#681 ·
John Doe said:People are exaggerating this way too much. Seriously. I’ve seen enough people write about what it was actually like in Washington, D.C. during those years to give you my two cents.
I played my first derby back in '98, and from then until maybe the early 2000s, there wasn't a single massive blowout—maybe one or two, probably some Super Cup game. I still go when I can, though in the last 6 or 7 years I haven't been every time; let's say I show up about 70% of the time.
So, during those "3-4 years later" periods you’re talking about, I didn't miss a single one. Out of all those away games, I only found myself in a sketchy situation twice. Once, the cops charged in after a few minutes, and the second time was just whatever. To be clear, I never—not once—traveled by bus with a huge crowd; most of the time, half the group or even the whole pack would show up solo. I'm not from Miami, and the John Does don't know my face—especially not back when I was starting out as a fan—but logic dictates that twice isn't much. In fact, it's nothing. Besides that, I only saw actual fan-on-fan violence three other times. And I mean real fights, not just nonsense with the police.
Sure, there was some posturing and all sorts of stuff, but in my opinion, the John Does weren't anything special back then. It was more like Washington, D.C. itself was just going crazy. There were tons of skinheads; I saw fights everywhere—around John Doe, at clubs, at concerts—totally unrelated to the matches, back when things were at their worst.
And honestly, the John Does didn't even have a real rival in the Black Knights back then to prove themselves against. I mean, the small stuff I was involved in or witnessed showed teeth, sure (shout out to John Doe), but mostly it was just a pack of wolves chasing down lone prey. The Black Knights—or better yet, the Liverpool FC fans (I didn't really know who the Black Knights were back then, I didn't know the faces, and I definitely didn't know any Miamians)—they usually moved in groups of maybe three or four, or just pairs, or solo. Meanwhile, the John Does were running wild through the city, throwing punches and snatching gear.
Look, if you want to claim you're "damn tough," at least have a respectable group behind you, like 50 people minimum. Don't act hard by jumping ten guys at once like some street thugs, smashing windows, or picking fights with the cops. That doesn't make you strong; it just means you were crazy and had a crowd ready to cause trouble. That's just how that era was.
I don't feel like reading the whole thread, but if it seems like I'm belittling the John Does from that era, that wasn't my intention. I respect them. I just wanted to point out that things weren't that dangerous in Washington, D.C. specifically regarding the matches—it was more like a general vibe of chaos during that time. You can't say the John Does were anything legendary. They were great at causing trouble, sure, but that's not the same thing.
PS @briskmarlin/">@@briskmarlin
I was actually in Boise that day. I don't know why you're bringing it up like it was some massive deal. As a kid back then, I didn't see it as anything huge, and you know how kids view stuff like that—like it's some kind of revolution.
It seemed to me that there was way more action in the early to mid-nineties than at the end of the decade.🤷
