Supporters
While the Rapids have had strong fan attendance for many of their years in MLS, including leading the league in average fans per game in 2002, the club has had a fairly rocky history when it comes to supporters groups or ultras. While there have been several groups both large and small, the most notable of these have been the Jolly Green Men (sporadic attendance by Arapahoe High School students and friends between 1997-1998), the River Ratz (six seasons from 1997-2002), Ultra Azul, Centennial Firm (2005-2009), Class IV (late 2005-present), North Corner Council (2007-2009), Pid Army (2010-present), and the Bulldog Supporters Group (2010-present).
Class VI was established in late 2005 to provide an alternative to the traditional standing environment. They are an organized body known as a seating club, focused on passion for the game, premium viewing location, and a focus on gameplay and is open to any fan (including both season ticket holders and single-game fans).
Supporters have been constantly moved by the Colorado Rapids to limit complaints by the average fan in attendance. Mile High Stadium moved the initial supporters from section 101 (SW) to section 109 (NW), then section 121 (NE). The final move to section 127 (NE touchline about 20 yards from the end-line at the top of the penalty box) was a mutually agreed move between the River Ratz and GM Dan Counce. Invesco Field at Mile High was simply located in section 128 (SE corner). In 2007 with the opening of Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the Rapids placed supporters in the "Front Range" (name officially promoted by the Rapids) section 114 (SE end-line). In 2008, the Rapids forced a move again to sections 101 and 102 (NE corner).
2010 marked a groundbreaking year for Colorado Rapids supporter groups. Before the 2010 season, the Colorado Rapids unveiled plans for a unique European-style supporters terrace for the north end of Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The change was a mutually agreed move between GM Jeff Plush and several supporter club leads. Currently, the Colorado Rapids boasts two major supporter groups that fill the terraces. These include the Bulldog Supporters Group and the Pid Army. The Bulldog Supporters Group (also referred to as "BSG" or "the Bobbies") formed out of the British Bulldog Pub in downtown Denver in 2010. The Pid Army grew out of the merging of the C-Firm and the NCC in 2010. The Pid Army is geared more toward the Ultras, DIY and Punk Rock culture. Both supporter groups fill the terraces in the north end of the stadium and create a passionate atmosphere for the Colorado Rapids.
For the 2011–2012 Edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF regulations require "all-seater" stadiums. The Supporters Terrace was officially closed for these matches, due to the fact that the terraces are standing-only areas with no stadium seating. CONCACAF group stage fixtures have seen the Pid Army and the Bulldog Supporters Group relocated to either midfield in the East stands (Isidro Metapán) or directly behind the South goal in sections 117 and 118 (Club Santos Laguna, Real España).
In 2012, the Rapids had exactly 3,561 season ticket holders after the Colorado Rapids front office mistakenly emailed a spreadsheet that contained a list of every season ticket holder to the season ticket base. The Colorado Rapids front office admitted to the mistake in a follow on email to the season ticket holders.
Read more about this topic: Colorado Rapids, Club Culture
Famous quotes containing the word supporters:
“His [O.J. Simpson’s] supporters lined the freeway to cheer him on Friday and commentators talked about his tragedy. Did those people see the photographs of the crime scene and the great blackening pools of blood seeping into the sidewalk? Did battered women watch all this on television and realize more vividly than ever before that their lives were cheap and their pain inconsequential?”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“The hydra of corruption is only scotched, not dead. An investigation kills and it and its supporters dead. Let this be had.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“The opposition is indispensable. A good statesman, like any other sensible human being, always learns more from his opponents than from his fervent supporters. For his supporters will push him to disaster unless his opponents show him where the dangers are. So if he is wise he will often pray to be delivered from his friends, because they will ruin him. But though it hurts, he ought also to pray never to be left without opponents; for they keep him on the path of reason and good sense.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)