Fellow commentariat member cdinoke said that "teams want the video of scarf-clad fans jumping in slow-motion enveloped in a cloud of red smoke as a marketing tool to sell the "passion" and "authenticity" of MLS, but they don’t want to have to deal with those actual supporters." I could add to this saying that League and owners want the bonus without the onus. There is a problem, though. I would be lying. You see, that is what they already have! MLS has great supporting groups with neglectable hooliganism.

My goodness! I took a four year old to an away game in a supporting group bus, during playoffs, against the biggest rival! Do you know when I would take a similar bus, ALONE, for a pre-season game, against an amateur side, in South America? NEVER!

I remember my first game in the RFK. I had moved in to America a few months before. I was missing soccer. Since I already had sympathies toward DC United, I decided to give it a try. Boy, I couldn’t have felt more at home in the Loud Side! I understand that it could look chaotic from the outside, but it was an absolutely ordered party. I am glad that I could share the experience with my son. Everything felt so right. The chants, the flags, the beer shower, the bouncing stands, the celebration during halftime… It was authentic. It was intense. It was fun. It was soccer as it should always be. I am in love with the club ever since.

I went to other games after that, and they were equally perfect. Still, that night was when I married DC United for good. I can move away from DC, from the US, and never set foot here again. I am a fan, and I will remain a fan, and everything began on that night.

It is beyond me why anyone could be against such an atmosphere. I simply cannot understand. MLS and the owners have the best of the worlds, and they don’t seem to know it! It is right in front of their eyes, but they are too afraid to see. They are fighting against a bogeyman, creating a problem where there is none...