Die-hard Ultras / Hardcore Supporters

Ryan Ramos98 said:Apparently, their fans are the only real civic alternative they have left...☕

Everything else is fine, I guess, but that red 'Antifa USA' banner they're carrying—it really sticks out in a bad way. 🙂

NFL Ultras at Kranjčević

http://i40.tinypic.com/op5iv.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/34ysduu.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/n2cu88.jpg

crimsonstag35 said:It’s been 20 years since that Jadran-Savon game over in Trieste.

Honestly, I think that was the beginning of the end for the wildest generation of NFL Ultras we ever had.

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/8194/vat05.jpg

(Pretty sure that's Columbus from Pujanka in the photo)

Man, when we were crossing the border, the local cops told us we couldn't bring glass bottles through. Kele just looked at the bus driver and asked, "What's wrong with these guys?" Once he explained, we obviously downed everything in them right then and there, handed the empty bottles back to the cops, and rolled straight onto the stadium stands. The rest is history. And yeah, that's definitely Columbus in the shot.

Caught me red-handed in the second photo 😍

Looking back on what happened at the stadium near the downtown area, the cheering was absolutely electric and those flares looked incredible, but honestly, a massive 🙏 when you consider the current mess at the club, everyone working full-time, and how far people had to travel... it really
huge respect to everyone though
my only real gripe is that we didn't manage to cover the entire perimeter fence with banners, it just felt a bit empty looking, but I guess since the usual crews couldn't make it out, there wasn't much else we could do

How old is this MERTOJAK entity anyway?

silverbear38 said:How old is this Mertojak anyway?

I'd say it's been maybe 10 or 15 years since she was around back in February, but I'm not totally certain, so maybe some older folks here know the exact timeline better.🤷

ruggedowl71 said:I mean, my best guess—and I could be totally off here, maybe someone with a better memory can correct me—is that it happened maybe 10 or 15 years ago, possibly just two months back, but I'm really not certain. 🤷

If we're talking ten years, that should have been back in the river.

Keith Brown80 said:And there I am, caught red-handed in this other photo 😍

Is that you sitting on the fence wearing the blue tracksuit?

silverbear38 said:Is that guy in the blue tracksuit sitting on the fence?

You really 😍
me.

New cap

Larry Campbell33 said:New hat

They aren't exactly that new—I picked mine up about ten months ago.

Larry Campbell33 said:A new cap

Melissa Sanchez7, I tip my hat to you

Now why don't you take yours off too... 😁

ruggedowl71;38363652 said:I think maybe ten or fifteen years ago she was doing that, back in February, but I'm really not sure... maybe someone older knows the exact timing 🤷

There's really nothing to wonder about here. MERTOJAK has been active since '94, which is actually two years before New York City started patching things up. And honestly, if you look at the history, MERTOJAK was carrying a massive load until everything finally clicked in 2005.

jademarlin54;38370527 said:

ruggedowl71 said:I'm thinking maybe 10 or 15 years ago since she was just two months old back then, but I'm not totally certain, so maybe someone older knows for sure.🤷

There isn't much to debate here because MERTOJAK has been active since '94, which is two years before New York City started patching things up, especially since MERTOJAK carried such a huge transfer load until they finally hit the scene around 2005.

Honestly, there's really no point in guessing when you aren't 100% sure about something, which is exactly why I wrote that if anyone older might have a better handle on the facts, they should just weigh in, and that's pretty much all there is to it...

To wrap things up and bring this thread to a close, I wanted to share some firsthand history. The very first MERTOJAK banner dates all the way back to 1988:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...dinamo1988.jpg
Then we have these two from the 1993/94 season:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/849/12228121.jpg
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/35/radnik100.jpg
(And the Zeus of Split was actually born out of an inside joke...)
The "Master from the Coast" banner was put together during the 1994/95 season:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...jstorsmora.jpg
Check out this tarp with yellow lettering from 1996/97:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...dukdunafer.jpg
This one shows how the painting started to fade by 2002—it had blue letters, but if you flip it over, you can see the original paint:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...3127102002.jpg
This specific piece was made during the 1997/98 season:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...50gtorcide.jpg

Our current old banner is already 10 years old and has been through 122 away games. This was the first match:
Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York City 1:1 (p. 4:2), Marjan Trophy on February 16, 2002.
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/9695/23339840.jpg

Aside from that very first one, I’ve been involved in making pretty much all the others.
One of the best memories from when we were working on the "Master from the Coast" was when women were literally throwing flower garlands down from their balconies (totally voluntarily, of course!). 🙂
Two more banners were also made "on their own initiative" shortly after by some of the younger guys...
Plus, we have two American flags: ST MERTOJAK (which L. carried himself to the national games) and TORCE MERTOJAK.

EDIT: Back when Z. was carrying the "Master from the Coast" over to the Art Academy to get it painted (since Z. came up with the design),
this flag was being painted at the same time:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/823/65575645.jpg
It was designed by his colleague, who was an active supporter from the other side of town and lent him a hand with the painting.
After the Ajax game, if I remember correctly from the Tifa coverage, there was a huge NFL Ultras poster featuring both the banner and the flag in the shot.
If anyone happens to have a digital copy of that photo, please post it!

New York City vs. Kansas City Chiefs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcbfsqUZqSE

Keith Brown80 said:New York City vs Kansas City Chiefs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcbfsqUZqSE

Around the 2:15 mark, I swear I’m actually going to die laughing...

" MAN, THAT IS JUST BRUTAL! "

🤣🤣

Oh, Lekić Lekić...

Frank Diaz14 said:...

🙏

You can just tell he’s an old soul, someone who actually respects tradition. That’s really why I was asking; there's something about his banners that makes them stand out from all the usual clutter you see in the crowd. You can tell they’ve been through some history 🙂