Thoughts About Defeat

Last night, I was at Livonia Stevenson High School for the Detroit City FC match in the opening round if the U.S. Open Cup. They're presence there was unfounded. A club only three years old, with an astoundingly dedicated supporter base, was playing in the oldest and most prestigious soccer tournament in the United States.

I had been to one game last season, and that one was enough to convince me to buy season tickets for 2014. It wasn't just that there was a soccer team where there previously wasn't one. It was also the extreme sense of community among the fans. Just last night, I was waiting for my friend to arrive at The Bench Pub a mile from the stadium. I sat alone in a corner booth. Plenty of other City supporters filled the rather unprepared tavern. A group of rouge clad hooligans saw my solitude, noticed my DCFC scarf, and invited me to join them.

I had made seven new friends simply by virtue of a common rooting interest.

It was also the atmosphere during the match. The supporters sang and beat drums every second of the game. Even when they went down 1-0 fairly early on, the chanting and thumping continued.

One thing many Americans don't see in soccer is how rhythmic the game is. The drumming and singing flows so well with the game that it can only be described as part of the experience. The chants range from supportive: "I will sing for you City, until you finish the fight." To derogatory: "I'm blind, I'm deaf, I wanna be a ref!" To downright vulgar: "#@$& Chicago! "

There was also the sheer beauty of seven hundred people singing The Pogues' "Dirty Old Town," the official supporters anthem that is bellowed each game at the 80 minute mark.

Of course we all went psycho when Le Rouge tied the score in the 71st minute. And even more so when they took the lead six minutes later. The crowd's energy is noticeably stronger when their team is ahead, as with any sport.

Then came the heartbreak. It was hard to continue singing and chanting when the opposition scores seconds before the final whistle. The thirty minutes of extra time included three red cards, something I don't think I've ever seen in soccer at any level. That kept things alive. The penalty shootout sealed the defeat. City missed three of four shots, which is a disaster in soccer. They fell and we're eliminated from the U.S.Open Cup.

And that is what makes me want to come back.

I was interested before coming to a game last year. I was captivated after that 4-0 victory over FC Buffalo. Now, after a 3-2 loss in penalties, I'm hooked.

It was the loss that sealed it. The loss sealed my fandom with DCFC as it has with so many other teams. I'm a Red Sox fan in part because of the 2003 ALCS. I'm a Red Wings fan in part because of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals and the 1996 loss to Colorado. I'm a Lions fan because they lose... to everyone.

Winning is fun, but it's the drive to win that comes from crushing defeat that makes me a fan. Each one if those failures makes the victory that much sweeter. And that's all us fans really live for.