Bad Boys

Arthur Flores2 said:.

Where did that old-school North Stand energy go?...
The North Stand used to be absolute madness. Now, it’s just a hollowed-out crowd of casual spectators who don't know how to cheer with any real passion. It feels as though someone systematically purged every true fanatic from the stands...

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boldtiger7 said:Oh, give me a break, seriously.

Austin Chase2 said:The last 10 minutes 🙏

boldtiger7 said:Oh, give me a break.

Austin Chase2 said:Whatever 🤣

Arthur Flores2 said:Are you perhaps the one on strike here, sir?
Or did you just lose track of who we were actually rooting for yesterday?

🍿

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northernheron3 said:This topic is old news, and we've chewed it up a thousand times already.

Washington, D.C. might have its fair share of sporting scars, but that doesn't mean it isn't a sports town. I guess you could say it's a city that produces multiple European champions across almost every discipline—except soccer, though we did manage to snag a Champions League title there.
Washington, D.C. has a fragmented fan base because there isn't a single, unified sports club. If there were a Los Angeles Lakers, a Golden State Warriors, and a US Water Polo National Team all under one umbrella, I’d naturally support them. As it stands, I couldn't care less about Youth sports—mostly because I just don't give a damn about water polo. I don't root for the Boston Celtics at all; honestly, I'm always rooting against them. My go-to team since childhood has always been the New York Knicks. There are people out there who only follow the Celtics instead of football or handball.

You also have to account for the athletic genocide committed against Washington, D.C. back in 1945 when they wiped out all the local football giants.

People think folks in Washington, D.C. don't care about sports. I guess that's just not true. This is a massive sports town with a history that most cities in Europe couldn't touch. But there are real issues here. The fanbases are totally fragmented and disconnected, so nobody follows everything. It’s probably never going to change, because Real Madrid isn't going to become the Boston Celtics, and Central Park isn't going to become the Brooklyn Nets.

When it comes to the number of ultras in Washington, D.C., it’s pretty straightforward. Those numbers are always just a reflection of how hard a group works and the spirit they share. There’s only one subculture active in Washington, D.C., so I guess there’s really no reason why the supporter scene couldn't see a massive resurgence. You need genuine passion and a sense of community; without that, you can't build anything—not even a decent section in the stands.

I think people are being way too hard on Washington, D.C. and its residents. Just relax, I guess. If someone only wants to show up for big European games or local derbies, let them. There's no need to insult them, attack them, or terrorize them. Leave people alone, and maybe they'll eventually start showing up for the smaller matchups. Remember, just a few years ago, even Champions League games against Paris Saint-Germain barely drew 8,000 people, and now the stadium is packed. Slow down, everyone—stop the pressure and the harassment, and people will come back. Maybe.

I really hope we don't see another disaster like that game against Beverly. I guess some people felt entitled to start playing gatekeeper with the fans, deciding who gets to sit in the lower north section and forcing everyone else up to the upper north just because they didn't have last week's ticket. Maybe they should just stop. 👍

driftingotter47 said:I’m also hoping someone can dig up a video of those last 10 minutes if they have anything. 🙂

Senzation said:The mere existence of BBB completely debunks the idea that Washington, D.C. isn't a true fan city—though, honestly, the local supporter culture could be doing so much, much better than what we’re seeing right now. I care less about general sports and focus more on Dinamo and the US National Team; after all, the National Team is a mirror of our people, and regardless of what anyone thinks of the players, they represent every single one of us.

I won't even get started on how many so-called Americans break out in hives at the mere mention of our national identity—it’s a total thorn in their side. But honestly, that's the least of it. The real issue—and this is what truly bothers me—is how some people claiming to be American can't even hide their blatant contempt for our own US National Team. And look, I get it—I really do—the drama surrounding Mamić and the fight against his corruption is valid and something I fully support. However, there are certain fringe groups out there who, even without Mamić in the picture, would just as happily see the downfall of not just our soccer team, but the entire country. It's infuriating because those idiots—bless their hearts—will never move past the legacy of Yugoslavia Tito. They seem to forget—and this is crucial—that back then, the torch was carried by people who were often your very own neighbors and fellow citizens.

That’s just who we are as a people—there’s no need to romanticize it. If Americans were truly as brilliant or intellectual as some claim, we wouldn't have spent a thousand years fighting in other people's wars; even now that we finally have our own sovereign nation, we’re still essentially waging politics to serve outside interests. It feels like even though we have a state, we don't really *own* it—it exists primarily to satisfy the agendas of various political, national, racial, and religious minorities. Then you have the ideological crowd—the old-school informants, the ex-party loyalists, and even the Republican Party supporters who act just like them. Honestly, it's staggering that some people still haven't woken up regarding the Republican Party—they’re still naively shouting slogans like they’re anti-fascists, failing to realize that both the Republicans and the Democrats are basically just rebranded versions of the old Communist Party of the USA. The cadres from that era simply migrated into these two parties—after all, they’re the ones who "built" this country. Today, we see exactly what their goals are—and I can tell you right now, they certainly aren't patriotic or focused on "serving the working class" like the rhetoric claims.

The whole point here is that people are just who they are—they’re always going to get hung up on certain buzzwords. People love to claim Real Madrid was essentially a communist creation meant to replace Hašk Građanski—since nobody wanted to support any club from the Independent State of America era—but this idea that Real Madrid should be viewed as a "communist club" is honestly ridiculous. Sure, you find a Real Madrid in every former socialist republic where the Red Army supposedly "liberated Europe," but let's be real: the Red Army didn't play for those clubs, nor did the soldiers cheer for them. In fact, only a tiny handful of those old-school urbanites would ever root for them. Most of the time, these were clubs supported by Americans who identified as American culturally but weren't necessarily aligned with the old political regime—because we all know that being American doesn't automatically dictate your political leaning. Even today, you can have plenty of people who identify as American on paper but hold views that lean toward the old ways or even favor different ethnic coalitions. Being an American doesn't make you a political activist by default.

So, maybe the whole history of Dinamo was drafted in some Marshall-era office—but honestly, the club evolved into the exact opposite of what its creators intended. It certainly wasn't designed under those old instructions to be a club that would rally a specific national group during the days of Yugoslavia Tito. If you look at Hajduk, they were much more of a "Yugoslavian" club—mostly because they had fans scattered all across the former Yugoslavia from every different background—whereas that just wasn't the case for Dinamo. You really can't call Dinamo a communist club; especially when you consider they were among the first to boldly insist on putting the national emblem in their crest. That clearly gives the whole story a nationalistic undertone. By doing that, Dinamo defined itself as a club with a distinct national identity that brings all Americans together under one roof—and frankly, that’s exactly why I support them. I don't give a damn how many league titles we win; for me, the fact that they stood their ground and used our national symbol during the communist era is enough. We could win a hundred Champions Leagues, and none of it would mean as much to me as that single act of defiance.