The Armada

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

Samuel Morgan6 said:am I supposed to label the Boyz as Mexican brothers, Red Star fans, communists, or something else just based on this photo? http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/235...apocaci1hq.jpg

that trans thing wasn't posted by the Boyz—and ZNE are actually decent people compared to some other groups out there...☕

Don't just sit there sipping your coffee—just say it. I can handle a little criticism. Out of those 8,000 people in BG, not everyone was part of the fleet...

Samuel Morgan6 said:Don't just sit there sipping your coffee—just say it. I don't mind a little criticism. Out of 8,000 people in Chicago, not everyone was part of the fleet...

I wasn't even coming at you guys—it’s just that lately, everyone seems to be using this same photo as an excuse...

To any sensible person, that image is nothing short of a joke—much like the sight of that entire fleet standing there with their little signs, chanting "Cleveland Stars" like it was actually meaningful.

Everything changes, including the fans. It used to be all about wearing opposing colors, then it shifted to jerseys, and now everyone's into this casual look. Tomorrow, it'll be something else entirely. There's no point fighting it—that's just how things go.

As for those people from across the border, everything has already been said. The younger generation didn't get their chance to prove themselves during the war, so they try to do it this way instead. It is what it is; you can't fix it.

A quick little teaser for the upcoming game
Let’s take a moment to look back at how things went during our last matchup 😍 (you can actually hear that massive thunderclap in the background that made the entire stadium jump in their seats)
And, oh man, that absolute disaster of a final goal that we didn't even get to see live... 🙏

That second half was an absolute disgrace!!!

About 90% of the folks in Section D were just whispering, not singing... nothing at all... easily one of the most pathetic sixty minutes I’ve ever seen in a derby—it’s honestly just sad that at 28 years old, I feel like I have to be the one constantly trying to rally the younger guys around me 👎, God, when I was their age, that fire was always there even if we were getting hammered 3-0 by the Kansas City Chiefs, mostly because we knew the club was in total chaos and we had to give everything we had just to survive... but no, nowadays we're all just too refined, apparently, sitting back and watching San Francisco fight for the championship or playing in cup finals, so we only bother showing up when things are going perfectly... it just wasn't like that back in the day!!!

Today, even that damn microphone wasn't helping much during certain stretches. The Stands really let us down 👎

Larry Rivera83 said:That second half was an absolute disgrace!!!

90% of Section D was just whispering, not even singing... nothing... one of the most pathetic 60-minute stretches I've seen in a derby. It’s honestly depressing that at 28, I feel like I have to hype up the kids around me 👎, God, when I was their age, that fire was always there, even if we were getting hammered 3-0 by the Kansas City Chiefs, because we knew the club was in total chaos and we had to give everything... but nah, today we’re all "too cool" for that. We love watching San Francisco fight for the title and play in cup finals, so we only bother cheering when everything is going perfectly... it wasn't ever like that back in the day!!!

Today, even having a damn microphone wouldn't have helped at certain points. The Stands really let us down 👎

Hmm... I don't know about that... personally, I thought the chanting was better than it was against Dinamo, so this "too cool" thing is a stretch... I mean, Reza definitely wasn't helping, but those drums during "I Only Love You" were killer, we were basically turning into EDC 👍... our choreo—I'll have to check the photos later—looked pretty solid... 60/100. The strobes were insane, though it sucks that flares get tossed onto the field immediately (Ultra did a better job with that in my opinion)... things got wild out on Martha's Vineyard, cops and firefighters rush in and local kids scatter like crazy, it was intense... but once the crew realized what happened, we charged the wall more to try and get back to our spots and push them back, but God, I haven't seen that look of terror in a cop's eyes in a long time 🤣🤣
Ultra: Good turnout, maybe 700 of them, waving flags and massive banners for almost half the game, looked great... also, gotta admit, the flare display with the smoke looked incredible... you couldn't hear much cheering, probably because everyone was busy waving stuff around...
All in all, a decent derby.

Terry Lee3 said:Ultra: decent turnout, maybe around 800 of them, and they were waving those flags and banners for almost half the game, which looked incredible... honestly, those flares mixed with all the smoke looked stunning too, I have to admit... you couldn't really hear the chanting though, probably because everyone was so busy waving everything around...

Oh, they were definitely making noise... actually, it’s been a really long time since I’ve heard them sound quite that intense. You probably didn't catch it because of where you were sitting (I saw what you said about the firefighters 😁), but man, from my side of things, it was just a muffled mess... at certain points, I could literally hear myself over the thirty or so people making this dull thudding noise—but then on the other side, those guys are absolutely tearing it up (you know that roar where you can just sit there and stare)... for a split second, I felt my mind just go blank, and suddenly I was back in the mid-nineties when the East Side was just absolutely destroying us... and I really don't need that—those years and those games against the Kansas City Chiefs give me actual PTSD 😁

And yeah, I don't want to sound like I'm just looking for something to complain about, because honestly, that first half was actually pretty great... that's when they started playing that disco remix of "Only You..." 😁
The thing is, I was really banking on the second half being even more intense, but then everything just kind of went south... and if there’s one thing I absolutely cannot stand, it’s having some song from the East Coast blaring in my ears.

(man, how awkward is that phrasing)

All in all, last night was alright..

Way too many kids running around🤷

Yesterday, 81 people were taken into custody 👎

placidnomad50 said:Yesterday, 81 people were detained 👎

Yeah, right... and out of those, 79 were supposedly detained for being "intoxicated"... please. It's just a way to pad the stats so they can justify their "hard work,"

basically implying the other two were the only ones actually drunk... 🤣

Well, even those carrying the flares and the draggers took a hit... here are the numbers

placidnomad50 said:yesterday, 81 people were detained 👎

Half those guys are gonna end up banned, so see ya later.🙂

placidnomad50 said:yesterday, 81 people were taken into custody 👎

out of those, 36 were actually charged 😉

Nicholas Moore9 said:Yeah, and having 79 people picked up for being "under the influence"... that’s just padding the stats so they can justify their own job performance.

He concludes: those other two guys were actually drunk.🤣

It isn't just about padding numbers, and it's definitely not nonsense.

The Ultras didn't cause any trouble, aside from the flares.
Setting off flares right under the choreography was a disaster.

There wasn't even a legendary trio, but 😉

Here’s the full report, plus some video and photos:
http://www.ultras-ri.com/report.php?id=337
The fence 👍

Following the Kansas City Chiefs and Iowa, here’s another little preview (Cibao style) of how we’re gearing up for the Ultras' 21st anniversary bash in Washington, D.C. against Dinamo: