters that regularly sit in our section shook hands with them and they invited us to come sit with them anytime.
Obviously this worked because Salt City was more mindful and less in your face about the situation than patrons of the fort seem to have been. This is a tough issue for people like myself, who enjoy the supporters groups and would love to see them grow in a fashion similar to European groups. It's just a fact that people here in America tend to be of a more conservative nature and are more easily offended. Yes, we do have free speech, but the law allows people to regulate things like vulgarity on private property. That being said, I think the league and teams need to work closer with the supporters groups to outline what's acceptable and what's not, and to give the supporters some ground too. Let them do what they want in their sections and post disclaimers for other fans sitting in or around those sections that the behavior does occur, and to ask to be seated elsewhere if they find it offensive. Most MLS matches are not sellouts.
While I think supporters groups need to be mindful of things like vulgarity, I think that too often the clubs come down on the side of the casual fans, the folks who come to one or two matches a year, versus the supporters, who are there week in and week out. They also drop a ton of money on things like season tickets, food, and swag. I think they should be given some leeway too.
The ultimate goal is to have a match that everybody can enjoy, including the supporters sections.
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