The Armada

Just saw the news about that shark attack. Honestly? Not surprised. People keep heading out into the surf like they own the ocean, acting like they're invincible. I remember back in Florida, some guy I knew thought he was a regular surfer god—until he got too close to a reef and realized nature doesn't care about your ego. It’s a wake-up call. The ocean is wild, unpredictable, and frankly, it doesn't give a damn about you. Stay smart or stay on the sand. says:
Look, I’m done. I promise. But seriously, if we could just get this group back to how it used to be... 😁 I get what he was trying to say, but man, how it actually came out? Pure legend status. Absolute classic. At least for me, anyway. I had to post, obviously, and once I started typing, I just couldn't stop. Couldn't help myself. Whatever, it’s fine. No lasting trauma or anything.😁

What am I even supposed to say to you if you won't talk? It might sound ridiculous, but it's the truth.
I don’t get it. I’m talking about how things are right now, but you guys keep dragging us back to the good old days every single time. Look, I never said the Navy wasn't tougher than those other groups back then—of course they were. But I'm talking about the PRESENT!
Maybe it’s better if the Navy just stops showing up to certain games altogether. Just skip them. Honestly, if we didn't show, those guys constantly living in the past would probably still find a way to claim we were always the strongest group right after Torcida and the BBB. They’d find some way to say we were still better than Kohort or the Demons, no matter what. Typical.🤷

rowdyridge19 said:Look, what am I supposed to say if you won't give me anything to work with? It might sound ridiculous, but it's just the truth...
I don't get it. Seriously, I’m talking about how things look right now, in the present, but everyone keeps dragging us back to the good old days. I never said the Navy wasn't stronger than those other groups back then—of course they were—but I'm talking about TODAY!
Honestly, maybe it'd be better if the Navy just skipped certain games entirely or stopped cheering altogether. Probably wouldn't even matter; those "glory days" crowd would still find a way to claim the Navy was always second only to Torcida or the BBB, and that they'd still be better than Kohort or the Demons... whatever.🤷

Go back and read my post at the top of the thread. I laid out a solid, logical argument for why the Navy is still a quality group today—not yesterday, not tomorrow, but right now—regardless of any recent dip in numbers...

I see ten of you have tagged me. I should probably reply to everyone, but I honestly don't have the energy. It just leads to an endless, toxic cycle.

Keith Ramos5 said:I agree with most of this, except for one thing regarding the bolded part... You really should have included the Ultras! Why aren't they mentioned?

For the exact same reason I didn't mention people from Osijek!

Kenneth Campbell64 said:It’s always been Torcida, BBB, then the Navy... then nothing, just the rest of the scene...

It's always been that way, it's that way now, and it'll stay that way.

The Navy is the Navy, there's really nothing else to say about it—we're always right there alongside the giants.

It’s kind of like when someone claims the Boys are a worse group just because they have smaller turnouts at home games compared to the Demons (or whoever). I respect Cijenin, Kohort, and the Demons as groups that weathered some tough times and climbed up to a respectable level; they’ve gone through the same process my group is in right now, but they aren't even close to being the Navy yet. Even the Navy's worst showing during big matches is still a pipe dream for Kohort and the Demons, whether you're looking at the pyrotechnics, the choreographies, or just the sheer numbers.

Simply put, the Navy is a massive group, while those other two aren't. They definitely have their own quality and it's clearly improving, but once that generational gap within the Navy closes—you know, when the younger crowd steps up a bit more than they have so far (which is really just a matter of time)—and once the impact of all that crackdown on the crew dies down, the Navy will be back at the very top.

Last year, when they played us at our home stadium, their turnout was a total disaster; there weren't even 100 of them at the start of the game, and they were literally scouting the stands just to try and form any kind of cohesive block. We had a pretty solid showing ourselves, maybe 60 people, traveling to their place—does that mean we're a better group than them? Even at our home game last year, I think our block was three times larger than theirs was against us in San Francisco, and honestly, there's no need to even debate who cheered louder, because their performance in San Francisco was just incredibly weak in that department.
And seriously, it wouldn't make sense to anyone with common sense to put a Tornado in front of the Navy... because that just isn't how things work!

Look, I hate rankings, comparisons, and all this online trash-talking, but as much as I respect Cijenin, Kohort, and the Demons—as much as I acknowledge their obvious progress and good shows—I have to admit that those groups are currently at their peak while the Navy is at a low point, and yet they *still* haven't surpassed us. And if someone is at their absolute peak and they aren't at least five times better than someone at their lowest ebb, how can you honestly call that group stronger? It's impossible.

I have to say, the Demons aren't even close to their peak right now. For real, we’ve only had one home game so far. You have no idea how much that kills the turnout on the road—we aren't bringing in any new blood or younger fans. And don't even get me started on these pathetic results. Once we finally open our own stadium and move back to our spot in the North Stand, then we'll actually see how much room there is to grow.

mellowhawk34 said:I really gotta address the fact that the Demons aren't even close to being at their peak right now. I mean, seriously, we've only actually watched one home game so far. You have any idea how much that kills the turnout for away games? We aren't bringing in any of the younger crowd or new fans. And don't even get me started on the results—they're absolutely criminal. Once we finally open up our own stadium and get back to our old spot in the North Stand, then we'll see just how much work there still needs to be done.

👍

Comparing Cohort to Armada is just plain stupid; honestly, there hasn't been a single season where they showed up at Santa Monica in greater numbers than we do in Indianapolis, and I remember times when it was just two or three of them showing up, whereas our standard turnout in Indianapolis is usually around 80 people, while they're lucky to get 30 at Santa Monica.

Armada numbers this year:

Indianapolis-50
San Diego-80
Los Angeles-200
San Diego-50
Washington, D.C.-250
Indianapolis-120
Atlanta-100

Luxembourg-250
Cleveland-100
Cleveland-20
Memphis-60
San Diego-60
Washington, D.C.-200

If those Demons and Cohort want to talk, why don't they post their own numbers from their last 13 away games so we can actually see something?

This is what it looked like down at Santa Monica during the big rivalry games...

And this was for the smaller matchups...

Something the Demons and Cohort couldn't dream of reaching...

The math just doesn't track when you compare it to the Demon and Cohort 200 man matchups, or even an Armada 300 situation. You’re looking at a city like San Diego with maybe 60,000 people versus Indianapolis hitting 100,000. Then you have the scale of a massive crowd in Seattle—where you've got 150,000 residents plus the entire surrounding region backing them—or comparing the Boys 500 to a massive metropolis like Washington, D.C. with millions of people. It’s a completely different league.

I’ve only got one question for the Armada. Can anyone actually pull up a photo of some flares from the last four years that isn't from a massive derby? I’m talking real flare action. Like, at least 20 flares in one shot.

Drew Perez said:I’ve only got one question for the Armada. Can anyone actually pull up a photo of a flare display from the last four years that wasn't just some massive derby? I mean a real pyrotechnic show. At least 20 flares going off at once.

In the last year alone:

The Skopje-Intertoto Cup match—maybe 15 to 20 flares (not even all of them made it into the video clip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE-prvqMJNc

Luxembourg, two separate bursts of about 10 flares each

As for the MLS, they’ve been scheduling fewer and fewer daytime games lately, so...
Seattle vs. General Mills—if I had to guess, maybe 15 smoke canisters plus a few flares..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2nWo...layer_embedded

Seattle vs. Memphis, about 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOwzoRUFbVk

Seattle vs. Indianapolis, about 10

Anything else...?

I looked back at the last four years—not that I’m just sticking to the most recent one—and asked about flares... you know, during those smaller games. Not a single thing happened, right?

Drew Perez said:I’ve been looking back at the last four years—and you don't even have to stick just to this past year—but I was asking about those flare displays... you know, during those smaller games... and honestly, there's just nothing to show for it, right? Nothing at all...

🤦

Drew Perez said:I’ve been looking back at the last four years—and look, you don't have to stick strictly to just this past season—but I've been asking about the flares... specifically at those smaller games. Absolutely nothing, right? Just zero.

In the seasons before last, we used to get about five home derbies a year, thanks to the cup runs and how the playoff system was set up. Those were the big ones where things actually lit up—always at least 20 people, probably even over 50 at times... So, basically, we had maybe five real heavy flare shows per season.

Gotta get to work or whatever, catch you guys later tonight.. 😉

bluewalker92 said:Back in the seasons before last, we’d get about five home derbies per season thanks to the cup and the championship format. Those games always went off—usually over 20 flares, probably even more than 50... So, basically, five big flare shows a year.

Gotta get to work. Catch you guys later tonight.. 😉

Right, so you're basically admitting that for the last four years, there hasn't been any pyrotechnics at the smaller games? And those are every single match except for when the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers are playing.

Drew Perez said:Alright, so you're basically admitting that for the last four years, there hasn't been any flare action at the smaller games—and since we're talking about everything except the Yankees and the Dodgers, that's pretty much every game.

Look, I'm telling you, the Armada has shown up with flares even at games where neither the Dodgers nor the Yankees are playing...☕
Go ahead, do a little digging with the other fanbases and see if you don't find the same thing.😉

Drew Perez said:So, you’re essentially admitting that for the last four years, there hasn't been a single flare lit at any minor games? And by "minor," I mean everything except when the big teams like the Cowboys or the Packers are playing?

www.armada-ri.com

Do yourself a favor and look into that. You might actually find something interesting relevant to whatever group you claim to represent.

Drew Perez said:So, you're basically admitting that for the last four years, there haven't been any flares at the smaller games (and let's be real, everything except the big rivalry matches counts as a small game)?

Here’s a few more I pulled together quickly—stuff I know exists and can easily find online...☕
God, even doing this exhausted me😁...But hey, anything for the sake of internet propaganda...🙏

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/3218/dsc0463j.jpg
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/2830/hnkrsib01b.jpg
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/646/hnkrka11.jpg
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6475/hnkrzg3109.jpg
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/671...eka0607107.jpg
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/7154/rici060741b.jpg
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/4230/rici300720059.jpg

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/4904/risl161120041.jpg
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9614/rikixx6.jpg
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/5033/risl230420055.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1172/riva041220049.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3...a200420054.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1272/rizg160420054.jpg
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/9445/sbrijeka242.jpg
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/745...2009201jpg.jpg

You guys are really stuck on this, aren't you? Just desperate to prove you're somehow superior to the old guard or those demons by posting away with your travel stats and little pictures and all that nonsense.
🙈
Seriously though, where on earth did you read that anyone from the old crew actually claimed we were better than you lot??

Terry Lee3, are you seriously trying to pull my leg with these photos? You calling those flares? There aren't even ten of them, let alone twenty.
The only time you guys actually had a real flare display was back during that '04/'05 season. Since then, you haven't had a single flare display at any of the small games.