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Being a long-time MLS believer, and having grown up going to games in the world’s best-attended league, the German Bundesliga, I recently traveled Northern California and the Pacific Northwest in search of the growing North American soccer culture. Here’s my first set of random observations (with lots of photos and videos)–from brand-new Avaya Stadium in San Jose, where I attended the scoreless draw between the Earthquakes and New York City FC on August 5.
Location, Location, Location
The Quakes home venue is located right by Mineta International Airport, which makes for the unique experience of very nearly being able to make out travelers’ faces as they’re flying by. While the downside is that there are few businesses surrounding Avaya Stadium that might tie into the clubs’ fan culture, such as bars or restaurants, Santa Clara University with its young, desirable target demographic is also right next door and downtown is just a couple of miles down the road. Overall 3.5 out of 5 stars for location.
Nostalgia Galore!
Being an MLS nerd, it always makes me nostalgic walking around behind the scenes at a game and spotting former players in suits and ties. This time around, Claudio Reyna, Chris Leitch and Joe Cannon made appearances. While most soccer fans in this country know ex-U.S. captain Reyna as NYCFC’s sporting director, fewer are probably aware that former Quakes defender Leitch is now the club’s technical director and that San Jose legend Cannon serves as color commentator for KLIV radio broadcasts. Check out the snapshot of Reyna below.
Architecture Smarts
While Avaya Stadium is currently the smallest venue in the league at a seating capacity of 18,000, its architects have to be congratulated on opting for a horseshoe-like design, a European-style roof and MLS’s steepest seating bowl. Leaving one end of the bowl entirely open “compresses” all of the fans on the remaining three sides, and the emphasis on building tall conversely “stretches out” the visual, thereby creating the perception of a large crowd and creating a feel very similar to that of a smaller Bundesliga venue. In fact, having grown up going to games of local pro team VfL Bochum, which over the past two decades has alternated between the German first and second divisions, my San Jose experience was oddly reminiscent of those years. While Bochum’s Vonovia-Ruhrstadion has a capacity of nearly 30,000, the Quakes’ home skillfully mask its 12,000 seat deficit and as a result stands a fighting chance at one day drawing even in terms of atmosphere, strongly aided by the noise and energy-capturing qualities of the roof.
Are We There Yet?
It’s always cool to see how having a home of their own helps fans identify with their club, a fact that manifested itself in the number of people with Earthquakes jerseys, scarves, shirts, jackets, beanies and hats. Folks showing their black-and-blue pride was definitely less of a thing when I attended my last San Jose game back at the old Spartan Stadium in 2002. However, while the crowds’ visual expressiveness contributed to my VfL Bochum flashbacks (both teams having similar colors helped as well), I should also mention a conversation I had with a fellow media member upon arriving at the press box. A Quakes regular, the journalist in question expressed his fondness of the developments of the past few years but added that Avaya Stadium “is still searching for its identity.” I quickly realized what he meant by that, as folks in attendance exhibited one of the clearest indicators of a crowd that is somewhat new to the whole “hipster soccer thing”–its tendency to roam around until finally settling into its seats around kickoff time. That would be unheard of at a Bundesliga game, where most fans are already in the stands supporting their players and heckling the opposition during warm-ups (compare Avaya warm-ups photo below). If my theory was to hold up, I’d be in for more Germany-like behavior at the Portland game two days later, with that community having attended Timbers games at the same venue for over a decade and a half.
It’s All About That Bar
In case you hadn’t heard, one of the unique features of the Quakes’ new home is North America’s longest bar, which is located right underneath the video board at the north-east end of the stadium, with a grassy area right behind it for folks to hang out before and during games. While I was chatting with the aforementioned media member, he raved about how people loved the bar and its surroundings but that the downside was its tendency to draw people away from the stands, which, he said, as a result always looked slightly emptier than the official attendance might suggest. As you can tell from the below photos, people did flock to the area by the bar, but it it actually didn’t have too much of an impact in the stands once people settled into their seats. That said, given the game was sold out and featured a number of big names, there’s some chance the Quakes were selling “non-seating” tickets and that there were actually more people at the stadium than the official capacity number of 18,000. It would be interesting to see how the bar impacts the stands during a less in-demand match, say against Columbus or Chicago.
The Krazy Power of 18,000 aka. Less is More
San Jose Earthquakes original and super fan “Krazy George Henderson,” who has been leading the cheers since the clubs’ NASL days in the 70s and 80s, demonstrated in impressive fashion one of the massive advantages of having an intimate home like Avaya Stadium. During the pregame ceremonies, he stepped onto the field and had one side of the stadium chant the word “Earth” and the other respond with “Quakes,” which he was able to sustain for a solid amount of time. What a contrast to being back at LA’s Rosebowl in the early 2002s and cringing over the announcer’s failed attempts to get a similarly-sized crowd to shout the last names of the Galaxy starting lineup! Not that this is news, but these smaller stadiums are soooooo much better.
The Most Interesting Man in the World
I’m generally over the signing of aging stars to expensive contracts in an effort to draw bigger crowds, as I believe what will grow respect for MLS is a young, exciting and competitive product on the field. That said, I will make an exception for a handful of larger-than-life superstars, so long as they still have the desire to win. The most notable of those exceptions is NYCFC midfielder and Italy legend Andrea Pirlo, who, judging by the number of jerseys I spotted with his name on the back, prompted at least 500 or so fans to make their way to Avaya Stadium for the game.
Unraveling the Ultras
The Quakes’ main supporters group, which calls itself “San Jose Ultras” and sets up shop at the stadium’s south-west end, created an air of importance and legitimacy by singing and chanting loudly throughout the 90 minutes, aided by a group of more loosely organized fans just below them. While the 300 or so die-hard supporters between the two groups reminded me of what you would see at the home venue of a midsize German second division team, that part of the fan base needs to grow in numbers if it’s to match a bigger Bundesliga 2 club such as Bochum or a smaller to midsize Bundesliga 1 club such as Mainz or Freiburg. A San Jose resident from England did inform me that the NYCFC game was fairly big for the Ultras and that they sometimes had far fewer members in the stands. There’s no doubt in my mind that the future success of the Quakes franchise will have to be driven by the recruiting success of its main supporters group, which may only be a few years away from reaching a size that would be respectable by European first division standards.
Culture of Positivity?
A general observation I have made in recent years has to do with the rise of the soccer fan culture in North America without the ugly elements that have been allowed to grow elsewhere, such as serious abuse (physical and verbal) against opposition supporters and players with sprinkles of homophobia, racism and other forms of bigotry. I’ve come to find that a good test of supporters in this regard is how they respond to my “VEGAN4PEACE” shirt (I am an animal advocate) and my LA hat (after all, most non-Galaxy fans around MLS dislike LA). In my experience, there are open-minded, inclusive folks who respond with interest or encouragement to the shirt while usually ignoring the hat, or who at least ignore both, and there are those who are hostile to one or both. My experience in San Jose was almost a bit schizophrenic, with several positive/curious reactions to the shirt from the more mellow crowd but also a few middle fingers extended by the Ultras (see video below). To be fair, those guys really, really hate LA, and I never felt like I was in physical danger. Part of that was knowing there were police on site, one of whom confirmed that despite the drinking and rowdiness in the supporters section, fights were relatively rare. That would definitely be a desirable distinction from games in Germany, where you generally don’t want to come across a group of die-hards while wearing the wrong jersey. Makes me wonder what happens when a large delegation of traveling (LA?) fans shows up to a Quakes game. Finally, I should mention that nowhere in the crowd did I spot any of the LGBTQ-supportive rainbow flags that have been fairly common around MLS.
Culture of Sophistication (and Positivity)!
I noticed a level of sophistication in the crowd’s positive reactions to the on-field action that I remember being painfully absent from MLS games not too long ago. Not only did folks at Avaya applaud and cheer chances for their team. They showed similar reactions to possession and set pieces won as well as to strong defensive plays. Strikingly, there was very little in the way of booing and loud complaining in response to poor plays such as a mishit shot on a one-on-one look or the failure to execute on a seemingly simple clearance. Again, that’s definitely something I can appreciate over the bipolar nature of what’s common in many venues around the German top divisions, where players are treated as heroes by their own fans one second and then often have their confidence shattered by being treated as worthless scum moments later.
Clash of Personalities
The below images are symbolic of the different coaching personalities that clashed at Avaya Stadium. While San Jose’s Dom Kinnear was verbally expressive throughout the game, and especially attempting to engage the officials in “conversation,” NYCFC’s Patrick Viera at his most animated stood up quietly and folded his arms. The postgame press conference reflected this as well, with Kinnear gladly taking the time to answer several questions and providing fairly in-depth answers while a soft-spoken Viera was brief, to the point and out of there after a couple of minutes. I do want to give props to Kinnear here. For as emotional as he seemed during the 90 minutes, he knows how to be a composed pro and keep the emotion from seeping into his postgame comments.
Moments of Sentimentality
While I pride myself on being a composed pro myself when it comes to dealing with players, I will admit that while hanging out by the locker room after the game and seeing giants of the game Pirlo, Frank Lampard and David Villa walk by, I experienced several moments of sentimentality. Given all three are well over 30, it struck me they likely won’t be around for much longer to awe fans with their extraordinary skills, which prompted me to quietly whisper a note of gratitude for everything they’ve done for the sport over the years: “Grazie, Andrea. Thank you, Frank. Gracias, David.”
That’s all for now, folks. Stay tuned for my report from Portland.
Gunnar Berndt is a long-time soccer writer and the former Director of Communications with USL side L.A. Blues (now O.C. Blues FC), PASL side Anaheim Bolts and NWSL side Chicago Red Stars, with whom he currently serves as a Communications Consultant. Click here to follow Gunnar on Twitter!
