JACKSONVILLE — Beautiful chaos precedes the beautiful game. It’s hot and sticky, just the way it will be every afternoon for the next four months in Northern Florida, but they are not deterred. They march for the sport they love. They march for their country’s colors and the team they’re so passionate about — their only hope is that their passion bleeds over to you. If you hang around them long enough, it’s impossible not to get swept up in the red, white and blue fever they exude from their pores right along with the sweat from the June heat.
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They are the American Outlaws, the rabid fan base with more than 125 chapters nationwide that meet mostly in bars to cheer on the U.S. men’s national team whenever they play. They boast a membership of over 10,000 people, collecting dues of $25 per year per person. They won’t let a chapter start in a particular city until 25 people have gotten together to pledge the yearly amount.
On this day, the Jacksonville contingent, founded in 2010 with a mission “to get an organized but chaotic following of the U.S. men’s national team,” tailgates before the 2-1 win over Nigeria in the final send-off game before the team heads to Brazil to compete in the World Cup.
The group rivals — even at some points surpassing — the wildest Florida-Georgia tailgate in sheer craziness outside EverBank Field. It’s fine if you don’t believe it, this is America after all. How many people actually care about soccer?
The answer is thousands, and it’s clear to see how unbelievably passionate they are about the 23 men you’ll see competing on the pitch Monday evening against Ghana.
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Smoke bombs go off in the middle of a lot next to Russ Doe’s Sandwich Shop, which serves as the Outlaws’ gameday base of operations a few blocks away from EverBank. The continuous pounding of a drum is the pulsating rhythm of the afternoon. It keeps the different chants on beat hours before the game even starts.
A young man that has climbed on the roof of Russ Doe’s leads the chanting crowd below in a rendition of “I believe that we will win.” The natives yell their own rallying cry “Duval,” a nod to the county that comprises the nation’s largest city.
But beyond the beer and the incessant yelling, there is family. Many at the tailgate aren’t members of the specific Jacksonville Outlaws chapter or even residents of Florida at all. They’re nomadic supporters that follow the team wherever they go, linking up with fellow Outlaws once they get to their destination.
“This is what I do,” said Jonathan Slate, president of the Nashville, Tenn., chapter of the American Outlaws. And like his fellow fans, he travels far and wide to see the US play.
“This is my hobby. This is 100 people that I’ve become friends with and who have become family for me with the soccer games and everything.”
The conversation is cut short. A group wants anyone within shouting distance to know that “you can’t score on Timmy Howard (the U.S.’ goalkeeper),” because — pardon the French — “he’s big and tall like a f***ing brick wall.” The chant goes on and on “fourth verse, same as the first.” But it’s “a whole lot louder and a whole lot worse.”
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For the last decade, Andrew Wagner has been traveling around, following the team to games. The US-Nigeria matchup is his second time in Jacksonville for a game, and he’s seen the team in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Tampa, Nashville and Columbus, Ohio, to name a few of his stops.
“I think (the fan support) was a lot different in the last World Cup cycle,” Wagner said. “A lot of what the American Outlaws do definitely help create that hype because everyone can latch on to a single group and come together like this.”
He’s a lot like Mike Fera — coincidentally a University of Florida graduate. But Fera has upped the ante as a member of the Outlaws, not just going to domestic games but also traveling abroad to see the team play.
“My big thing now is I go to the away games,” he said. “That’s like a tight knit community. This is fun, but when you go to away games it’s the same 40 faces in a hostile environment. You walk into Kingston (Jamaica) and you develop lifelong friendships when you’re like ‘damn, if we’re not boys, we’re about to die.’”
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These soccer fans come in all shapes, sizes, colors and, obviously, genders. One Outlaw from Atlanta named Skylar Ward spoke to alligatorSports about what it’s like to be a female member of the group. She says she doesn’t get the typical treatment female fans of other sports teams get. Nobody asks her if her boyfriend got her into it, or which midfielder she finds most attractive.
“You don’t really get that with soccer,” she said. “I think it’s because Americans are just now catching on to the soccer bus that whether you’re man or woman it doesn’t really effect it, everyone’s just jumping on board.”
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While the Outlaws are the host of the packed pregame party, it’s not just limited to members. Many that aren’t affiliated with the supporters group at all come, looking for a good time with friends and hopefully a victory for the U.S. Together, they form the largest crowd to ever watch a game in the Southeast as more than 52,000 people fill EverBank Field to watch the game. Thanks to that, the members of the Outlaws find the greatest vindication that their push to grow soccer hysteria in this country is working.
“This is the most validating thing for a soccer fan,” Fera said. “As a soccer fan, you’re kind of on the outskirts of sports fandom, your average bro is just going to make fun of a soccer dude. But over here, 50,000 people like this? This is what it’s about.”
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With an hour left before the game is set to kickoff, the march begins. Up Church Street to Parker, then a right on Duval ending at the gate outside the stadium. They cheer with anticipation, and they carry with them a movement. They want you to join them, to support the team they love so dearly. One day, they hope they won’t be outlaws, but instead just as mainstream as any other fan of the major sports in this country.
Until then, listen closely, and do not tread on them. The American Outlaws will continue to cheer with all that is in them for their team and for their sporting way of life.
If the men’s national team comes to your city, they will flood it in droves, painting your downtown the colors of the American flag.
Unlike that of a human’s, the beauty of their chaos is not fleeting. The American Outlaws are here to stay.
Follow Richard Johnson on Twitter @RagjUF
Members of the American Outlaws supporters group and other U.S. soccer fans prepare to march to EverBank Field to watch the men’s national team defeat Nigeria 2-1 in its final send-off game before the World Cup. The U.S. will open the World Cup against Ghana on Monday.
