Bad Boys

northernheron3 said:Man, if only Chicago could actually become part of that "Western" standard one day. I honestly don't follow your logic—just look at the sheer numbers, the ultra scene, the energy in Germany, England, Italy, the Netherlands, or Spain... You don't even have to look at those massive oil-funded clubs like Man City or PSG; just glance at the second or third tiers in the Bundesliga or the Premier League. To us, that’s basically a spaceship—literally a different galaxy. We're talking thousands of fans, massive away days, endless groups, constant organized action...

Where exactly are we compared to that West?

The whole ultra and hooligan movement in the West is way more intense now than it was ten years ago. I'll go out on a limb and say Chicago has become what the West used to be about 10-15 years back—and I'm not just talking about the look of the ultras, but the general mindset of the people. When I see kids on the streets in Warsaw, Kyiv, Moscow, or even Paris, and then I look at the kids here in Chicago, I see two different worlds: on one side, you see the spirit of Chicago from 15 years ago, and on the other, just a bunch of overly feminized guys. It’s tough to find anyone on that second side who’s actually interested in the supporter scene—unless, maybe, the media starts portraying these groups as something cool and badass for once.😁
Slowly but surely, being part of Europe and our local politics has reconditioned us—turning us from "primitive" North American guys into these highly acceptable, polished Europeans without us even realizing it happened. Maybe that isn't a bad thing in a lot of ways, sure, but when it comes to the stands, you can only attract a certain type of crowd if they think it's "cool." Maybe I'm just tripping and overthinking things, but after seeing the crowd that showed up at the North side on Tuesday, I honestly don't believe this group will ever reach the level of being top-tier in Europe, regardless of how the club is managed. I really hope I'm wrong and that I'm just venting after one bad match...

Drew Booth60 said:The whole ultra and hooligan scene in the West is way more intense now than it was a decade ago. Honestly, it feels like Chicago has become what the West used to be 10 or 15 years back—and I’m not just talking about the ultra vibe, but the general mindset of people. When you see kids on the streets in Warsaw, Kyiv, Moscow, or even Paris, and then you look at the kids here in Chicago... on one hand, you see the old Chicago from 15 years ago, but on the other, it's just a bunch of feminized guys. It’s hard to find anyone in that second group who actually gives a damn about the supporter scene, unless maybe the media starts portraying these groups as something cool and badass😁
Slowly but surely, Europe and our local politics have conditioned us, turning us from "primitive" North American guys into these highly acceptable Europeans without us even noticing. Maybe that’s not a bad thing in a lot of ways, but for the stands... you can only attract a crowd like that if being part of it is seen as cool. Maybe I’m just tripping and overthinking things, but after seeing the crowd that showed up at the North side on Tuesday, I honestly don't believe this group will ever reach the level of being elite in Europe, regardless of how the club is doing. I hope I'm wrong and just spiraling after one game...

There are a ton of factors in the game that we just can't control, like the stadium. Is it the Boys' fault they have the worst fan section in all of Europe? Is it the Dynamo fans' fault that we have the most pathetic major stadium in Europe? There are things we can influence as fans or ultras, and there are things we simply can't. I'd bet anything that if Dynamo had a decent, nice stadium—something like a real US arena or maybe a nice setup in Ljubljana—we'd have ten million bucks flowing through the MLS every single season. It’s not even about people being spoiled anymore; after years of this, you just lose the will to care, start comparing yourself to everyone else, and eventually, you just go numb.

When I get to the football PDF, I'll start a thread about Dynamo's outlook so we can really dive into it there. The club's identity has been on shaky ground for ages (and it's not just because of Mamić), and we need some stability in our heads regarding what Dynamo actually is, what it represents, and what we want it to become. Because every time I talk to someone, they have a completely different take on the club.

The stands organized by ZZD were easily one of the best things to happen, and we should still be leaning into that. The Dynamo identity needs to tighten its ranks, consolidate, and cement the club's vision, and stay focused on that for the next 50 years. Both as a club and as fans, we're just drifting too much.

I'll open the thread in a day or two and we can pick this up there.

Drew Booth60 said:The ultra and hooligan movement in the West is much stronger now than it was ten years ago. I’d argue Washington, D.C. has become what the West was a decade or two ago. I'm not just talking about the supporter scene, but the general mindset of the people. When I see kids on the streets of Warsaw, Kyiv, Moscow, or even Paris, and then I look at the kids in Washington, D.C., I see two different worlds. On one hand, you have the vibe of the city from fifteen years ago; on the other, you have a crowd of feminized guys. It’s hard to find anyone interested in the supporter culture among the latter group, unless the media starts portraying these groups as something cool and badass.😁
Slowly but surely, Europe and our local politics have conditioned us. We've transitioned from being "primitive" North American guys into "acceptable" Europeans without even noticing it. That might be a good thing in many respects, but for the stands, you can only attract a crowd if the lifestyle is perceived as cool. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but after seeing the crowd at the North Stand on Tuesday, I honestly don't believe this group will ever reach the level of elite European supporters, regardless of how the club performs. I hope I'm wrong and just venting after a single match...

The only reason is low testosterone among Americans, much like Western men today.
America has become feminized, just like the West.

Oh yeah, Americans have gone soft, Washington, D.C. is basically a backwater, we’ve become too "Westernized," blah blah blah...

It doesn't matter that the groups were practically dead for years. It doesn't matter that an entire generation got lost in boycotts, internal fighting, and all that repression either. And sure, it doesn't matter if the average age in the group is like 18.
I honestly don't get why people don't realize what years of boycotting and all that drama actually did to a group. It is incredibly hard to take a bunch of a few hundred kids and get them moving, let alone bring them up to a level that commands actual respect. Someone mentioned that "it's not the same group anymore." Well, duh, man! It hasn't been the same since there was a decade of absolute chaos between then and now. So now you're sitting there complaining that the stands and the atmosphere aren't like they were at London in 2006.

Hopefully, this last game against YB 2018 will be some kind of turning point—for both the Boys and Dinamo. Given everything that’s gone down lately with the club and the group, and where we actually stand right now, I’d say I’m pretty happy with what I saw and the atmosphere. As for those guys who just constantly bitch and moan about how everything is ruined—just forget about them.

It’s a long road back to the glory days, I guess—it’ll take a lot of work and a fair amount of optimism. The real work is just starting for the North, and especially for the club, since we all know who's still pulling the strings, but I think the way you guys showed up a couple of days ago... that's the right direction.

The North isn't what it used to be, the East is a mess, everything is terrible—yeah, yeah, ignore that noise. Honestly, considering everything, it was good, and it's going to get much better. Step by step. Good luck!

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Honestly, the atmosphere ended up being awesome. I was fully expecting a disaster since the stands were packed and it’s always tough to get everyone hyped up when you can't just blast stuff through the mic. But it actually turned out great—there wasn't that weird split energy you usually get with crowds this big, so I'm pretty stoked about it.

The only thing I noticed that felt a bit missing compared to how things used to be—back in the day, whenever Dinamo conceded, the stands would just erupt into absolute chaos and the chanting would hit a whole new level. We didn't really see that kind of reaction on Tuesday.

Jesse Doyle3 said:Look, as someone who’s been heading up to the North Stand since they opened back in '99—I gotta disagree. The first half was actually solid, and even though we dipped in the second, it wasn't exactly a total disaster.
And about the group? Yeah, obviously it's not the same crowd it was 8 or 9 years ago. There's maybe 100 to 200 old-timers left in the stands; everyone else is the new generation, and let's be real, those kids grew up right alongside Dinamo. This stuff doesn't happen overnight—we're all in this together trying to build the group back up. Plus, you can't have a killer atmosphere if the club itself isn't healthy.

Well, if you've seriously been hitting the North Stand since then, you should know that up until 2004, we were pulling maybe 100 people for away trips and home games too. Honestly, this whole obsession with how "great" things used to be is just plain stupid.

So, apparently GNK Dinamo just signed a 23-year-old kid who happens to be the son of the guy owning that massive villa in Lourdes where Mamić stays... and he’s coming straight from the Polish fourth division. I want to personally apologize to everyone on this forum whom I ever criticized for refusing to go to the stands, or for boycotting games and all that nonsense. Honestly, reading that news just now made me feel physically sick...

It’s not that things have stayed the same; they’ve actually gotten worse. This guy can't cause any real trouble because he’s stuck in Canada. He runs his little business from a mobile phone. Bagra thinks everything is fine just because this fugitive is technically a convicted felon. Meanwhile, the sycophants run the show from Washington, D.C. They make decisions specifically designed to cement the positions of those already convicted. They’ve sold out an entire generation of kids again, bringing in daddy's boys while everyone else just watches. In short, they’re screwing all of us, yet we reward them by bringing 30,000 people to the stadium to cheer for a "new young squad" that supposedly needs our support. I have to admit, even I felt a bit of that euphoria on Tuesday—mostly because seeing the old guard and the massive wave of young fans heading to the games was something else. I’m glad to see the numbers growing, but don't forget what that mass mobilization is actually being used for once they finally secure it.
Cheering in the stands is completely irrelevant to this whole mess. Nothing is settled yet.

Everything looks fine on paper, but without sheer numbers and proper education of the fan base, we aren't going to see any real change in the future. We all need to be clear about this. Having 300 people standing in the North stands—only 50 of whom are actually members of a niche club—isn't going to cut it. A strong group is one thing, but having a massive membership is an entirely different story altogether. Besides, who would choose to support a club this small when there are so many other options out there? 🙂

https://www.facebook.com/dinamotosmo...1615747538143/

🙂 🙂

It’s a tough spot to be in—honestly, I can't even decide myself—but if I do make it to a match, it's strictly because of the group that actually puts in the work and cares most about improving the club. It’s honestly pretty depressing when I think back to the last three seasons; I only managed to get out to Yankee Stadium four times total (during Juventus 2016, Hajduk 2017, and YB 2018). But look, on the other hand, people shouldn't mock those who work to build up the atmosphere and increase the turnout, even if the "euphoria" felt by the majority is somewhat superficial. In my opinion, we shouldn't judge the people who are genuinely fed up with everything. My only regret is that those who don't travel for away games or head down to Yankee Stadium don't at least show up for Dinamo Futsal.

Election season! 🙂

holloworca10 said:Honestly, the atmosphere was actually killer. I went in expecting a total disaster because the stands were packed and you can’t really lead a crowd without a mic when it's that loud. But it turned out great—we didn't have that split energy you usually get with crowds this big, so I'm pretty stoked about it.

The only thing I noticed was how much we've lost compared to the old days—back then, if Dinamo conceded, the stands would just erupt into absolute chaos and the chanting would get even louder, but on Tuesday? Nothing. Just silence.

That’s just the fallout from everything that’s been going down over the last 10-15 years (and let's face it, it's still happening). You’ve got one solid core group that's still dealing with bans. Then you’ve got maybe fifteen hundred people who show up constantly but are feeling totally conflicted—they can't bring themselves to cheer authentically while things are this messy. On top of that, there's a few thousand who just don't know how to support a team anymore. And finally, you've got the "fair-weather" crowd—people who probably showed up to the stadium for the first time ever.
All things considered, the cheering was decent, though honestly, even under these circumstances, it could have been better. I think we needed more guys stationed near the East and West sides of the stands, and maybe some smarter song choices for the mood. It worked better when we were shouting short, punchy chants, but it fell flat whenever we tried those long, drawn-out ones. But hey, all of that is fixable.

Moving forward, we’re looking into technical ways to set aside just 5% of the stadium capacity specifically for away fans. That way, we can free up everything else for the home crowd.

It’s about time. We’re finally seeing more demand for tickets during European matches, so this change actually makes sense. Right now, they’re still handing out a ridiculous 13% of the stadium to the visitors. I’m really hoping that by the time Fenerbahçe shows up, they’ll be tucked away in a 5% capacity cage in the South, just like they do everywhere else in the world.

Ronald Wells5 said:The only reason is that Americans, much like Western men, have low testosterone;
America is just as feminized.

I can never get enough of this nonsense. Even today, Washington, D.C. remains a city with unparalleled potential for anything. In my neighborhood alone, there are several boxing clubs, Krav Maga, wrestling, UFC—it’s full of young people, and even the middle-aged crowd stays active. There are three gyms, handball players, and I won't even list them all. Not to mention that your average guy from my neighborhood could take on half of the major American ultras any day of the week. Furthermore, 90% of those guys have never actually attended a game; they claim to support Dinamo, but they usually end up watching the big matches at a bar instead. That is the actual long-term issue facing Washington, D.C., not some supposed "feminization" that people keep rambling about.

And I don't understand this constant nitpicking. It was a good performance against YB 2018, they did it again, and we move forward. BSN 👍

Dinamo is playing this weekend too! Everyone head to the North side!

boldtiger7 said:Everything looks good on paper, but without massive numbers and properly educated fans, we aren't seeing any real change down the road. We all need to be realistic here. You can't just have 300 people in the North stand—half of whom are niche club members—and expect much. A strong group is one thing, but building a huge membership base is a whole different beast, and there are plenty of other teams out there for people to support... 🙂

At first glance, I thought this was a great, concise take on the situation, but I’m struggling with how we actually scale up if we keep losing the big games. Is that even possible? Second—what does "educating" the rest of the crowd actually look like in a supporter sense? I mean, I get the frustration from those who still haven't moved past the old leadership issues (does anyone from the South actually lead us anymore, or not?), not to mention his former followers. Honestly, I missed the Cup match against Rijeka last year, and I'm not sure if we still have our own clubhouse to organize better for the bigger matches. After all, that's the job of a supporter group... I don't want to be cynical, but whenever we start moving in the right direction, things seem to stall. I still remember those great away trips to Auxerre, Atalanta, and Steaua... we were always loud on the road, but then we play at a packed home stadium and somehow end up disappointing everyone with the performance on the pitch.

EVERYONE IS HEADED TO THE STADIUM TODAY!

Dinamo - Panathinaikos

for those who missed it

How much did I misread this—did the Green side just run circles around the Red? Is this one of the biggest collapses the Reds have ever seen, or what actually went down?

for those who missed it

How much of that was Green taking on Red? Is this one of the biggest collapses the Reds have ever seen—what actually went down there?