It’s been two months since the Red Bulls held a town meeting to try and appease the season-ticket holders who were angered over the firing of coach Mike Petke. Two months earlier, Petke, one of the most popular players in club history, guided the team to within one goal of MLS Cup a year after winning the Supporters’ Shield, the first significant piece of silverware in franchise history.
New general manager Ali Curtis and new coach Jesse Marsch knew what the atmosphere would be like that night, and probably also knew their message – their plan – would not be heard. Since then the message has not changed, and it was time to show a skeptical fan base what all the work during the preseason was leading up to.
Still, heading into the home opener against D.C. United, the fans needed an official forum to vent. Prior to the match, the three supporters’ groups held up a sign the length of the South Ward that read “20 years” and had the jerseys of four franchise greats -- Clint Mathis, Petke, Juan Pablo Angel and Thierry Henry – emblazoned above it. When the game began, the fans began to chant Mich-ael Pet-ke, Mich-ael Petke instead of the usual chants and songs, and the Empire Supporters Club held up a banner that read “Legends Deserve Better” for the first 12 minutes to honor number Petke wore for seven proud seasons.
Then the fans sat back and gave the new regime a chance. And the Red Bulls did not disappoint as they sprayed passes around the field and overwhelmed D.C. United, 2-0, to give the 21,036 fans something to think about during their ride home.
“The fans have their right to voice their opinion. That’s their right for being season ticket holders,” midfielder Sasha Kljestan said. “Look, they wanted to support Mr. Petke, they all loved him very much, he was a club icon. I hope they just accept that we’re going in a new direction and I think tonight was a very good first step to try and win them back. We wanted to show them how we fight for each on the field. They were very loud and I was happy.
“We as a team want the fans to feel more involved. We want them to be a part of this team. We think they’ve been through a lot. They’ve gone 20 years without a title. They want one about as bad as we do. We’re in this thing together. We want them to be loud every time we play here. We want to make sure Red Bull Arena is one of the toughest places to play in MLS and they play a part of that. We hope every game they are our 12th man.”
One of the other concerns in the preseason was how Bradley Wright-Phillips would handle being the lone forward in a 4-5-1 formation. He didn’t fare well in the opener, a 1-1 tie at FC Kansas City, but he was much more active against D.C. United and had a goal and an assist in the convincing victory.
“This was a HUGE game for us and I knew it going in,” said midfielder Lloyd Sam, who scored the second goal. “A couple of the senior players knew it but we didn’t want to overemphasize it. It was a great win for all of us, Ali, Jesse, ourselves, just to keep the fans with us was important in the game.”
A year after scoring a franchise-record 27 goals, Wright-Phillips netted his first, taking advantage of a gap in the D.C. defense. Running onto a long pass by Dax McCarty, Wright-Phillips took the ball on a bounce, popped it over the head of defender Steve Birnbaum and drove a shot past goalkeeper Bill Hamid in the 25th minute.
Sam doubled the score in the 71st, running onto a Wright-Phillips pass in the right side of the box and drilling a shot between Hamid and the near post for his second goal in as many games.
At game’s end, the fans cheered. So was there vindication?
“My goal is the team,” Marsch said. “And if the team is right, people will like the team and they’ll like me in turn. I’m not trying to win a popularity contest. I’m trying to coach a football team to be the best in the league. That’s my sole mission. When we get there a lot of people will appreciate the work that’s been done.”
Perhaps they have already.
The fans waited two months to make a statement and the players waited just as long to make one of their own. Now it’s time to come together and move forward.
Frank Giase has covered Major League Soccer since the league's inception in 1996. Follow him on twitter at @Frank Giase. He can also be reached at fgiase@gmail.com.
