I have to admit first to being a bad soccer fan. Well, bad maybe too strong of a word, and causal is too light of a description for the feeling I have for what is known the world over as "The Beautiful Game". I like to watch any match when I can...particularly the World Cup. Plus, I have a number of friends who prefer Soccer over...say NASCAR or Jersey Shore .
I have particularly been a fan of Ipswich Town where my mother was raised in Great Britain. We've had all sort of footie paraphernalia around. Ipswich had its glory days with Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson. Lately, my beloved Blues have been languishing in that hell known as The Championship.
For a number of years, adult soccer fans were always in a hub-bub about Philadelphia getting an MLS Expansion Franchise. Well, imagine my shock when it was made known in 2008 that this city would get one. My ardor was cooled when I learned the Philadelphia Union home stadium would be located in...Chester.
Of course, I was very happy to learn that two games in the 2010 MLS Season would be played at Lincoln Financial Field. (The Linc) Of course, I didn't think anything of it until my friend, Peter Grace, a charter member of the Sons of Ben had some of his season tickets up for grabs. I would have been a moron not to take the opportunity to see this match.
(Alas, I also seem destined only to see Soccer at the Linc, but I am content.)
The "Sons of Ben" is an independent supporters group for Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. Bryan James, Andrew Dillon, and Dave Flagler founded the Sons of Ben supporters club on January 17, 2007, the 301st anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birthday. Philadelphia soccer fan, Ethan Gomberg, suggested the name. The Sons of Ben are the first Philadelphia Union supporters club, and use the Philadelphia civic colors of light blue and gold as opposed to the darker shades officially used by the team.
(Peter was kind enough to point out these gentlemen on our way into the Linc, but I am getting ahead of myself.)
The Sons' of Ben logo (see left), designed by founder Andrew Dillon, incorporates various components alluding to Philadelphia's history and the achievements of Benjamin Franklin. The oar and the scythe represent the city's nautical and agricultural roots. Franklin invented bifocals, while the key, lightning bolts and lozenge-shaped kite symbolize his exploration into the nature of electricity. The crack in Franklin's skull resembles that of the historic Liberty Bell.
I politely asked Peter if he had an extra ticket to the Union Home Opener against D.C. United. I knew a friend of mine, Patrick Healey, would enjoy seeing this game.
"One item of note is that my seats are in the Sons of Ben section, as I'm a member. This means that the crowd I will be with are guaranteed to be rowdier than your normal run-of-the-mill Philadelphia fans," said Grace. "Rowdy as in, Singing, Chanting, Drum-Banging, Confetti Throwing, smoke-bomb-tossing types. Though this game probably won't feature the more dirty items due to the Linc's angry management."
Great, I was so psyched now. I hadn't been to a footie match since Ipswich beat Stoke 1-0 at home on New Years Day 2007. I was itching for it. Pat was equally excited since he followed the Premier League on ESPN and discovered Special 1 TV on YouTube. (Sadly, when Setanta Sports went belly up last year, this fantastic program also was axed.)
"Will they have one of those giant banners that goo up the supporters section of the stadium?" Pat asked me after telling him where our seats were.
In fact, yes, they did. (I am located in the top left of the photo seen above.) They had their own songs to sing and drums to beat. Copies of these songs were given to us when we met up at McFadden's in Citizens Bank Park.
Like any good football game, the crowd basically stands the WHOLE GAME. This is part of football culture and needs to be accepted quickly. Until this game, I have never felt concrete shake. It was glorious. I could not help but get caught up in sound and fury of it all. From the banging chanting to heckling the DC Goalkeeper to challenging DC's supporters to Le Toux's Hat Trick to the final whistle. But Philly put it's twist on the game when the Goalkeeper Seitz made a rookie mistake and got successfully challenged by D.C.'s Morreno. Morreno scored to tie the game at 2-2 in the second half. Philly fans yelled at their owen goalkeeper as much as they heckled D.C.'s.
"Yep, this is definitely Philly," said Pat.
Only a deserved red card on D.C. in the 75th minute helped set Union up for the win. It was a beautiful feeling when the final whistle sounded. Union Players went to the supporters section signing autographs and throwing up game balls.
"It's a different feeling than when the Phillies won Game 4 [of the 2008] World Series," said Healey. "But I will definitely do that again."
Count me in, I'm sticking to the Union.
