A Long Island native and New Jersey resident, Red Bulls coach Mike Petke hasn’t just been a fan favorite, but a fan himself. He’s said if he weren’t coaching the team he’d be sitting in the South Ward and cheering – and probably cursing.
He knows better than most how hard it is to reign in or restrain some of the most boisterous fans in MLS. But that’s exactly what his team’s front office is trying to do, offering the Red Bulls’ three supporter groups a cash incentive to dump their long-standing YSA chant, which stands for “You suck A-hole!”
“I know the fans…They’re very passionate. On one side I see my 5 and 8-year-olds coming home saying YSA to me all day long, I’d be pretty upset; and I’d obviously know where it came from,’’ said Petke. “They’re such an impact, our South Ward during games. Even my kids talk about them after they come home, how big it looks, the aura of them. It’s a credit to them and I know they’re very intelligent, passionate people.
“However, having said that…I love our supporters. Of course, as a father I would not want to hear that. But as a player on the field, whatever they yell, I respect and support them.’’
The long-standing chant – which is hardly unique to Red Bull Arena – is generally hurled at opposing keepers as they take a goalkick. MLS has tried to wean its fans of the chant for the better part of a decade, and now the Red Bulls are one of just four teams left whose fans have persisted in using it.
Real Salt Lake laid down an edict to its fans, and could actually start tossing them from games. The Red Bull front office took a different approach, offering the Empire Supporters Club, Viking Army and Garden State Ultras $500 for every game the South Ward goes YSA-free, with the money dispersed in $2,000 increments.
“This is good,’’ said Red Bull captain Thierry Henry. “Sometimes you hear stuff in the stands that you don’t want to hear. It’s part of the game – taking racism apart obviously – it’s part of the game. But it’s always better when you don’t hear anything and you can concentrate on your game, you don’t lose your mind.
“It’s always better if you can play the game the right way and not have to deal with stuff in the stands. I’d like to think our fans are great at it, so it’s only fair to reward them.’’
Midfielder Tim Cahill, a 33-year-old father of four, has consistently praised the supporters, and is convinced they’ll eventually work with the front office without losing any of their zeal or passion.
“Our fans are exceptional. You saw the last game at home, full-house. As a player it’d be great if the fans can toe the line and give us players some support,’’ said Cahill. (The YSA fervor) is a little thing that’ll definitely fizzle out, and I know the fans will back the players and back the club, and obviously toe the line.
“Here at Red Bull, I know the fans are going to do the right thing and support us. But I stick up for the fans. They’ve been absolutely brilliant. When I see full houses, I’m thankful for what they give us.’’
Cahill came to the Red Bulls from Everton in the English Premier League, famous for its intensity; and before that spent seven years at Millwall, whose supporters are infamous for their violence and are so extreme their stadium had to be closed on five separate occasions by the FA.
When the Post asked if he could imagine the Millwall Bushwackers – one of the most notorious hooligan gangs in England – being asked to cut their profanity, he smiled and chuckled.
“It’s hard,’’ Cahill admitted. “As a pro footballer, I understand the league, because there’s kids in the crowd and there’s people watching and we want to have a great brand in MLS. We want to respect our code. I support what they’re doing because we’ve all got children, and you don’t want to go home and listen to your children say things like that.
“But I’ve played in some intimidating circumstances, and here is quite mild compared to some of the stages I’ve played on, or things I’ve heard off the football pitch…But as for the fans, for the amount of miles they put in, they’ve been exceptional.’’