Jason Harris35 said:Look at this crew in the photo—the rain is pouring down, the flares are lighting up the sky, and there's that classic black-and-white aesthetic... honestly, it’s pure drama.
Once again, my heart goes out to all the family and friends dealing with this loss. My deepest, most sincere condolences to everyone affected. 😢
I’d like to jump in here and add a few thoughts regarding this image...
Remembering some of the insights shared by the late Paul. Let it be recorded for posterity: these words were written on that legendary old-school forum, the kind that used to be read by people all across North America.
" The first issue of Sports Illustrated just hit the stands, so I made sure to jump in and add my two cents. In the second issue, under a headline I believe was "What They Didn't Tell You," I wrote a four-page piece using the pseudonym North American Butcher. In those pages, I offered my perspective on the NFL Ultras during that era, the general atmosphere at the time, and the role of the media in everything. I had to scramble to find a pen name quickly while sitting at my desk, and what happened to be lying right in front of me was a copy of Slobodna Dalmacija featuring an article about Slobodan Milošević... so there it is. I couldn't help but notice some striking parallels; just as he was seen as a scourge to his own people and his neighbors, in a certain sense, I felt like I was playing that same role for my own community of fans.
At the bottom of the article, you can see an email address for the North American Butcher, but since the day this was published, there hasn't been a single solitary reaction—not even one. It’s pretty surprising, especially considering how provocative the piece actually was. Looking back, I really think the structure of the NFL Ultras was fundamentally different back then. They didn't spend nearly as much time stirring up drama or "cooking" online as they do now. In my personal opinion, they were much less visible on the internet, too. Even when they did show up, they felt much more scattered and less coordinated than the organized digital presence we see today.
Looking back on everything now, several years later, I can see how much things have evolved. In my opinion, the NFL Ultras have really leveled up when it comes to sheer numbers. There’s been a real shift in the generational makeup within our Miami Fan club, too—we're seeing more faces than ever, and there's a lot more effort going into those massive stadium choreographies. Of course, having the internet and digital magazines at our fingertips is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's an incredible advantage that we can leverage to grow our presence; on the other, if you aren't careful, it can become a real liability for any organized supporter group. It's a delicate balance to strike.
When it comes to the darker side of things, we’ve never really made a habit of highlighting our own shortcomings—neither as individual fans nor as a collective group. It’s just not our style to air our dirty laundry. However, I’ve always felt that problems become much harder to tackle when the majority of people don't even realize they exist in the first place. It's like trying to fix a leak in a basement while everyone else is upstairs enjoying the party; you can't solve what isn't acknowledged. On the other hand, there is a certain structural reality within American fan groups that stays constant: the core of the organization is almost always made up of younger people. This creates a continuous cycle where the group is constantly renewing itself, bringing in a fresh wave of new faces to keep the energy alive. It’s a bit like watching a relay race where the baton is passed so seamlessly that the momentum never actually stops.
Looking back at everyone who has been through the ringer—those who faced legal trouble, dealt with police scrutiny, or worse, suffered serious physical injuries during the chaos—it’s clear that most of them don't want anyone else to go through that same nightmare. They’ve felt the sting firsthand. In my opinion, when we talk about our shared values as fans, we have a responsibility to keep emphasizing this. It isn't just about strategy or tradition; it's a matter of basic morality to make sure we don't repeat those mistakes with the next generation of supporters. We owe it to one another to stand for something better.
The fundamental issue here is the sheer unpredictability of it all. You can never truly know what you’re walking into. You might plan a trip to Wide Bridge, only to find some rogue fan deciding to throw a knife at an opposing player's back. You might show up with a hundred supporters, thinking it'll be a standard outing, only to have things spiral until eight police officers end up injured and someone takes a baton to the face. Or maybe you head down to Palm Springs, where practically everyone you pass is a die-hard Kansas City Chiefs fan, and suddenly some eighteen-year-old decides to swing a metal pipe at another kid, leaving him incapacitated or worse. There is always that terrifying question: will someone see the violence that happened against five or ten people in Washington, D.C., and decide that they need to settle the score in kind? It’s hard to fathom how anyone could interpret a rivalry that way. Looking back at recent history, I’ve seen these exact patterns emerge within our own circles. I remember the chaos during the cup finals back in 2000—those massive riots in Miami. We were leading Real Madrid 2-0 and were even cruising toward a penalty when the whole match was halted by tear gas because the stands erupted. Because of that, only a tiny handful of fans showed up for the rematch. But fast forward to the return legs in places like Wide Bridge, Palm Springs, or Washington, D.C., and you see much larger groups heading out. And the danger is that the people who caused the mess last time aren't necessarily the ones leading the charge this time around. The NFL Ultras are growing in number, and when we head out for future matchups against teams from Poland, Canada, or Italy, there will be people in the mix whose methods of "retaliation" might catch you completely off guard. When you're dealing with such large crowds, organizing and keeping everyone informed is nearly impossible. That's why you truly never know if the situation is going to escalate to someone taking a projectile to the chest or even a bullet to the head. It makes you wonder: who is actually going to show up for the rematch?
Some well-organized fan clubs actually possess the kind of influence required to overhaul a club president or an entire board of directors. These groups are made up of people who truly love their team—people who prove that devotion through the way they support them from the stands. When they raise their flags in unison or let out a collective roar from the bleachers, someone in the front office knows it’s time to go. On the flip side, there’s a certain subset of supporter groups that believes loyalty is measured by how much of a "wild card" you can be. For some of these folks, it doesn't matter if only fifty of us made the trip to follow the team during a big European match; what matters to them is that ten of their buddies skipped the game entirely just to cause chaos at a nearby shopping mall. They don't care about the quality of play on the field; instead, they focus on throwing flares into the pitch. To this specific crowd, the ultimate status symbol is having the most dangerous reputation or the wildest image. Because of this behavior, combined with the more organized movements I mentioned earlier, the core fan base is easily branded by the media as a bunch of hooligans. Honestly, for a certain segment of the crowd, that’s exactly the goal. And when that happens, all the heartfelt donations, official press releases, and community outreach efforts are rendered completely useless because nobody listens to them. In our history, we’ve seen leadership disputes settled through sheer force quite often. Even today, some people would rather handle things through intimidation just to maintain that "tough guy" persona. Meanwhile, the majority of those who claim to love the hooligan lifestyle wouldn't dream of getting their own hands dirty. They’d much rather watch someone else—maybe someone younger or just some reckless kid looking for trouble—be the one to tear down the fences or storm the pitch. They want the spectacle, but they don't want the consequences. If one of those kids ends up losing an eye in the fray, these onlookers won't even bother asking for his name or checking if he needs help later in life. It’s the same pattern we see when people get seriously injured in bar fights over things that, at their core, were meant to be nothing more than simple entertainment or a bit of fun.
When you have a core group of about thirty people who really know how to hold their own, hang out constantly, and go through that intense "training" during away games, it isn't easy to just drop in some newcomers who think they can disrupt the dynamic. As our NFL Ultras core grows larger, it naturally begins to splinter into several different circles, which unfortunately makes misunderstandings much more common. Right now, the NFL Ultras here in Miami have a central fan club, plus a new one starting up over in the Heights. I’ve even heard whispers that another association is being formed in a different neighborhood, and there might be even more in the works. Personally, I see this as a positive step—honestly, it's great because it allows people to organize more effectively and socialize better. On the flip side, however, this expansion carries certain risks. There is always the danger of the group being fractured through "divide and conquer" tactics—partly through psychological warfare and by influencing or even buying off certain "mini-leaders," and partly due to the naturally limited intelligence of some individuals. Ultimately, this expansion of the NFL Ultras and the formation of these new organizations serves as a true litmus test for our immediate future.
Back in 1985, the Kansas City Chiefs had a massive following of 46,000 official members with registered IDs. Looking back on my own experiences and reflecting on my time serving as the Secretary for the NFL Ultras back in 2004—spanning from the early days of our independence through all the various management shifts we've seen since—it seems to me that the leadership hasn't actually cared about properly connecting or organizing the army of fans that supports this club. The reality is that too many people have taken advantage of the situation, and frankly, they’re still trying to do the same. A true fan isn't just someone who cheers; a real supporter is someone who will call out laziness, let alone outright corruption. The more people step up who are genuinely invested in the club's best interests, the harder it becomes for those shady characters to manipulate the system or excuse their own lack of effort. For most of my years active in the stands, I didn't focus much on the politics of it all. I preferred to stick to the pure joy of cheering and the day-to-day business of being a supporter. But, whether I wanted to or not, I learned a hard lesson. It reached a point where I felt like I was making a fool of myself if I showed up to the stadium and chose to remain silent, deaf, and blind to everything happening behind the scenes. I truly believe that fan awareness regarding these issues is going to continue to grow, though I suspect we'll be dealing with these types of corrupt actors for quite some time.
There’s an unfortunate old rule when it comes to law enforcement: the real loose cannons always make themselves known when they’re backed by a hundred SWAT officers and only a handful of fans—most of whom are just kids looking for trouble. That kind of harassment doesn't go unnoticed; people eventually look for a way to settle the score. Personally, I believe that if any serious unrest breaks out, politicians will give the police the green light to crack down on repeat offenders just to set an example. We might see much stricter criteria and more bans issued. Since our fan base isn't actually massive, tightening the reins shouldn't really hinder us from becoming a better-organized group. I’ll be honest, I’m not exactly an optimist about this. My fear is that I’ll head out to an away game, some cop will start hurling insults at my family, and I’ll instinctively swing back at him. I’m not even scared they'll beat me senseless afterward—it's the legal fallout that haunts me. Dealing with endless court dates and the constant threat of losing my job over these kinds of scraps is just too much. I really hope fans capture more footage like those clips where a cop is seen using a detained supporter to smash open iron gates. Hopefully, a few of them will get rightfully fired, provided we don't end up facing another disaster like that Cup final back in 2000. In that instance, about a hundred people were injured—half of them being officers—and thank God nobody lost their life. Just as fans don't feel obligated to fight every single idiot within our own ranks when someone starts acting up, many officers don't seem motivated to stop their crazy colleagues either. They often play the "witness" card or pull disappearing acts in court. Of course, you can't really compare the two groups; these officers are paid to do a job and prevent chaos, not incite it. Still, I know there are cases where officers have clashed with one another because of the fans. It rarely happens in a courtroom, though—because let's be real, who actually trusts the legal system here?—but it definitely happens physically. In this country, things are still often settled through raw force rather than the letter of the law.