First off, maybe it would be smarter if you all directed these questions to the fleet forums—there are plenty of more competent people over there who can actually give you real answers. All this talk about provocations from the opposition or whatever... personally, it just makes me laugh, though it's enough to make anyone lose their cool. I’m glad we’ve finally reached a point where people actually applaud rival fans when they sing. I know exactly who I am and where I come from... This obsession with old-school nationalist rhetoric has started surfacing over the last few years—totally unnecessary, forced, and honestly, just insecure. People have started acting like it's 1990 instead of the 2000s. Nowadays, if you wear a specific jersey or an old political symbol on your chest in the West, you're asking for trouble. This habit comes from young, uneducated, backward fans who just want the fleet to get labeled as some "ultra-nationalist group." We are supposed to be an apolitical organization, yet the far-right seems to seep in from everywhere. So now we have black banners! (We all know why they choose black—it's not some "ultra" color)—and then those old-fashioned emblems on scarves and banners. It’s a disaster. I’ve been part of the fleet since 1996; I love Cleveland, I love my country, and for those reasons, I would have gladly returned to that supporter culture in the 90s and stayed there.
@nomadi: I can definitely recognize myself in that photo from San Diego... wow. Regarding that incident in San Diego, one van was there and nothing happened to it... yet online everyone is claiming the van was attacked... please. It was just a classic exchange of goods in a coffee shop—the harder it is, the better—and the "attackers" just lost their minds. As for the fleet and certain groups, should I categorize the Boyse as communists or something similar based on this photo? http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/235...apocaci1hq.jpg