The Sons of Ben march to send a message

Last week, I wrote an article that mentioned a tweet from Philadelphia Union fans representitive Mark Evans about what a Sons of Ben protest would accomplish. Minutes after it was published, I coincidentally got a message from Sons of Ben Vice President Ami Rivera to give me a heads up that there would be a protest at Sunday night’s game.

It had been all quiet before then from the Sons of Ben board, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t considering all options internally.

To me, the timing of the march was also interesting. It was a live game on Fox Sports 1, and D.C. United were in town for the joint Eric Shertz Memorial Tailgate. However, when asked about whether the TV publicity added to the reason to have the march on Sunday, Ami said it was not part of the discussions on when to make the statement. She was even more blunt when asked whether having United fans join in a show of solidarity and take part in the march:

There is always a question when organizing any protest about whether you are doing the right thing, what is the message you want to get across, and what would be the best way of getting that message across. This is even harder when you are making a statement for a group of over 2,000 people. In the end, the decision was made to march from the tailgate to the stadium and Toyota Plaza. They would not go into the stadium, and the reasoning for this was explained as follows:

Note – on Facebook there was a discussion about whether the coffin should have been taken into the stadium. Those who were carrying the coffin mentioned that they were told they would not be allowed to enter with it.

Within the group, there will always be differing views about whether the right thing was done. The fact only a few hundred took part at any point in the match may have been a disappointment to the board. This may be especially true as there have been calls for protests by members who may not have taken part in the march, instead deciding on other ways to protest. However, when asked about any disappointment I got the following reply:

The march certainly got plenty of attention as needed, as it was mentioned throughout the national TV broadcast. Not only was it mentioned many times by Alexi Lalas, but it has created discussion throughout the league, including whether or not the Union fans do really deserve better.

Photo by Barry Evans

It is also important to note that while the march was carried out, it wasn’t the option that all fans would have taken. While everyone is there to support the team, they do so in their own way. For some, while losing isn’t fun, it doesn’t take away from the reasons to go to the Union games. One opinion I was given about the march:

Not only were the Sons of Ben worried that their message may be misconstrued if any protest entered the stadium, they also made sure the players knew they believed in them. It went as far as creating a special tifo that was allowed to hang in the tunnel as the players went out.

“Believe” tifo for the players as they would enter the stadium – Tifo by Kevin Leonowich, photo credit to SoB Tifo

Having such a wide ranging set of opinions certainly doesn’t make it easy, and one message that the Sons of Ben leadership are making sure gets to their members is:

There you have it. The march is over, message is sent. Nick Sakiewicz released a statement and MLS-wide people took notice. It is up to the Front Office whether or not they show that the message is going to change how things are done. As of right now, we have received no comments from the Front Office other than the statement.

If nothing else, then that is now two different protests (after the Bearfight Brigade blackout) and two wins following them.

(Also, apologies for the lack of game changer article this week. If you protest the lack of effort on my part I will certainly listen to you.)