My passion for soccer began in 1988.
I was a 6-year-old American boy living in
Naples,
Italy.
The 1990 World Cup was coming up and sure to light up
Italy and the world. But for now I was focused on what
was going on locally: Diego Maradona- the best player to
have ever played the modern version of football. At the
time I was not genuinely interested in football itself,
I did not understand it and, frankly, was probably too
young to understand the delicate balance the sport was
between culture, entertainment, and business. In 1988 I
was brought to the San Paolo Stadium with my father to
see Napoli-Lecce. We had poor seats by your typical
standards. In fact, there were no seats; it was a basic
concrete terrace on the southern edge of second tier of
the stadium. I remember my father being quite nervous at
the time. We were two Americans that stuck out like sore
thumbs in a packed section filled with Neapolitans. I
think that most were amazed that any American even
followed the sport and we were warmly welcomed.
For 30 minutes before the match the
stands were standing and singing. The chanting was for
Diego who rarely did jogging, sprints, or stretching as
his warm-up. Diego preferred to juggle and put on a show
of foot skills for the entire stadium. The pre-game
festivities and the chanting, the flags, one of which my
dad had bought for me outside the stadium before the
game, the horns and the smoke intrigued me. I did not
know that at the time I was sitting along with the
Ultras Napoli, the ardent supporters of the Partenopei.
The game ended 4-0 for
Napoli.
I continued going to home games on
and off between 1988 and 1990. The world cup was then an
event during which my understanding of the game became
more refined. I remember crying after Diego and
Argentina were eliminated by the laboriously effective
yet monochromatic soccer the Germans played. I was
devastated, literally even though I had no connection to
either team except for Diego Maradona and a few other
Argentineans that played for Napoli. The 1990 World Cup
got me more involved with soccer as I began to play it
and watch it. In the following years we moved to
Turin. At this point I followed the Serie A, played on the
local team, filled countless sticker albums with player
stickers, watched all the soccer shows, and read the
pink Gazzetta dello Sport. During my time in
Turin, I began to follow Juventus (the drug scandal with
Maradona had made me turn my attention away from Napoli).
I loved Juventus’ dominance and became attracted to
their ability to bring in unknown players and turn them
into world soccer superstars (Platini, Del Piero, and
Zidane to name a few).
I also played on an amateur team
made up of mostly Juventus fans, and as my relationship
with these individuals grew, I became aware that they
were more than fans - they were ultras.
As it is commonly known, ultras is a
term used to describe ardent soccer supporters. The word
“ultras” is derived from the Italian word “oltre” which,
translated into English, means “beyond." The concept
being that Ultras were beyond the average fan in terms
of dedication, passion, and support. ultras were known
world wide for their colorful displays, their
choreographies, their chants, and sometimes for their
violence, born from passion, not delinquency.
I lived in Turin for 3 years during
which I became friends with many ultras that belonged to
the Juventus group “Drughi.” I spent two seasons in
Curva Sud, the supporter section on the southern end of
the Stadio delle Alpi with the numerous Drughi which was
a group born by the fusion of several smaller groups (Gioventu’
Biancornera, Black & White Supporters, Filadelfia,
Indians, Arancia Meccanica).
The Heysel disaster, in which 39
Juventus fans lost their lives as a result of English
hooligans, had made the groups want to rid themselves of
English names and resort to a local Italian name: Drughi.
I remember going to games at the Stadio delle Alpi: the
view was terrible, the field was miles away, there were
no seats, but Juventus was on the field and that was
your team, from your city, with all your friends at your
side making sure that no other fans could come to our
stadium or city and try to make it their own.
Although I had only lived in
Turin
for three years, during the latter two of these I felt a
great sense of pride in the city and I had a sense of
belonging. I guess it had to do with the attraction of
being part of something larger than you. And the Drughi
offered a great experience in which I made many friends,
rooted for a great team, and had one too many pints. In
the end I knew that I belonged to something larger than
me that no one would question. I recall being talked to
and addressed differently if someone knew that I
attended Juventus matches with the Drughi.
Whereas I was just another body and
not a significant player in the group, the prestige that
came with sitting with the Drughi made you feel superior
to the other “fans." The additional effort put forth for
making banners, flags, and singing and standing the
whole game made you feel like you deserved attention.
And attention we would get. Almost without fail, when a
goal was scored or a penalty stopped, our players would
always point to us. In those moments, all the troubles
in life, the stress of a week of classes and homework,
and the disappointments with the women all went out the
window. Those precious moments were worth it and drowned
out all that was bad in life. Those moments strengthened
your love for your team. These are the moments that I
want to recreate with the Sounders in
Seattle
come 2009.
I plan to do so by being an active
member and organizer of the Emerald City Supporters-a
group of individuals in whom I saw the same passion and
the same love for their team and city as I did in Curva
Sud at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin.
Greg Mockos is the Chief Organizer of the Emerald City
Supporters Club. See details of how to get involved at
http://www.weareecs.com/join-us/