Dave’s Football Blog

Live in North Carolina? Want to know what it’s like to be an away supporter for your soccer club without actually going to an away game? Come cheer for the Carolina Railhawks when they play a friendly against any club from Mexico.

The Railhawks played Monterrey on Sunday, and that video doesn’t really do the scene justice. There were about 20 of us and 7,000 Mexicans. We had to get there an hour before kickoff to make sure we could set up our drums in our usual spot on the south stand, and even then it was half full of Los Rayodos and El Tri supporters. 10 minutes before kickoff, guys in Mexican wrestling masks showed up waving Monterrey flag and throwing boxes full of whistles at the crowd.

Somehow, we managed to stand our ground. When they chanted “Monterrey! Monterrey!”, we came right back at them with “Railhawks! Railhawks!” We flew our flags and beat our drums for everyone to see. We also have a guy who shows up to almost every game with giant laminated yellow and red cards, and during the game, whenever someone ran by with a Monterrey flag, he would chase after him holding up the red card.

Then there was my favorite chant of the afternoon. Whenever a Monterrey player missed a wide open shot, we pointed at him and sang, “That’s why you’re not in Superliga!” (That was almost as much fun as the “You lost to Hollywood!” Guantanamera chant we threw at Portland a few weeks ago.)

I only saw one ugly incident. At the end of the game, when it became clear that we were going to get away with a 0-0 draw, one of our supporters lit up an orange smoke bomb — the second or third one of the match — and Monterrey fans start throwing water bottles and Tecate cans at him. Another supporter told me later that he got hit with a half-empty Coke bottle during a flag run. All told, though, it was still much less ugly than your average Philadelphia Eagles game.

95-degree heat aside, it was a fun afternoon. Plus, after the game, some of the Monterrey fans who stood outside waiting for their own players applauded the Railhawks as emerged from the locker rooms. They were especially nice to Brian Levey, our backup goalkeeper, who managed to keep international players like Jared Borgetti and Humberto Suazo out of goal. I think some of those fans will be back — wearing orange and cheering for the home side. Works for me. We’ll be in section 204, amigos. Come sing with us.

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