Wednesday, March 12, 2008

"The Sons Also Rise"

A great piece on our new team and the spotlight is firmly on Bryan James and the Sons of Ben. Written by the always entertaining Steven Wells of Philadelphia Weekly.

Quick excerpt:

American soccer fan culture is as diverse as America itself. It cherry picks whatever the hell it wants from Europe, the Caribbean and Central and South America, and adds its own unique touches. Portland, for instance, just retired a real-life goddamn real chainsaw-wielding real Douglas fir-climbing real-life lumberjack mascot called Timber Jim.

How American is that?

With fans like these—fans like the Sons of Ben—who the hell needs David Beckham?

But don’t think American soccer fandom doesn’t know it’s got a way to go. At the England/U.S. game in Chicago in 2005, the hundreds of chanting, drumming and singing members of Sam’s Army were drowned out at one point by thousands of English men and women lustily singing (to the tune of the Welsh hymn “Bread of Heaven”) “Are you Scotland in disguise?” The dude next to me stopped drumming, pointed at the away fans with his drumstick, and said, “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

Read it all here.

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