La Barra Brava, in their push towards a strong showing at next week's march, used Saturday's DC United home match to publicize the effort. Volunteers placed fliers on seats throughout RFK Stadium, after the club allowed them into the venue before gates opened to the general public.
La Barra Brava leaders Oscar and Chico were kind enough to give me a few moments of their time during the pre-game tailgate.
MFUSA: You have the march coming up on May 9th, is that right?
Oscar: Yes, indeed we do. We're trying to support the team every way possible, since 1996, and this is a big thing that we're trying to do. We hope that everybody from the metropolitan area can help us out, they don't have to be a soccer fan, we just want everybody up there.
MFUSA: How many people are you hoping for?
Oscar: We're expecting to have 2,000 plus. That's our goal.
MFUSA: And this isn't just La Barra Brava, it's everybody?
Oscar: This in conjunction with the Eagles (Screaming Eagles) and La Norte. This is something that we don't have to, at this time, to think about differences between the supporters groups or season ticket holders. This is something that we have to do unified, because otherwise we're headed to where we would lose the team.
MFUSA: Are you hoping that the powers-that-be in city take notice of the rally?
Oscar: That's the idea. I started the group (La Barra Brava) in 1996. We have so many members now. We have a lot of people from the metropolitan area that have invested a lot of money in the team. Personally, I pray every date that we keep DC United in the area. That's our main goal.
MFUSA: You chose the week of a match with TFC; are you expecting any help from their fans?
Oscar: Yes we are. Not only from Toronto, there are other supporters groups that are willing to join us in the march. We have great support when we visit Toronto, which is real nice, and that's the way it should be. In the stands, it's a different story. When we're out at the tailgate, when we see people traveling from far away, I personally don't see any reason that we have to be, you know, treat them in bad way. The idea is supporting soccer in the USA, and that's exactly what we're doing.
MFUSA: What are you doing to get the word out for the march?
Chico: We're going to try to spread out fliers all over the stadium. The quiet side, the supporters side, any fan that comes through the gates, we're going to try to get the word out.
MFUSA: The plan is then to have everybody-
Chico: Total saturation.
MFUSA: So everybody that's here today, hopefully comes back next week and joins in-
Chico: And brings some people (laughs). And brings as may people as they can. Hopefully we get some youth groups...basically we want as many as we can at the march.
MFUSA: Is the march being called "United Force"? Is that the name?
Chico: There's no official name. It's just the "march for United". United is a word which is pretty descriptive of what we are. We're all united in one cause. We just-basically we love our team, and we have so much history here.
MFUSA: Were you worried about by the commissioner's comments after the PG County stadium fell through?
Chico: Well yeah, of course. It picked our ears up, no doubt. There's that fear there, that something could happen. We understand the economics of everything, but we don't want to see it end, and we're going to do whatever it takes to makes sure that does not happen. We just want the local community, be it DC, Virgina, Maryland, to realize that this team means a lot to a lot of people.
MFUSA: Are you worried that the Capitals playoff run could take away from the march?
Chico: We can't plan around every event that goes down in this town. We have to do what we have to do. We have so many hardcore people that have so much passion about this team, that will do it regardless of when and where. We just can't plan-we wish the Caps well, but we can't plan our agenda around theirs.
MFUSA: Are you hoping for any media attention?
Chico: Oh, of course, as much as we can get. We've already had it, the Washington Post, and blogs like Stephen Goff's blog, Dan Steinberg's blog, Big Soccer-the word's out there. We just want to bring attention to our cause. This team is part of DC's fiber and we need to have it here.
It's clear from meeting the leaders of La Barra Brava why DC has some of the best supporters in North American soccer. They're obviously extremely passionate about their club, extremely organized, and extremely committed.
Remember, if you support La Barra Brava and all United fans' effort to ensure the team stays where it belongs, spread the word for the league wide movement.
