Carlos Restrepo
– Editor in Chief –
A group of men dressed in black shirts and scarves gathered outside the parking lot of the Anhauser-Busch soccer park in Fenton on April 17.
Drums, smoke bombs and loud chants were part of the armament the supporters group United Knights had prepared for St. Louis’ return of professional soccer.
AC St. Louis, a newly formed Division 2 professional soccer team, held its home opener in a sold-out stadium to a crowd thirsty for soccer since 1984, the last time St. Louis had a soccer team.
Fans gathered and chanted throughout the 90 minutes in spite of the loss 2-1 against the Austin Aztex.
“Our tradition is usually we have a meeting point in front of the stadium where we all gather and then we have a march in from that point to our actual stands,” said Edi Nurkic, a member of the United Knights whose mission is to promote the return of soccer in St. Louis. “We march in as a group. As you can see we have drums, megaphone, we have banners, shirts, scarves.”
John Lang, another fan at the stadium, said that despite the loss, this is a young team and it must be given time.
“Our players are still getting to know each other, not just on the field level, but as people. It will get better. You don’t build a team overnight…” Lang said “… It takes time, but by the end of the season we’re going to be surprising some people. It starts now, but it’s going to keep building.”
The next home game for AC St. Louis is against Baltimore at 7 p.m. on May 7.
